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After warning, McConnell softens posture on corporations' taking political stances

Several companies have condemned the new voting law in Georgia, leading some to withdraw major events from the state.
Image: Mitch McConnell
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., during a hearing on the For the People Act at the Capitol on March 24.J. Scott Applewhite / AP file

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., softened his stance on corporations' getting involved in politics Wednesday, a day after he warned companies not to weigh in on hot button issues.

"I didn't say that very artfully yesterday. They're certainly entitled to be involved in politics. They are," McConnell told reporters. "My principal complaint is they didn't read the darn bill.

"They got intimidated into adopting an interpretation ... given by the Georgia Democrats in order to help get their way," he said.

McConnell was referring to a controversial voting law recently passed in Georgia, which came about in the aftermath of former President Donald Trump's campaign of falsehoods about the election result in the state last fall.

The law led the CEOs of Delta and Coca-Cola — which are based in Atlanta — to condemn the measure. And last week, Major League Baseball pulled this year's All-Star Game out of Atlanta in protest. The game will, instead, be played in Colorado.

In recent weeks, McConnell has excoriated corporate America for boycotting states over various GOP-led bills. He said Tuesday that it is "stupid" for corporations to take positions on divisive political issues but noted that his criticism did not extend to their donations.

"So my warning, if you will, to corporate America is to stay out of politics," McConnell said in Louisville, Kentucky. "It's not what you're designed for. And don't be intimidated by the left into taking up causes that put you right in the middle of one of America's greatest political debates."

Major League Baseball's decision drew the most outrage from Republicans, as Trump called for a boycott of baseball and other companies that spoke out against the Georgia law. McConnell said Tuesday that the latest moves are "irritating one hell of a lot of Republican fans."

McConnell, long a champion of big money in politics, however, noted Tuesday that corporations "have a right to participate in a political process" but said they should do so without alienating "an awful lot of people."

"I'm not talking about political contributions," he said. "I'm talking about taking a position on a highly incendiary issue like this and punishing a community or a state because you don't like a particular law that passed. I just think it's stupid."