Last updated on April 7th, 2012 at 12:08 pm
As the ALEC boycott continues to grow some corporations are not getting the message. Executives from Pfizer, Reynolds American, and Procter & Gamble are daring you to boycott them.
Beneath the good news that Kraft and Pepsi have joined Coca-Cola in deciding to stop supporting ALEC, there are some companies who just don’t get it. According to Reuters, Pfizer, Reynolds American, and Procter & Gamble have all came out in support of ALEC. Tobacco maker Reynolds American said, “ALEC provides a valuable forum for sharing of ideas and fostering better understanding of a broad range of both legislative and business issues.”
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Of the three companies who are standing with ALEC, one is a tobacco company and the other is a drug maker. Both of these companies smugly believe that consumers are stuck using their products either due to addiction (Reynolds) or medical need (Pfizer). I would argue that politically inclined Americans who smoke can always change brands, so Reynolds shouldn’t get too comfy.
Pfizer and Proctor & Gamble executives apparently think they are immune to boycott. Pfizer has seen their profits plummet as the patents have or will expire on 42% of their drugs. Pfizer’s profits fell 50% as their patent expired on their top drug Lipitor. The extensive list of Proctor & Gamble brands includes Bounty, Braun, Tide, Head & Shoulders, Vicks, Duracell, Gillette, Iams, Febreeze, Oral-B, and Crest.
The companies that are standing with ALEC are doing so out of arrogance. They don’t believe that a boycott could impact them, but no corporation is completely resistant to boycotts. In order to function and survive, corporations need money. Without money even the biggest corporate giant will eventually fall, and these titans get their nourishment from you and me.
Every time you buy a bottle of Tide, you are supporting Stand Your Ground and voter ID laws. Every night that you grab up your Oral-B toothbrush and brush your teeth with Crest, your money is going to fund the effort to suppress the vote. Dawn may take grease out of your way, but could also make your vote not count on Election Day.
One of the lessons learned about boycotts is that when they are executed properly, they are pretty much unstoppable. There is a reason why Fox News has come running to the urgent defense of ALEC. The right is starting to understand that these boycotts work. One consumer may not be able to make a difference, but thousands of consumers can reshape the marketplace.
The message is that Americans must stop buying the products that fund the theft of your liberties and the hijacking of our representative democracy. They are using your money to take away your rights, and it must stop now.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
