McConnell demands corporate silence on GOP voter-suppression efforts.
Mitch McConnell, as much as any living human, has defended the role of corporate cash in politics. Evidently, however, his position has some exceptions.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.J. Scott Applewhite / APApril 6, 2021, 9:20 AM EDTBy Steve Benen
Several major domestic airlines have taken stands in support of voting rights in recent days, and yesterday, they were joined by United Airlines. “Legislation that infringes on the right to vote of fellow Americans is wrong,” the company said as part of a written statement.
For Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), this and other recent statements like it have become a thorn in his party’s side. As Reuters reported yesterday, the Republican Party’s top senator has felt compelled to engage in public pushback against his ostensible corporate allies.
U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell lashed out at corporate America on Monday, warning CEOs to stay out of the debate over a new voting law in Georgia that has been criticized as restricting votes among minorities and the poor. In a sign of a growing rift in the decades-old alliance between the conservative party and U.S. corporations, McConnell said: “My advice to the corporate CEOs of America is to stay out of politics. Don’t pick sides in these big fights.”
The Kentuckian added that corporations “will invite serious consequences” if they continue down this road, though the GOP leader did not elaborate as to the nature of his threat.
McConnell’s message to Corporate America wasn’t exactly subtle. The Republican effectively argued that the GOP will continue to target voting rights, and businesses should keep their mouths shut about it — or else.
It’s an amazing posture for McConnell, of all people, to take. Ordinarily, we’d expect to see someone like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) or Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) criticizing business leaders for siding with Republicans on issues pertaining to taxes or regulations. In 2021, however, we’re seeing the nation’s top GOP senator threatening Corporate America not to interfere with Republican efforts to undermine voting rights.
There’s also an extraordinary amount of irony to the circumstances. Mitch McConnell, as much as any living human, has defended the role of corporate cash in politics, insisting that businesses not only have free-speech rights, but must also have the ability to spend freely to dictate the outcome of elections.
Remember the McConnell v. FEC case that went to the U.S. Supreme Court, challenging McCain-Feingold campaign-finance reform? Kentucky’s senior senator was the plaintiff. Remember Citizens United v. FEC? McConnell was a cheerleader for the ruling that defended expansive corporate intervention in politics.
