Press Release: As per BuyLargeHouses order, we are now denouncing the voter law. Is everybody happy now? carry on
Posted on 04/22/2021 12:33:22 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The largest company headquartered in Georgia, Home Depot, is being told that if it fails to publicly denounce the state’s voting law reform legislation, it will be boycotted. This isn’t coming from Black Lives Matter, per se. The corporation is being held hostage by religious leaders who demand specific talking points be delivered … or else.
Corporations, especially those headquartered in Georgia, have come out against the legislation signed by Governor Kemp. Republicans describe the bill as one that addresses election integrity while Democrats call it a voter suppression law – “Jim Crow 2.0”. Coca-Cola and Delta were among the first to make a point to virtue-signal after the governor signed the bill, only to be exposed as taking part in the process and giving input into the legislation. Both were fine with the law until the governor signed it and grievance activists did their thing. Coke soon discovered that not all of its consumers think that companies should be making policy – that ‘s the job of lawmakers- and now it is trying to clean up the mess it made for itself.
Churches have increasingly played a part in American politics and this is an escalation of that trend. Evangelical churches have shown support for conservative and Republican candidates while black churches get out the vote for Democrats. This threat of bringing a large-scale boycott over state legislation is a hostile action against the corporation. It’s political theatre. Groups like Black Voters Matter, the New Georgia Project Action Fund (Stacey Abrams), and the Georgia NAACP are pressuring companies to publicly voice their opposition and the religious leaders are doing the bidding of these politically active groups.
When SB 241 and HB 531 were working through the legislative process, the groups put pressure on Republican lawmakers and the governor to abandon the voting reform legislation. They also demanded that donations to any lawmakers supporting the legislation be stopped. The Georgia Chamber of Commerce tried to remain bipartisan while still voicing support for voting rights but then caved and expressed “concern and opposition” to some provisions. At the time, several large Georgia companies were targeted by activists, including Aflac, Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, Home Depot, Southern Company and UPS.
The Georgia Chamber of Commerce previously reiterated the importance of voting rights without voicing opposition against any specific legislation. In a new statement to CNBC, the Georgia Chamber said it has “expressed concern and opposition to provisions found in both HB 531 and SB 241 that restrict or diminish voter access” and “continues to engage in a bipartisan manner with leaders of the General Assembly on bills that would impact voting rights in our state.”
Office Depot came out at the time and supported the Chamber’s statement. The Election Integrity Act of 2021, originally known as Georgia Senate Bill 202, is a Georgia law overhauling elections in the state that was signed into effect by the governor and we know what happened. Office Depot has not delivered for the activists as they demand so now the company faces boycott drama. The religious leaders are taking up where the activist groups left off.
African Methodist Episcopal Bishop Reginald Jackson said the company has remained “silent and indifferent” to his efforts to rally opposition to the new state law pushed by Republicans, as well as to similar efforts elsewhere.
“We just don’t think we ought to let their indifference stand,” Jackson said.
The leader of all his denomination’s churches in Georgia, Jackson had a meeting last week with other Georgia-based executives to urge them to oppose the voting law, but said he’s had no contact with Home Depot, despite repeated efforts to reach the company.
Faith leaders at first were hesitant to jump into the boycott game. Now the political atmosphere has changed and they are being vocal. Jackson focused on pressuring Coca-Cola first. After that company went along to get along, before it realized its error, Jackson moved his focus onto other companies.
“We believe that corporations have a corporate responsibility to their customers, who are Black, white and brown, on the issue of voting,” Jackson said. “It doesn’t make any sense at all to keep giving dollars and buying products from people that do not support you.”
He said faith leaders may call for boycotts of other companies in the future.
So, here we are with Home Depot in the spotlight. There are four specific demands leveled at Home Depot in order to avoid further action from the activists.
Rev. Lee May, the lead pastor of Transforming Faith Church, said the coalition is “fluid in this boycott” but has four specifics requests of Home Depot: To speak out publicly and specifically against SB 202; to speak out against any other restrictive voting provisions under consideration in other states; to support federal legislation that expands voter access and “also restricts the ability to suppress the vote;” and to support any efforts, including investing in litigation, to stop SB 202 and other bills like it.
“Home Depot, we’re calling on you. I’m speaking to you right now. … We’re ready to have a conversation with you. You haven’t been ready up to now, but our arms are wide open. We are people of faith. People of grace, and we’re ready to have this conversation, but we’re very clear those four things that we want to see accomplished,” May said.
The Rev. Timothy McDonald III, senior pastor of the First Iconium Baptist Church, warned this was just the beginning.
“It’s up to you whether or not, Home Depot, this boycott escalates to phase two, phase three, phase four,” McDonald said. “We’re not on your property — today. We’re not blocking your driveways — today. We’re not inside your store protesting — today. This is just phase one.”
That sounds a lot like incitement, doesn’t it? Governor Kemp is speaking out, he has had enough. He held a press conference to deliver his comments.
