The trend of major, multi-national corporations subscribing to the politics of the woke is becoming more pervasive. Politicization is everywhere, and that was never made more clear than the kerfuffle over Georgia’s voting reform legislation. As Democrats falsely labeled it “Jim Crow 2.0,” corporations like Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, and others fell in line delivering condemnations that were not at all based on the reality of what was in the bill.

Now, Ted Cruz is putting his money where his mouth is on this topic. The Texas Senator has pledged to stop taking all money from corporate PACs, and he’s asking other Republicans to do the same.

Starting today, I no longer accept money from any corporate PAC.

I urge my GOP colleagues to do the same.
 
For too long, Republicans have allowed the left & their big-business allies to attack our values & ship jobs overseas with no response.

No more.https://t.co/AO5GSqB9RR

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) April 28, 2021

This is a great move by Cruz that shows he’s not going to be beholden behind the scenes to major corporations that publicly spit in the faces of Republican voters. I’ve made this case many times in the past (see here and here). Republicans can put up with a lot when it comes to corporations, including sports teams. Giving money to liberal politicians is one thing. Actively entering the political arena to operate as activists is a completely different story. If these mega-corporations want their tax breaks and favorable regulations, they can cease and desist with their woke, anti-American behavior. Otherwise, they can enjoy their new friends in the Democrat Party and see how well that works out for them over the long term.

Josh Hawley also joined Cruz in pledging to not be under the thumb of corporations.

Yes! Corporate America has put Americans last. They ship our jobs to China, mock middle America’s way of life, try to control our speech and run our lives. It’s time we stood up to them. I won’t take corporate PAC donations & I’ll fight to break up their monopoly power https://t.co/BXZ5DWzrzl

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) April 29, 2021

Most Republicans are not reflexively anti-corporation. They support people gaining wealth and living their lives as they see fit. At the same time, Republicans owe no fealty to organizations that are actively trying to destroy their way of life, much less those attempting to do so via public shaming campaigns as we saw in Georgia. We don’t owe these corporations tax subsidies, nor do we owe them our political will to make sure they get corporate tax cuts and less regulation. If these corporations want those things, they should start showing some gratitude to the party that has fought for them in the past.

In the meantime, Republicans should abstain from taking money from corporations that say one thing behind closed doors while being performatively woke in the public square. There are more than enough other streams of donors out there to tap into. Their money isn’t needed, and the influence that money typically garners isn’t wanted until they change course.