Target is in big trouble. The retail giant’s recent decision to donate $150,000 to Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer has drawn the ire of the public for more than one reason. Sam Stein reports in The Huffington Post:
Target has already come under intense scrutiny for the $150,000 it has given to a Minnesota-based group for the ostensible purposes of influencing the governor’s race. Not only is it one of the first high-profile companies to take advantage of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling (allowing companies to make unlimited expenditures on political campaigns) it chose, in Emmers, a longstanding opponent of gay rights.
Target has spent over $150,000 in the Minnesota Governor’s race backing state Rep. Tom Emmer, a far-right Republican who supports Arizona’s draconian immigration law, wants to abolish the minimum wage and even gave money to a fringe group that condoned the execution of gay people.
Target must think customers won’t care. They’re wrong: We do care, and we need to let them know that we want Target–and all corporations–out of our elections.
Will you send a message to Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel telling him that you’re not going to shop at Target unless they stop trying to buy elections?
The protests have, so far, been confined to within Minnesota. But MoveOn is pushing for a much more deafening, national response — targeting Target on Facebook in addition to an online ad campaign that was also launched on Tuesday.
With both political and civil rights motives powering the protest efforts, Target needs to start crisis management, now. If the popular chain allows the situation to progress and be fueled by the rumor and innuendo that a continued silence would produce then it will undoubtedly lose both reputation and revenue.
The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/