Any day when a left-wing boycott backfires is a day when my coffee just tastes better. And I’ve been drinking a lot of really, really good coffee lately.
And Wednesday was no exception, when I awoke to the news that anti-gun activists’ boycott of Publix grocery stores had backfired – big time.
It all started when Parkland student-turned-anti-gun crusader David Hogg & Co. launched a boycott against Publix Super Markets for reportedly donating about $670,000 over three years to pro-NRA gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam, a Republican. Several dozen activists held “die-ins” at two nearby Publix locations (a form of protest in which protesters lay down on the dirty floor like whiny brats and obstruct perfectly nice people who’re simply trying to go about their day). The photos hit Twitter, and we were off to the races.
As is typical in 2018 America, the boycott was successful in getting Publix to halt its donations to pro-NRA candidates…
…along with all other political hopefuls.
Thanks to Hogg’s boycott, Publix has announced they’ll be halting all political donations to all candidates on both sides of the fence – including to Democratic nominees, whose campaigns previously enjoyed hundreds of thousands in campaign cash from the grocery giant.
No longer will Florida’s largest supermarket chain donate to the nearly a dozen Black Caucus members who previously enjoyed their support. Democratic presidential candidates won’t get a check from the grocery chain like Barack Obama did. And Hillary Clinton. And Bernie Sanders.
Publix had also forked over some cash to former Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Sens. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Patty Murray of Washington, Bill Nelson of Florida, and Ron Wyden of Oregon. In fact, according to the Washington Times, Publix has donated a full $1 million to Democratic campaigns since 2008.
But no more.
“We would never knowingly disappoint our customers or the communities we serve,” Publix said in a statement. “As a result, we decided earlier this week to suspend corporate-funded political contributions as we re-evaluate our giving processes.”
Hilariously, Florida Today listed Putnam – the initial target of Hogg’s boycott – as one of the major “winners” of the whole debacle, pointing out that Hogg’s protest provided the pro-Second Amendment candidate with a whole lot of free press in a largely pro-gun (and pro-Publix) state.
“It's hard to calculate the media exposure, statewide and nationally, that came his campaign's way. If you didn't know anything about him before, you probably know more about him now,” Florida Today surmised. “If anything else, out of allegiance to Publix, Putnam's campaign likely will be goosed some because of the controversy.”
Poor David Hogg. Perhaps he should take a Marketing 101 class his first year in college.
Well, if he were going, of course.