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AmSpecBlog
Wal-Mart Buys New Friends
Wal-Mart once had the reputation as a "conservative" company no longer. Along with its support for employer-mandated insurance to hurt its competitors, it has shifted its campaign giving to the Democrats.
Ever since retail giant Wal-Mart announced on June 30 that it is embracing an employer mandate as part of health care reform, the company has been criticized by some congressional Republicans, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and fellow retailers.
And Republicans are probably even more unhappy with the direction of the company's political donations this election cycle.
Like many others in the business community, the company's campaign contributions have moved with the power shift in Washington to Democrats from Republicans. Wal-Mart's political action committee has doled out $108,500 to federal candidates and parties in the 2010 election cycle, with 69 percent to Democrats and 31 percent to Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. See here.
That is a switch from the 2008 cycle, when Wal-Mart gave out $1.24 million, of which 46 percent went to Democrats and 53 percent to Republicans. The change is even more pronounced when looking at the 2006 cycle, when the company's PAC contributed $1.29 million to federal candidates, of which 32 percent went to Democrats and 68 percent to Republicans.
There's nothing unusual in corporations running after the winners. But combine that with its health care stance, and Wal-Mart could give lessons on corporate prostitution.
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Tim| 7.14.09 @ 4:13PM
Their mission is to make money, not cuddle Republican ouchies.
TAS should welcome this, after all why should failure be rewarded? There'll be no reform if Republicans just keep raking in money in return for lousy performance.
Becky| 7.14.09 @ 4:21PM
Would Sam Walton have prostituted himself? I would like to think not, but it does seem to be the norm today.
Michael Moore| 7.14.09 @ 6:15PM
WalMart has always been pro Democrat. I have been around WalMart for over 30 years and remember when Hillary Clinton was on the board!! As for the employer mandate, WalMart has been sued so many times that it provides insurance to all associates, full and part-time, so why shouldn't everyone else do it? What's good for the goose..... If you want to change health care, etc, try tort reform!! Putting limits of settlements and awards would go along way to controlling health care expense!! You'll never get it done because lawyers will not cut their own throats and lawyers are all that is in Congress, make a change, send a farmer to Congress, or a fireman, or even a convict. At least with a convict, you know he might break the law, be immoral,lie cheat or steal, it would eliminate the guesswork!
R. Dittmar| 7.14.09 @ 8:29PM
I hate to say it, but WalMart has really turned into a trashy low-brow retailer with dirty cluttered stores and employees that don't give a d**n. I no longer have any fondness for the business at all.
My skinflint wife dragged me in there a few weeks ago because we needed a new TV. Apparently the employees are too inept to prevent people from regularly strolling in and stealing 1000's of pounds of extremely bulky electronics, so they wired things up with some frisbee sized anti-theft device. After we had paid we had to stand around for more than a half and hour waiting for someone to show up and take it off. It was all I could do to keep from shouting: "We've paid you idiots hundreds of dollars! Can you please allow us to leave your g*****n store now!" My devout wish is to never have to set foot inside one of their stores again.
Patriot| 7.15.09 @ 12:44AM
Big business a whore--who knew?