Should have learned from the NFL this season.
In the aftermath of the Parkland school shooting, corporate America has tripped over itself in a rush to cut ties with the National Rifle Association. Now, they’re finding that they’ve alienated Middle America.
These companies should blame themselves, not the NRA, for getting wedged between a rock and hard place.
The corporate boardrooms that carried water for the left’s agenda during the Obama years fed the “politicize everything” culture, and as a result, consumers have become remarkably savvy as to where brands align on hot-button issues. That’s not good news for companies.
A Morning Consult survey found that net favorability ratings decreased across the board for companies like Enterprise Rent-a-Car and MetLife after respondents learned these brands discontinued relationships with the NRA. Enterprise, which also owns National Car Rental and Alamo, received a net favorability decrease from +49 percent to +25 percent among all adults.
This should come as no surprise, as the survey also found more adults have a favorable opinion of the NRA than unfavorable, and most support the Second Amendment by a wide margin (69 percent to 17 percent).
These declines in net favorability suggest that alignment with the markedly anti-Second Amendment #BoycottNRA movement places these companies at odds with the overall opinions of consumers on the gun issue.
Delta Airlines signaled this conundrum by releasing a statement affirming the company’s support for the Second Amendment and explaining the decision to end its partnership with the NRA, saying, “Out of respect for our customers and employees on both sides, Delta has taken this action to refrain from entering this debate and focus on its business.”
But Delta has not always striven for neutrality on matters of public policy and issue advocacy.
In 2016, Delta joined the Georgia Prospers business coalition in opposition to H.B. 757, Georgia’s “Pastors Protection Act,” which would have strengthened First Amendment protections for clergy who declined to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies. Georgia Prospers successfully rallied the business community to influence Republican Gov. Nathan Deal to veto the legislation.
Advocacy against religious liberty protections in recent years is not unique to Delta Airlines. Liberal LGBT activists, such as the Human Rights Campaign and alliances similar to Georgia Prospers, have been effective at galvanizing corporate support for sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) laws.
The result is that brands like Target have now become synonymous with “transgender bathrooms,” while a hyper-aware public watches the overall consumer market for any evidence of politicization.
The public’s opinion of companies has now been firmly politicized. Corporate America cannot return to “neutral” unless it is truly committed to neutrality on all the issues.