When the Arkansas legislature meets, Walmart is the 800 lb. gorilla in the backroom.
To begin with, politicians realize Walmart is a big driver of the Arkansas economy and they want Walmart to continue to succeed. But, the influence of Walmart on politicians is much more than that. Many Arkansas politicians are dependent on Walmart for their political futures. Walmart’s clout can bring many campaign donors to the politician or, if Walmart is unhappy with the politician, it’s influence can drum up a well-financed candidate to run against the politician.
Some Arkansas legislators are so tied to Walmart that people call them “Walmart legislators” because they vote Walmart’s position, even on social issues.
Some of the Walton heirs have taken Walmart and the Walton Foundation far to the radical left. (Before we close we will recap some of Walmart and the Walton Foundation’s recent woke left positions and actions.)
Arkansas politicians who have benefited from an obedient relationship with Walmart are caught between the conservative values of their constituents and the increasing wokeness of Walmart.
Despite the enormous power of big woke corporations, many Republican politicians across the country are fed up with corporations that are pushing a radical left agenda. The question is whether Arkansas politicians will continue to let Walmart and other woke corporations take Arkansas to the left.
FLORIDA AND WOKE DISNEY
Disney moved from being centered on family friendly entertainment to forcing the woke agenda on the public. In Florida things became contentious when the state passed the “Parental Rights in Education Act” which says public school instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity is not allowed before the fourth grade. Disney opposed the bill behind the scenes but once it passed, Disney began criticizing Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida legislature for passing the legislation which protects K-3 students.
Disney’s move cost Disney some of the blind support politicians had given it over the years. Fewer politicians were willing to continue to support Disney’s special privileges and soon the legislature passed a bill to end Disney’s special Reedy Creek Improvement District. The Reedy Creek legislation had given Disney special powers over property use and taxation in the district.
NATIONAL LEVEL AND WOKE CORPORATIONS
The Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC) event is the most prestigious conservative gathering in the country. CPAC has asked Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives not to even meet with representatives of woke corporations.
“Matt Schlapp, chairman of CPAC, accused several companies of colluding with the Biden administration to “silence conservative voices” and spread misinformation about voter ID and election security.
“Pledge that you will not meet with these CEOs or their leadership teams, especially their Government Affairs staff, who have been hostile to policies that help all Americans until they change their ways,” Mr. Schlapp wrote in a letter to Republicans’ chiefs of staff.
Mr. Schlapp also warned lawmakers against meeting with corporations that have promoted “radical gender theory” on children, paid for travel costs for employees’ abortions, and supported Black Lives Matter in any way.
The letter includes links to articles about companies such as Walmart, Meta, Delta and Disney.”[i]
Arkansas Republican politicians love CPAC but attending OUGHT TO BE awkward for those Arkansas Republicans who continue to cozy up to Walmart.
Unfortunately, the list of woke corporations also includes the U.S Chamber of Commerce and the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce. Conduit alerted readers to the woke positions of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and cautioned conservatives about candidates supported by the State Chamber. One of the State Chamber’s notable positions was to join a lawsuit to try to strike down a new 2021 law to protect children from so called gender affirming procedures which can be anything from chemical castration to surgery to alter the child’s appearance.
The Arkansas State Chamber is a reflection of the woke politics of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Republicans have long been allies with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, but the U.S. Chamber embraced the left’s woke politics which has led to a messy breakup between the Chamber and Republicans. Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, and House majority leader Congressman Steve Scalise have been refusing to meet with Chamber representatives and “the rank-and-file Republicans are largely disregarding the once influential ‘key vote alerts’ the Chamber distributes, a former senior Republican aide said.”[ii]
HOW WOKE IS WALMART?
Once Walmart was known for customer service and its sound business decisions but Walmart and many of the Walton heirs have decided to be known for something very different. You will have noticed that when CPAC warned congressmen about woke corporations, Walmart was one of the corporations used as an example. Here are some more reminders about Walmart’s wokeness.
