DOES BIDEN REALLY KNOW CONGRESS AS WELL AS HE SAYS? TAX PLAN SUGGESTS MAYBE NOT

CEOs are responding to the trend because of their concerns and those of their employees and customers, according to Brookings Institution’s Darrell West. Atlanta-based Delta, for example, produced tepid statements last month regarding Georgia’s proposed election law before demonstrations broke out at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and the airline faced its own boycott.

“Speaking out publicly positions their firms for the more diverse America that is unfolding and helping them hold on to their customers,” said West, vice president of the think tank’s governance studies program.

And the business executives are assisting Biden “because it makes the appeals less partisan and more appealing to the general public,” West added.

The election laws have not triggered a social and cultural awakening for many of the CEOs, but their alliance is different from corporate activism in the past. This weekend, for instance, more than 100 business leaders huddled on Zoom ahead of a letter potentially being released later this week. On the call, they talked about the possibility of redirecting political donations from lawmakers and investments from states considering reforms that prevent voter access.

Political analyst Dan Schnur, a Republican-turned-independent now at the University of Southern California, differentiated boycotts such as the 2016 one of North Carolina over its so-called “bathroom bill” with the election laws because “so many states, not to mention Congress, are acting at once.” Back then, critics argued the bathroom bills discriminated against transgender people by dictating their use of public toilets.

The election laws are also distinct because of their “association with Trump,” Schnur explained. The reforms are being framed as a reaction to former President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 election should have been overturned because of widespread voter fraud.

“The business community is trying to find ways to disassociate from Trump at the same time Republicans are looking for ways to keep his strongest supporters motivated,” Schnur told the Washington Examiner.

Schnur, though, was uncertain how long Biden’s alliance with the private sector would last as the president pitches a corporate tax rate of 28% to pay for his $2.25 trillion jobs and infrastructure spending package.

“So it’s less clear than ever that the business community has a natural home in either party anymore,” he said.

Despite Biden’s initial endorsement, the White House has not embraced the corporate activism as it attempts to protect its principal from any economic consequences. GOP operatives at the Republican National Committee and the America Rising political action committee have already seized on the projected $100 million hit Atlanta will take from losing the MLB’s Midsummer Classic.

“The Biden administration’s agenda this week proves that they care little about working in the best interest of Americans and more about appeasing the radical activists of their party,” America Rising spokeswoman Whitney Robertson said.

When asked about the MLB’s Georgia deliberations at the start of this month, Biden indicated he would “strongly” support the league’s choice to move the All-Star Game. “People look to them,” the president told ESPN ahead of this season’s Opening Day, referring to professional athletes. “They’re leaders.”

A day later, White House press secretary Jen Psaki pushed back on a reporter who suggested Biden urged the corporate boycott. “Businesses have made that decision themselves,” Psaki said. “We’re also not calling from here for specific actions from businesses.”

A week later, Biden shifted his stance when asked whether the Masters Tournament should also relocate its golfing championship out of Georgia. Biden said it was “reassuring” to see corporate executives advocate against the state’s “new Jim Crow” election law.

“The other side to it, too, is: When they, in fact, move out of Georgia, the people who need the help the most, people who are making hourly wages, sometimes get hurt the most,” he continued. “The best way to deal with this is for Georgia and other states to smarten up. Stop it. Stop it. It’s about getting people to vote.”

Psaki clarified that the White House was imploring Congress to pass federal voting laws, as well as working with state-based activists, such as Georgia’s Stacey Abrams, to encourage expanded legislation and heightened awareness.

Biden did not hesitate to criticize Georgia’s election law last month, telling reporters on the White House South Lawn the reforms were “an atrocity” to describing them as “sick and un-American” during a fundraiser for Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and his first stand-alone press conference.

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Georgia’s new election law alters absentee voter identification requirements, gives state officials authority over county elections boards, authorizes the use of ballot drop boxes, and makes it a crime for political groups to offer food and water to voters in line within 150 feet of a polling place. Data from the bipartisan Brennan Center for Justice found more than 350 similar bills are being examined across the country, with opponents contending they will disenfranchise minority voters.