It seems almost quaint to recall Tipper Gore’s campaign for warning labels on explicit music lyrics, back when companies feared cultural controversies and offending consumer groups advocating for traditional values. Much has changed since 1997 when national brands including J.C. Penney, Chrysler, and Wendy’s refused to advertise on “The Puppy Episode” of The Ellen Show, when she announced she was gay.
But today, the pendulum has swung the other way dramatically, as corporate America seems more fearful of offending liberal constituencies than those with traditional values. Brendan Eich, Mozilla co-founder and CEO, was forced to resign for the offense of donating $1,000 in support of California’s Proposition 8. He might have been better off adopting then-Sen. Barack Obama’s then-position of opposing both gay marriage and Proposition 8. Chick-fil-A has been banned from the Buffalo and San Antonio airports, due to comments by its CEO expressing his personal beliefs on marriage and previous charitable donations to groups with allegedly similar beliefs, including the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Whereas the corporate world once sensibly avoided controversies that would unnecessarily alienate some of its customers, companies now apparently consider the benefits of virtue-signaling as outweighing potential costs. Hollywood executives competed to see who could condemn Georgia first after the governor signed legislation to place some restrictions on abortion, with studios promising to boycott the state and its lucrative tax subsidies, though not just yet. Chief executives of nearly 200 companies, including consumer-facing H&M, Ben & Jerry’s, Yelp, MAC Cosmetics, Postmates, and Square, signed a letter proclaiming laws restricting abortion are “bad for business.” Given Gallup polls find the country evenly split between pro-life and pro-choice labels and a significant majority approve at least some restrictions, these executives seem to have forgotten Michael Jordan’s supposed admonition that “Republicans buy sneakers, too.” Pro-life voters buy ice cream, too.
Corporate America may view virtue-signaling as an inexpensive way to connect with younger customers and workers and build brand strength. They may be correct. Yet, corporate leaders may want to reconsider the more controversial steps they are taking and their strange political bedfellows.
The Democratic Party’s sharp turn to the left on social issues — for example, moving from abortion should be “safe, legal, and rare” under President Bill Clinton to now being celebrated — has been accompanied by an even sharper left turn on economic issues. Rather than merely regulating capitalism, increasing marginal tax rates, and building stronger safety nets, leaders such as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez openly embrace the socialist label. “Medicare for all” and the “Green New Deal” pose existential threats to the health insurance and fossil fuel industries and to the health of the entire economy.
Just as once-reliably Democratic construction unions split with the party over its opposition to the Keystone XL Pipeline and resulting jobs, some union leaders are also now fighting the party’s radical environmental policies. The tech industry has been unsurpassed in its fealty to liberal social policies and its donations to Democratic Party candidates, only to be rewarded with politicians wanting to break up its largest companies, berate its executives, regulate its behavior, and increase its taxes.
Corporate America should take note of the union and tech examples and remember its reliance on the conservative coalition to shrink government, reduce the regulatory burden, cut taxes, and otherwise pursue a growth-oriented agenda. President Ronald Reagan’s assembling of a three-legged conservative coalition, comprised of fiscal, social, and national security conservatives, has proven messy but enduring.
Successful coalition politics require constituent members’ willingness to spend political capital pursuing each other’s objectives and also involves members working toward the same political goals for different reasons. For example, the fiscal conservative interested in smaller government welcomes the support of Second Amendment supporters who also oppose larger government.
Group memberships overlap, but members also often disagree with each other on specific policies or priorities. A particular fiscal conservative wanting lower taxes could also favor restrictions on gun ownership, or a socially liberal libertarian could support lower spending and access to abortion. Such tension and compromises are inevitable when building a majority coalition. The danger that threatens the continued viability of any coalition is when one group feels its interests are being taken for granted. Continued long-term imbalances will result in splintering and electoral defeat.
As revered as Reagan is among the Right, his coalition is not etched in stone or inscribed in sacred writ. The joining of social conservatives, who provide many of the volunteers and reliable voters for the Republican Party, and fiscal conservatives, is not inevitable and requires constant tending. Social conservatives could make common cause with trial lawyers, vote for a protest candidate, or stay home on Election Day. Polls have shown some Democrat policies are quite popular with a fair number of Trump voters. Many populist voters oppose both big government and big corporations and feel the economy has not treated them well or fairly. There is a reason Trump has pursued both corporate tax cuts and the appointment of conservative judges. And those business-friendly judges would not have been nominated or confirmed with corporate support alone.
Notwithstanding the occasional coastal Republican officeholder who embraces socially liberal positions, or the increasingly rare southern Democrat who melds pro-gun and pro-life policies with higher taxes and spending, a successful realignment is not yet on the horizon, and corporate America should act accordingly.
The safest course for corporate leaders remains to avoid cultural issues not essential to their operations or brand. Niche brands may actually thrive by taking controversial stands, splintering the marketplace, and appealing to specific subsegments. The rest of corporate America should stop looking for unnecessary battles. Beyond alienating potential customers, businesses threaten to undermine the very conservative coalition that stands between them and ruinous policies on the Left. Make no mistake, socialism is lurking and gaining a foothold in the new Democrat Party. Corporate leaders should be very careful about who they promote and enable.
It may seem cool and hip right now to join the virtue-signaling crowd, but in the end, it will be, as they say, “bad for business.”
Bobby Jindal (@BobbyJindal) was governor of Louisiana from 2008-2016. He ran for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
