The liberal National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is hosting a five-day convention through the weekend in San Antonio, and the theme is “Defeat Hate — Vote.” That sounds quite ideological, doesn't it? Among the financial sponsors of this political convention are titans of the national media.
The NAACP Convention website lists as a "Gold Sponsor" AT&T, the brand-new owners of CNN. That requires a contribution to the NAACP of $125,000. Google and The Walt Disney Company are "Major Sponsors" ($50,000 contributors). CBS Corporation and Comcast NBC Universal are displayed as "Partner Sponsors" ($25,000 contributors).
Clearly these donations are part of corporate "diversity" budgets, but given the convention's theme, they are financing a convention about "defeating hate," that is, defeating Republican candidates for office. At what point does this represent a conflict of interest?
The NAACP insists this convention comes at a "pivotal time" when "we find ourselves in a new period of unrest as a nation; we are facing a budget that threatens to gut critical funding for education and a roll-back in health care reform as well as environmental protections that disproportionately impact African American communities."
Planned events include a "civil engagement workshop" with Tom Steyer, who's been bankrolling a drive to impeach President Trump, and a "closing plenary session" including keynote speeches by Obama HUD secretary Julian Castro and Tom Perez, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
In selling their sponsorships, the NAACP promises "Media coverage from top rated media outlets including, The New York Times, LA Times, The Baltimore Sun, and The Washington Post." They also suggest donations "Showcase corporate citizenship in support of the fight against race-based discrimination and inequality" and result in "Brand alignment with the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization." (That's funny, the holder of that title sounds more like the National Rifle Association.)
Those might be new code words for the partisan liberal media: when they slant the news toward liberals, it's "corporate citizenship" and "brand alignment with civil rights."
PS: On Monday, the NAACP toed a hard-left line on Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court:
Brett Kavanaugh is a dangerous ideologue whose extreme views on civil rights would solidify a far right majority on the Supreme Court. Coming after Neil Gorsuch’s appointment, a Kavanaugh confirmation would re-make the Court in President Trump’s own image. This prospect is unacceptable to the American people, and the NAACP is ready to lead the fight of a generation.
