On MSNBC’s Morning Joe Tuesday, the cast of left-wing shills bitterly whined that corporations based in Georgia were guilty “of not having done enough to stop” the state’s newly-passed election reform law. The panel of partisan hacks touted threats of boycotts as they expressed outrage that companies like Delta Airlines and Coca-Cola were not taking marching orders from Democratic Party activists.
“We’ve been covering Georgia’s crackdown at the ballot box and now a number of the state’s biggest companies are facing calls for consumer boycotts after Governor Brian Kemp signed the new voting restrictions into law last week,” co-host Mika Brzezinski proclaimed at the top of the segment, late in the 7:00 a.m. ET hour. She began trying to name and shame corporations that were deemed disloyal to the left-wing cause:
Delta Airlines faced stiff push-back on social media, accused of not having done enough to stop the bill’s passage. Delta issued a statement that said in part, the law has, had quote, “improved considerably during the legislative process” and noted some elements for praise. The #BoycottDelta trended over the weekend. Coca-Cola is also facing boycott threats after initially releasing a statement in part, quote, “expressing our concerns and advocating for positive change in voting legislation,” but falling short of taking a stance against the law. And Home Depot and insurance firm Aflac, also Georgia-based companies, have also come under criticism after offering muted responses to the sweeping law that restricted voter access.
As further evidence of the supposed sins of these companies, Brzezinski recited a passage from The New York Times:
As Black Lives Matter protesters filled the streets last summer, many of the country’s largest corporations expressed solidarity and pledged support for racial justice. But now, with lawmakers around the country advancing restrictive voting rights bills that would have had a disproportionate impact on black voters, corporate America has gone quiet.
Turning to lefty Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, the equally liberal host bemoaned: “I mean, laws that were created on the big lie. It’s hard to believe we’re here. And yeah, corporate America needed to do better.” Robinson commiserated: “Yeah, and I frankly expected some of those big corporations to do better...”
Bringing in yet another leftist pundit, Tom Nichols, Brzezinski hoped the GOP would pay a political price: “And Tom, while this is all, you know, two things can be true at same time, does this impact the Republican Party?”
Nichols sneered: “It has to. Because, and this is something that I brought up in the past, it’s another sign of the collapse of confidence in – within the Republican Party and anything like ideas or policy or beliefs about anything....another way of saying, ‘There is no way we can sell anything to the public.’”
He then ripped into the businesses in question, suggesting the corporations were supporting Jim Crow era policies: “I mean, as corporate citizens, I have to wonder what it’s like for those companies based in Georgia to think that people in their workforce are walking through their doors saying, ‘My company does not care whether this state is going to deprive me of my right to vote,’ as though this is, you know, 1880 or something.”
Nichols concluded his tirade by hurling more vile attacks: “...the Republican Party has just become an empty shell for the gaining and keeping of power by a rapidly diminishing group of white conservatives who fear being pushed out of the national debate because they have nothing to offer, and so this is all they’ve got left.”
Just a few minutes later, early in the 8:00 a.m. ET hour, NBC’s Today show similarly seized on the far-left boycott movement, with correspondent Blayne Alexander declaring:
This morning, from the courts to the capitol, backlash to Georgia’s new election law is growing. Now, opponents are setting their sights on Georgia’s business community, hoping pressure on their pockets will push them to speak out against the sweeping law, which includes a new ID requirement for mail-in ballots. Republicans say that it will help secure elections, but critics call it blatant voter suppression. Across the internet, #BoycottDelta, and #BoycottCocaCola are picking up steam, taking aim at the two Georgia-based giants.
That followed a Monday report on the morning show in which Alexander touted the intimidation tactics being employed.
MSNBC and NBC are determined to give as much oxygen as possible to DNC efforts to bully Georgia into submission.
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Here is a full transcript of the March 30 segment on Morning Joe:
7:51 AM ET
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: We’ve been covering Georgia’s crackdown at the ballot box and now a number of the state’s biggest companies are facing calls for consumer boycotts after Governor Brian Kemp signed the new voting restrictions into law last week. Delta Airlines faced stiff push-back on social media, accused of not having done enough to stop the bill’s passage. On Friday, Delta issued a statement that said in part, the law has, had quote, “improved considerably during the legislative process” and noted some elements for praise. The #BoycottDelta trended over the weekend. Coca-Cola is also facing boycott threats after initially releasing a statement in part, quote, “expressing our concerns and advocating for positive change in voting legislation,” but falling short of taking a stance against the law. And Home Depot and insurance firm Aflac, also Georgia-based companies, have also come under criticism after offering muted responses to the sweeping law that restricted voter access.
As The New York Times notes, “As Black Lives Matter protesters filled the streets last summer, many of the country’s largest corporations expressed solidarity and pledged support for racial justice. But now, with lawmakers around the country advancing restrictive voting rights bills that would have had a disproportionate impact on black voters, corporate America has gone quiet.”
So, Gene Robinson, first of all, I mean, laws that were created on the big lie. It’s hard to believe we’re here. And yeah, corporate America needed to do better.
EUGENE ROBINSON: Yeah, and I frankly expected some of those big corporations to do better because they ultimately –
BRZEZINSKI: It wouldn’t have been hard.
ROBINSON: No, it wouldn’t have been hard. And they ultimately serve their consumers, who saw what happened and who know what’s going on and know that this is all based on the big lie. So, you know, I read that long statement from Delta that was – that to be charitable, missed the mark. I mean, it was – it just started from, you know, where you started, it was based on the big lie. You know, it’s like the fruit of the poison tree. You get all of these restrictions and, yes, they’re not as bad as they were initially proposed, but they’re really, really bad and they’re based on a lie. And Delta and others should have been able to come out and say that clearly and I think their customers would have appreciated that. I think their customers don’t appreciate what they, in fact, did.
BRZEZINSKI: And Tom, while this is all, you know, two things can be true at same time, does this impact the Republican Party?
TOM NICHOLS: It has to. Because, and this is something that I brought up in the past, it’s another sign of the collapse of confidence in – within the Republican Party and anything like ideas or policy or beliefs about anything except the raw exercise – keeping and exercising of power. This is – every one of these legislative maneuvers in Republican-controlled legislatures is another way of saying, “There is no way we can sell anything to the public.” The only way we can stay anywhere near the levers of power is to pass restrictive laws and to disenfranchise and suppress and keep other Americans away from voting.
And to go back to the Georgia example, you know, it’s not just the consumers who see this. I mean, as corporate citizens, I have to wonder what it’s like for those companies based in Georgia to think that people in their workforce are walking through their doors saying, “My company does not care whether this state is going to deprive me of my right to vote,” as though this is, you know, 1880 or something.
But I think what it really says about the Republican Party is that the Republican Party has just become an empty shell for the gaining and keeping of power by a rapidly diminishing group of white conservatives who fear being pushed out of the national debate because they have nothing to offer, and so this is all they’ve got left.
