McConnell Tells CEOs To “Stay Out of Politics”

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) tore into corporations whose CEOs have spoken out against Georgia’s new voting restrictions, urging them to stay out of politics.

“My advice to the corporate CEOs of America is to stay out of politics. Don’t pick sides in these big fights,” McConnell said.

McConnell’s criticisms appear at odds with his own record of accepting corporate donations. His re-election campaign “received a total of $258,880 from 37 chief executives whose companies are components of the S&P 500 stock index SPX, 0.08%,” according to Marketwatch.

McConnell’s remarks come as voting rights advocates continue to express concern about voting restrictions in the state of Georgia after the Republican Party passed legislation that significantly curbs voting rights, including stricter identification requirements and a measure that makes it a misdemeanor to offer food and water to voters waiting in line.

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Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has pushed back against any criticism about the law.

“I’m glad to deal with it,” Kemp said of the backlash, the most high profile of which came from corporations like Delta Airlines and Coca-Cola. “If they want to have a debate about the merits and the facts of the bill, then we should do that.”

The state was soon served with a lawsuit filed by the New Georgia Project, Black Voters Matter Fund, and Rise, Inc.

“These provisions lack any justification for their burdensome and discriminatory effects on voting,” reads the lawsuit. “Instead, they represent a hodgepodge of unnecessary restrictions that target almost every aspect of the voting process but serve no legitimate purpose or compelling state interest other than to make absentee, early, and election-day voting more difficult — especially for minority voters.”