so. remember the ridiculous supreme court ruling that political donations were to be considered “free speech”? well, now there are no limits to the amount a company can give to a candidate and through that door steps target and best buy.
target gave $150,000 and best buy $100,o00 in support of minnesota gubernatorial candidate tom emmer. mr. emmer supports arizona’s immigration law, wants to abolish the minimum wage, is against gay marriage and is associated with a christian rock group who advocates the execution of gays. seriously? target?
think it’s a liberal exaggeration? here are some quotes from the christian rocker (who shall not be named on this blog):
From a July 25th post on change.org
“Muslims are calling for the executions of homosexuals in America. This just shows you they themselves are upholding the laws that are even in the Bible of the Judeo-Christian God, but they seem to be more moral than even the American Christians do, because these people are livid about enforcing their laws. They know homosexuality is an abomination.”
And there’s more. “[Homosexuals] play the victim when they are, in fact, the predator. On average, they molest 117 people before they’re found out. How many kids have been destroyed, how many adults have been destroyed because of crimes against nature?”
target ceo gregg steinhafel says that the donation is to support job creation and economic growth…the only reason we know about it (despite the GOP’s best efforts to quash the disclosure bill) is because minnesota has pretty hardcore laws about political donations.
the only silver lining could be that other corporations will reconsider their political donations based on the hot water target now finds itself in (read the NYT article below about goldman sachs).
from last night’s countdown with keith olbermann:
we shop at target. a lot. they have no problem profiting off gay designers like zac posen, the late great alexander mcqueen, jean paul gautier, isaac mizrahi…they say they are steadfast in their support of the lgbt community…and they do offer domestic partner benefits…BUT steinhafel personally gave money to both sarah palin and the evil and crazy michele bachmann and now this corporate donation…
can we hold a corporation responsible for exercising their “free speech”? i say yes. and i say i can hold my target “red card” in my pocket until they try to MAKE IT RIGHT
human rights campaign full page ad via talkingpointsmemo.com
what you can do:
- shop local
- email target at guest.relations@target.com or gregg.steinhafel@target.com
- join the boycott target fb page
- sign the move on petition
Related articles by Zemanta
- Target CEO defends Minnesota GOP donations (msnbc.msn.com)
- Target Says they Support Gays, but Donates $150K to Anti-Gay Candidate (laist.com)
- You: Goldman Sachs Pledges Not to Spend on Political Ads (nytimes.com)
- Target Boycott Goes Way Beyond Minnesota (gayrights.change.org)
- Target Homophobia? CEO Gregg Steinhafel Defends $150K Donation To Anti-Gay Politician, LGBT Community Angered (huffingtonpost.com)