- Drag shows for children. Walmart along with Tyson have funded drag shows for minors.[iii]
- School transgender indoctrination. The Walton Family Foundation provided a grant to fund the Fayetteville School District’s program pushing gender identity decisions on school children and not telling parents about the so called “gender transition” of their children .[iv]
- Adopting Critical Race Theory, which in itself is racist theory. Walmart subjected many of its leading employees to indoctrination with the racist Critical Race Theory.[v] The theory teaches one race is always the victim, another race is inherently the oppressor and should feel guilt, and that our government and its founding documents are systemically racist. Meanwhile, Arkansas legislators tried to pass legislation to kick such racist theories out of our public schools but the Arkansas Senate was not able to overcome pressure from big woke corporations and left wing educators.
- Males in female sports, chemical castration, gender mutilation, etc. In 2021 the Arkansas General Assembly passed legislation to protect women’s sports by prohibiting genetic males from competing in women’s sports. The legislature also passed legislation to protect children from medical procedures to stop puberty or alter physical appearance for gender identity choices. Here is how Walmart saw such efforts to protect children. Doug McMillion, President and CEO at Walmart, criticized legislation he described as working against Arkansas being a welcoming place saying, “Unfortunately, a number of bills are being considered by the legislature targeting the LGBTQ+ community are troubling and work against that goal.”[vi]
- Forcing doctors and nurses to violate their religious or moral beliefs. Walmart thinks it is just fine to force doctors and nurses to do procedures that violate their religious or moral beliefs. Walmart was represented in legislative hearings as being opposed to Act 462 of 2021 which protects doctors, nurses, and other medical providers who want to opt out of procedures that violate their religious or moral beliefs.
- Take the jab or lose your job. Walmart was among the first to terminate employees in their corporate headquarters for refusing the submit to the COVID-19 vaccine.
- Supporting the Democrats. In 2020, the Democrat-Gazette cited Walmart related campaign contributions as going mostly to candidates of the Democrat Party.[vii]
WALMART AND THE ARKANSAS LEGISLATIVE SESSION 2023
In the 2023 session of the Arkansas General Assembly there will be several issues concerning children. Examples of such issues include: School Choice, exposure to sexually explicit materials in libraries and schools, transgender indoctrination, and the teaching of Critical Race Theory in schools.
Politicians don’t want to be put in a position of having to choose between Walmart, with its radical ideology toward children, and their constituents, who want to protect children. We think Walmart legislators will try to pose as being independent from Walmart while making sure not to offend Walmart or the Walton heirs on left wing social issues.
“Walmart legislators” and politicians who are afraid of Walmart will first tell you there isn’t enough support to pass the legislation, there isn’t enough money, or implementation is too complicated, and then will support proposals for delayed implementation or to limit the legislation for children. (“Delayed implementation” simply means holding off legislation for two years in order to try to beat it or further weaken it before it ever comes into effect.)
Expect some politicians to try to quietly support Walmart’s position by either not casting a vote on the issues or by voting “present.” Both actions have the same effect as a “no’’ vote …. don’t forget it.
It would be great if Walmart, the Chamber, and other corporations would stick to economic issues. But for now, they represent the radical left’s social agenda.
You elected the politicians, but who will they represent in 2023? Will you speak up for the children?
[i] https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/sep/23/cpac-asks-house-republicans-pledge-not-meet-woke-c/
[ii] https://fortune.com/2022/11/27/chamber-of-commerce-gop-crosshairs-republican-house-lawmakers-target-woke-capitalism/
[iii] Walmart and Tyson were sponsors of the NWA Pride Event on June 18, 2022. The event included a “Youth Zone.” Its events for the kiddies include two DRAG SHOWS and a story time.
[iv] Public School and the Left’s Battle for Your Children by Conduit News
[v] https://nypost.com/2021/10/15/walmart-trains-staff-in-critical-race-theory/
[vi] https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/politics/walmart-arkansas-hate-crimes-bill-transgender-laws/527-ca72c02a-5b11-435c-9df2-b6a920a1154c
[vii] Data shows some Walton giving leans to left, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 10/18/2020
