You all know about the secondary boycott of Rush Limbaugh advertisers. Media Matters threw its full weight into the boycott, continues to work on it, and so-called “independent” groups continue to tweet away and call mostly local advertisers.The boycott intimidation tactics failed to remove Limbaugh from radio, but not for lack of trying.The Limbaugh boycott, in many ways, was not even the most important of the anti-conservative efforts.The group Color of Change just intimidated Coca-Cola into dropping its corporate sponsorship of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a group which helps draft model state laws on a variety of conservative issues.There has been a determined effort by left-wing groups in the past couple of years to demonize ALEC, and Color of Change seized on the issue of voter identification laws.Here’s how it works. An issue which is neutral, such as voter i.d. laws, is portrayed as racist and hostile to minorities. The advertiser then is confronted with a flood of social media contracts threatening, sometimes implicitly and sometimes explicitly, with a boycott for supporting “racist” laws.There are few corporations, not even ones as large as Coca-Cola, which can risk being labeled “racist” or as “supporting racism” regardless of how inaccurate and outlandish the accusations. It is toxic, and groups like Media Matters and Color of Change know it.Faced with the accusation and thousands or tens of thousands of people who are willing to spread the lie, the corporation caves in to the pressure and withdraws the advertising or sponsorship.This is exactly what happened when Color of Change a organized a massive social media campaign against Coca Cola on April 4:
Today, ColorOfChange members are making calls to Coca-Cola to demand that the company stop funding the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC has pushed voter ID laws that disenfranchise large numbers of Black voters. Along with the NRA, ALEC also pushed a bill based on Florida’s “Shoot First” law – which has shielded Trayvon Martin’s killer from justice – into two dozen states across the country.Click here to make a phone call to Coca-Cola and tell them to stop funding ALEC’s dangerous agenda.Here’s the email we started sending to ColorOfChange members this morning:Today, ColorOfChange members are making calls to Coca-Cola to demand that the company stop funding the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC has pushed voter ID laws that disenfranchise large numbers of Black voters. Along with the NRA, ALEC also pushed a bill based on Florida’s “Shoot First” law – which has shielded Trayvon Martin’s killer from justice – into two dozen states across the country.Click here to make a phone call to Coca-Cola and tell them to stop funding ALEC’s dangerous agenda.Here’s the email we started sending to ColorOfChange members this morning:
Why is Coke suppressing your vote?
Tell Coca-Cola to stop funding voter suppression.
Notice how the Trayvon Martin shooting was worked into the message, and how claims of racism were the theme.
Coca-Cola caved in immediately as described in The Washington Examiner:
Democratic officials Wednesday launched a two-pronged attack on states with new laws requiring identification before voting, the highlight being a call to boycott Coke, Walmart and others that back a leading organization pushing for voter ID laws.Coke was quick to react to the political boycott threat, pulling support from the targeted group just five hours after it was called. Walmart said that support for a group does not mean it backs every decision by those groups.At issue: Liberal claims that some states are trying to keep minority voters from the polls via voter ID laws, a suggestion conservatives call silly.
Conservatives better wake up to these boycott movements, which have perfected the use of the race card and other accusations which advertisers are loathe to get in the middle of.
It is a tactic used only against conservatives and conservative groups, and the truth of the accusation doesn’t matter.
Update: Newsbusters notes that Color of Change is Soros-funded. It’s worth remembering that Media Matters is as well.
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