W. Frank Dell II, CMC

Target Faces Protests over Political Donation

August 2, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
As several "Boycott Target" groups sprang up on Facebook, Target Corp. on Friday defended its $150,000 donation to a group supporting an ultra-conservative Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate who openly opposes gay marriage. Should retailers openly support one political party over another? How big a risk is a consumer backlash from such actions?      [more...]

Businesses can and should make contributions to candidates that they believe supports their values and visions. It must always be done in a legal fashion. No matter which candidate one supports today, there is a fringe group that will be unhappy with one element of a candidate's platform. Single issue candidates do not represent the majority of citizens. The role of elected offices is to represent all, not just the minority.

The political reality is, while minority groups make a lot of noise, they don't sway the voter mass. Boycotts have not really worked in years. Voters will not agree with every plank in a candidate's platform, they vote for the one they agree most with. This is human nature.

No matter how big a fringe group wants people to believe they are: the majority of the time they are less than 5%. This is America, not Russia, where 10% ruled but fewer than half of them believed; they just wanted a job.