Republicans are currently folding like a wash-and-wear suit in the campaign against Anheuser-Busch. I’d like to say I’m surprised by this latest development, but am I really?

The controversy began after Bud Light, one of the company’s brands, promoted transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney’s “365th Day of Girlhood,” making a commemorative can. Mulvaney also did several videos promoting Bud Light during March Madness, including one filmed in a bathtub, denoting an advertising relationship between the two.

Conservatives immediately went to bat against what was just the latest example of corporate wokeness, ensuring that Bud Light’s sales dropped precipitously. For the moment, it seemed as if the right had finally succeeded in punishing a company for spitting in the faces of normal Americans.

Unfortunately, Donald Trump Jr. put out a video on Friday decrying the boycott, suggesting that because Anheuser-Busch gives money to Republicans (he claimed at a 60/40 split), conservatives should back off and give up the fight. Sure enough, the GOP establishment has gotten the message, and now the NRCC is following suit in seeking to protect the beer company.

The GOP establishment is circling the wagons around Anheuser Busch. These people don’t have any interest in pushing back against corporate wokeism or transgenderism. In fact they want to help normalize both. This is grassroots conservatism vs the establishment, as always. https://t.co/ydwQbipxeP

— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) April 16, 2023

Here’s the thing when you talk about the “establishment,” a word that gets thrown around a lot, but often devoid of real meaning. The establishment is not just people from the George W. Bush era. What it means is the actual leadership of the party, i.e. those that are steering the ship and making big decisions.

That means that some people who were once outsiders are now calling the shots, and that makes them the current establishment. Kevin McCarthy, who I think has done a decent job so far as Speaker, is a major Trump ally. Understand that there is a triangulation of power going on within the Republican Party that isn’t necessarily good for conservatives, and you aren’t obligated to play along with everything they say.

In the case of Bud Light, the boycott should continue. I do not care if Anheuser-Busch has given money to Republicans. What I care about is showing these woke companies that there will be payback if they continue to try to appease the far left. That is the only way the corporate march leftward stops. Half-measures based on who donates to who aren’t going to cut it.

Further, I think Matt Walsh is correct in his criticism. Many in the GOP do not care about pushing back on transgenderism. In fact, they see it as an inconvenient issue they’d like to ignore because it’s easier and keeps the donors happy. Real leaders should not care about what keeps the donors happy, though.

Anheuser-Busch made its bed, and unless they take serious action, i.e. firing the VP of marketing that brought Mulvaney on, then conservatives should keep the pedal to the metal. Do not let up because the moment you let up, these woke corporations will run directly over you. That issue is far more important than a few hundred thousand in donations to Republicans.