I will be shopping at Target more...
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By JEANNE CUMMINGS | 8/17/10 11:28 AM EDT Updated: 8/17/10 12:31 PM EDT
The liberal group MoveOn.org ramped up its campaign against Target Corp. Tuesday with a new TV ad urging shoppers to boycott the retail giant over its $150,000 donation to a Minnesota politician who opposes gay marriage – and its decision not to give a matching amount to pro-gay candidates for balance.
The 30-second ad slams Target for supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, a staunch conservative, according to a statement from MoveOn.org. It calls Target “one of the very first companies to take advantage of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision allowing unlimited corporate cash in elections,” and cites a poll showing most voters don’t like corporate spending on political campaigns.
“Target’s refusal to acknowledge its customers’ outrage at their attempt to buy elections is scandalous,” Justin Ruben, Executive Director of MoveOn.org, said in the statement. “Americans have spoken: we don’t want corporations meddling in our democracy. Corporate money in elections is nothing more than political bribery and we’re not going to stop targeting Target until they stop trying to buy our elections.”
On Monday, despite pressure from MoveOn, Human Rights Campaign and other gay rights groups, Target declined to contribute $150,000 to pro-gay rights candidates. The company maintained it fully supports the gay and lesbian community in its workplaces and through corporate sponsorships, but it decided to keep its options open, “given the current political and emotionally charged environment.”
“We believe that it is impossible to avoid turning any further actions into a political issue and will use the benefit of time to make thoughtful, careful decisions on how best to move forward,” according to the company’s statement.
HRC and MoveOn.org have spearheaded petition drives and a boycott of Target since it decided to support Emmer, a state House member who angered the progressive community for his conservative positions on abortion and birth control. Target officials have said the donation to a newly-formed business group, Minnesota Forward, came from its business account rather than its internal political action committee; the retailer is backing Emmer because he appeared to be the strongest pro-business candidate in the race.
After employees and outside groups complained, Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel issued memos to his workers explaining his motivation for the donation and apologizing if it upset them. He also reiterated the company’s commitment to equal rights within the workplace and its sponsorship of gay rights events in Minnesota.
But HRC had hoped to convince the firm to donate $150,000 to pro-gay rights candidates and groups in Minnesota to “make right” its support for Emmer. After weeks of negotiations, HRC officials said Monday that the talks had broken down without a deal.
HRC said it will devote $150,000 of its resources to defeat Emmer. And MoveOn members are still calling for a boycott of the national chain that had nurtured strong ties to the gay community through its store locations, marketing, and non-discriminatory employee benefits program.
In addition, Solmonese said the gay community is now pressuring Best Buy, which donated $100,000 to Minnesota Forward’s pro-Emmer advertising campaign. Like Target, Best Buy receives one of the highest corporate rankings for workplace equality issues from the HRC.
While nodding to those rankings, Solmonese said that “before they can regain that exalted status among their consumers, they need to make things right in Minnesota.”
Target posts higher quarterly profit
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