Wanted: disgruntled employee
CEOs may think twice before making what they intend to be secret campaign donations from their corporate treasuries, now that a progressive reform group is offering a $25,000 reward to the first employee who rats one of them out.
“We think there are a lot of big corporations on the bubble about whether they’re going to use corporate funds to try to affect the outcome of the election,” said Bob Creamer, a consultant with Americans United for Change, the group offering the bounty.
“And we want to make it clear that they cannot take that kind of action without the risk of economic consequences.”
A key factor for CEOs, Creamer said, will be whether or not they are confident that their corporate contribution will remain secret.
The Target Corporation famously faced a boycott threat in the summer of 2010 until it apologized for one of its political donations that became public.
“The message is: In the digital age, nothing is secret,” Creamer said. “The $25,000 is intended to make those CEOs wonder if the person down the hall — who may look at an email or have some direct knowledge of the corporation’s activity — may decide that $25,000 is worth more than their loyalty to that corporation.”
Yes indeed. Some of them may need that 25k because their greedy bosses refuse to give their employees raises even as they pile money into political campaigns.
This is a good idea. The one thing these guys are afraid of is being publicly exposed. Even that cretinous billionaire wingnut Kenneth Griffin said as much in his notorious interview with the Chicago Tribune:
Should you be able to donate $500,000 to a super PAC?
A. In my opinion, absolutely. Absolutely. The rules that encourage transparency around that are really important. And I say that with a bit of trepidation.
Q. Why with trepidation?
A. Target made a political donation and there was a huge boycott organized.
Q. So do you or don’t you think the public should know if you’re giving this money?
A. My public policy hat says transparency is valuable. On the flip side, this is a very sad moment in my lifetime. This is the first time class warfare has really been embraced as a political tool. Because we are looking at an administration that has embraced class warfare as being politically expedient, I do worry about the publicity that comes with being willing to both with my dollars and, more importantly, with my voice to stand for what I believe in.
Poor baby. He feels just like this person, I’m sure.
