When woke corporations started attacking Georgia over its new voting law, Coca-Cola led the charge. Its chief executive James Quincey went on television to declare the law “unacceptable.”
But now, following outrage by Republicans over corporate America’s attempt to do the Democrats’ bidding on state election law issues, Coke isn’t so sure that alienating a large portion of the electorate is a good idea.
Thus, as Karen Townsend observes, Coke’s name didn’t appear on a two-page ad in yesterday’s print editions of the New York Times and Washington Post that expressed opposition to voting law reforms under consideration in various states. Delta Airlines, another leader in the charge against Georgia’s law, also declined to join in the latest effort to virtue signal and help Democrats.
General Motors, Netflix, Starbucks, BlackRock, Target, Facebook, Bank of America, MasterCard, and, inevitably, United Airlines were among the virtue signalers.
Here is what Coke now says about the matter:
We believe the best way to make progress now is for everyone to come together to listen, respectfully share concerns and collaborate on a path forward. We remain open to productive conversations with advocacy groups and lawmakers who may have differing views. It’s time to find common ground. In the end, we all want the same thing – free and fair elections, the cornerstone of our democracy.
Evidently, Coke has branched out. It’s now in the apple sauce business.
A few days ago, I finished the last can of Coke we purchased before the company took sides on Georgia’s voting law. I miss the drink already, though I might finally be able to lose those last five pounds.
Thus, it would be nice to “find common ground” with Coke on voting. It would be even nicer if Coke simply eschewed political advocacy.
But, whatever it’s now saying about voting, Coke hasn’t given up on woke. As we reported here, the company is requiring that law firms representing it set aside 30 percent of billable hours on Coke matters for “diverse” attorneys, with at least half of that time going to Black attorneys. This, despite the fact that Blacks make up only about 5 percent of Americans licensed to practice law.
In other words, Coke is coercing law firms into committing race discrimination. It’s also probably forcing Black law firm associates to bill an ungodly numbers of hours and, I suspect, encouraging billing fraud.
Coca-Cola has brazenly announced that it is basing contracting decisions on race. It is thumbing its nose at the nation’s civil rights laws. There can be no common ground with Coke on this.