Last updated on February 8th, 2013 at 02:42 am
A few weeks ago Procter & Gamble taunted the boycotters of ALEC today they announced that they are leaving the American Legislative Exchange Council.
In a statement to ColorofChange, P&G said,
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In deciding to part ways with ALEC, Procter & Gamble has acknowledged that it can’t in good conscience market products to Black communities while at the same time handing over customers’ dollars to a right-wing think tank that has worked to suppress the Black vote.
On Friday afternoon, we learned that P&G began reviewing its membership in January and recently decided not to rejoin ALEC in 2012. External Relations Manager Elizabeth Ratchford told us via email that, ‘Decisions about which memberships we retain are guided by budgetary considerations, value to the business and engagement on issues core to our ability to compete in the marketplace.
P&G decided that ALEC is no longer helpful to them in competing for their customers’ loyalty and support. Procter & Gamble became the thirteenth company to leave ALEC. They now join Yum! Brands, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Mars Inc., Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Kraft Foods, Intuit, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Reed Elsevier (owner of LexisNexis and publisher of science and health information), American Traffic Solutions and Arizona Public Service in leaving the once shadowy and powerful organization.
ALEC has admitted that they are being clobbered on social media, and have gone into full panic mode. They have even gone so far as to beg right wing bloggers to give them positive publicity and push back against the boycott. The Koch Brothers have jumped into the fray, and added their support through Americans For Prosperity, but nothing is working.
The members continue to leave, and they can’t stop the boycott.
The departure of P&G speaks volumes about the success of the boycott because they were one of three corporate giants along with Pfizer and Reynolds American who initially stood behind ALEC, and dared the American people to boycott them.
We heard from lots of PoliticusUSA readers who did exactly that, and your efforts were so successful that 17 days later, P&G changed their position and abandoned ALEC.
When Yum! Brands left ALEC their statement admitted that they could no longer support an organization that does its business in secret, and now Procter & Gamble is admitting that being associated with ALEC is bad for business.
The boycott is achieving its goals because it has successfully defined ALEC as bad for business. The boycott has attached painful consequences like bad publicity and loss of customers to supporting ALEC. The battle is over. ALEC has already lost. They will never be able to undercut democracy and work behind closed doors again.
The American people know all about ALEC now, and they will be watching.
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