“First, the left came for baseball, and now they are coming for Georgia jobs,” Kemp said, referring to MLB’s decision to move this year’s All-Star Game from Atlanta over the new laws. “This boycott of Home Depot – one of Georgia’s largest employers – puts partisan politics ahead of people’s paychecks.”
“The Georgians hardest hit by this destructive decision are the hourly workers just trying to make ends meet during a global pandemic. I stand with Home Depot, and I stand with nearly 30,000 Georgians who work at the 90 Home Depot stores and 15 distribution centers across the Peach State. I will not apologize for supporting both Georgia jobs and election integrity,” he added.
“This insanity needs to stop. The people that are pushing this, that are profiting off of it, like Stacey Abrams and others, are now trying to have it both ways,” Kemp said. “There is a political agenda here, and it all leads back to Washington, D.C.”
The governor is right. The activists are in it to federalize elections, not to look out for Georgians, who will lose jobs over these partisan actions. The law signed by Kemp increases voting rights, it doesn’t limit them.
Companies coming out in favor of this or that thing that has nothing to do with their business is shocking. Having sat through numerous board meetings of an international company in the late nineties, I can tell you they would never do anything to bring attention to themselves unless it had to do with some business objective. Even then, the matter would be worked over by every department, examined from every angle to ensure it wouldn’t backfire or cause some negative image issue. To come out if favor of, or against, some political or social issue would never happen. Companies are in business to make money. And, I think the issue is, at some point the idea surfaced that, no, companies had to be “responsible” community “stakeholders*.”
They started tracking their waste paper usage and reporting how much they saved on electricity, or how many hours their employees “volunteered” for community causes. Or, how many aluminum cans they recycled. (I really hated being forced to contribute a portion of my pay to a charity or to pick up trash on roadsides, but often it was part of my performance review and affected my pay, but only negatively if I didn’t do it.)
The danger of getting involved in political issues is, they will piss off at least half of the people and risk losing customers. As a stockholder it always upset me when the company I owned a stake in spent time and money on issues that had nothing to do with increasing the value of my stock. I didn’t want them to be more concerned with something I wasn’t invested in because somebody had a brain fart and thought they should.
This idiocy is going to persist until they get hurt really badly and the stockholders start voting out the liberals.
* I retch every time I hear or read “stakeholder.”
Burgeoning CCP-style social credit system here in the US.
How did Chick-fil-A do with the boycott against them?
I’ll focus on buying at Home Depot for the next few months. Sorry Menards and Lowes.
Have any of these so called religious leaders read the actual bill? Could they be specific as to what their objections are and why?
The party is pleased with your work record comrade.
Cut off their tax exempt status. They can be political or religious but if they choose political they lose exemption.
“I’ve been boycotting Home Depot ever since they lied to me again and again about an order.”
You never said what your problem was with HD but I have been dealing with them since they opened. There return policy is unlimited in my view as they will except a return for any reason and no matter the time frame.
I once returned 2 ceiling fans, 2 yrs old, without the box or receipt because they both began to buzz when turned on. I told HD my problem, explained I had no receipt or packaging and asked if there was anything they could do.
They said bring in the fans which I did and they said go pick pout two others or take a store credit. I wanted the same fans and because of a price increase paid $10 each for them.
Had a similar experience with an extension ladder which continually hung up. They took it back no questions ask, no receipt on that either although they had my credit card record of purchase.
They also guarantee all their garden plants for one full year. Just return the dead plant (you do need a record of purchase for plants) and take a new one.
Bring a treasurer for a non-profit organization I can tell you that there are severe restrictions for political activism. not that the IRS will pursue any of these woke criminal gangs.
It’s Nome Depot, not Office Depot.
A local store? Try infoing corporate.
Florida welcomes you with open arms. We're just a quick drive south on I-95, too.
Toodles,
R. SeSantis
Press Release: As per BuyLargeHouses order, we are now denouncing the voter law. Is everybody happy now? carry on
“Churches have increasingly played a part in American politics”
Since the 1700s churches have been involved in American politics — and in politics here before there was a USA.
If they boycott, does that mean fewer blacks in Home Depot? Please boycott.
Let those churches boycott.
There’s no one in any of them intelligent enough to use anything at Home Depot, so Home Depot isn’t really losing any customers.
I was talking to someone this morning who’s left of center...and likes Heavy Dee
Yesterday, I saw a nurse who was just back from Tampa and is going back this weekend. He was glowing about how marvelous FL is under Heavy Dee. (Santis)
People are getting downright possessive of DeSantis. As in about everyone you talk to from all over.
Someone’s their tax exemption repealed. You wanna mix politics with the pulpit then pay the tax man.
Ohhhhh ... do I have a story! A long story!
I'd love to boycott Home Depot, but there really isn't any substitute (for me).
Let them boycott HOme Depot and start shopping at Lowe’s. After that experience they’ll come crawling back to HD in short order.
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