Before Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., decided to close out the year by turning againt every Arkansas voter who supported him, by voting for the Omnibus Loot the Government Bill, Sen. Cotton sent a valuable message to corporate America.
Executives from Kroger were whining about regulation before a Senate hearing and they not surprisingly expected the GOP members to nod along with the testimony and shout "
"Amen" at the conclusion.
Cotton did not.
The Kroger executives were fresh off being forced to pay $180,000 to a pair of Christian employees who were fired for not wearing a PRIDE logo on their uniform.
Naturally when questioned the executives lied and claimed the Rainbow Reich insignia was "a branding symbol."
Cotton reminded them, "'I’ve cautioned them for years that if they silence conservatives and center-right voters . . . if they discriminate against them in their company, they probably shouldn't come and ask Republican senators to carry the water for them whenever our Democratic friends want to regulate them or block their mergers."
And to send his point home, Cotton concluded, "I’m sorry that's happening to you. Best of luck."
That’s what every Republican should say to favor-seeking corporate executives trying to save themselves from the leftist regulators they so readily embrace in the cultural realm.
Corporate America is the enemy of conservatives, populists, Christians, and patriots.
They work hand-in-glove with the Democratic Party to suppress, censor and cancel people on the right.
Breitbart brings us the latest example of this incestuous collusion. Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., (Censorship) and Jerry McNerney, D-Calif. (More Censorship) wrote to both Verizon and DirecTV essentially urging the two biggest cable networks in the nation to cancel the conservative network One America News.
Subsequently, both cable carriers did just that.
This isn’t a case of banning an anonymous Twitter troll.
This is direct censorship of an entire network designed to counterbalance the leftist networks eagerly promoting all things Democratic Party.
It’s an outrageous misuse of government power in direct violation of the Constitution.
And it is a genuine threat to "our democracy" when the party in power works to silence the voice of a network giving the other side of the story.
And please don’t waste our time with the "private company" argument.
Breitbart explains, "When Big Tech or Corporate Cable distributors censor, liberals and libertarians will frequently make the free market defense, arguing the First Amendment doesn’t apply to private companies.
"However, the fact that Congressional pressure appears to have been involved in the decision means that this is more than a private company making a decision in isolation.
"This is increasingly the case with censorship decisions. Democrats are now using their political and regulatory clout to pressure companies into censoring their opposition as a standard operating procedure."
And why can Democratic politicians pressure corporate America to toe their line?
Because there is no downside to doing the bidding of the left. Republicans are toothless paper tigers.
Cotton refusing to help Kroger is hardly an all-out offensive for taking back the culture.
Cotton’s passive aggression is a start, however. And a welcome one at that.
Republicans need to take off their Chamber of Commerce glasses — no doubt a present from a lobbyist — and stop the knee-jerk support of big business.
Instead, Republicans need to support competition, encourage a positive business environment; fight against monopolies, oligopolies, and market concentration.
Proving to Corporate America that there is an expensive downside to conspiring with the left is an excellent place to start.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker's bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.