By Cliff Montgomery – June 5th, 2012
Perhaps many of you spend money at Wal-Mart, the massive chain store that’s wormed its way into nearly every American town. You may not know that the company quietly spends its dollars pushing a right-wing, anti- Main Street agenda.
Wal-Mart’s chief tactic? Buying scores of Republican lawmakers.
Thanks largely to press scrutiny, the chain store giant recently cut its ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a decidedly right-wing organization with an interesting mission.
“ALEC has long been a secretive collaboration between Big Business and ‘conservative’ politicians. Behind closed doors, they ghostwrite ‘model’ bills to be introduced in state capitols across the country,” states The Center for Media and Democracy, a non-profit group dedicated to investigative journalism.
“This agenda – underwritten by global corporations – includes major tax loopholes for big industries and the super rich, proposals to offshore U.S. jobs and gut minimum wage, and efforts to weaken public health, safety and environmental protections,” adds the Center.
Perhaps drunk with success, ALEC more recently has turned to social issues by backing divisive “stand your ground” and voter ID laws in a number of states. Troubling questions about such legislation has brought unwelcome investigations from the press and fury from a re-invigorated Left.
But don’t cry for Wal-Mart just yet – Goliath still owns plenty of federal lawmakers. The retail giant spends millions every year lobbying the U.S. Congress. It also buys Republicans.
“Traditionally, employees and political action committees affiliated with Wal-Mart have donated heavily to Republicans,” stated the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP), a top watchdog group that specializes in uncovering money’s dirty influence on politics.
In fact, “as much as 93 percent of [Wal-Mart affiliates’] donations went to the GOP in 1996,” added CRP.
“And over the past four years, Wal-Mart has also spent between $6 million and $8 million annually on lobbying,” declared the watchdog.
The company also often utilizes “the revolving door [by…] hiring former members of Congress from both parties to use their Capitol Hill influence to sway current legislators,” pointed out CRP.
