Despite my implied prediction that David Hogg’s boycott of Publix supermarkets in Florida would fall on deaf ears, the “die-in” yielded results. The Washington Post triumphally reported the day after the demonstration that the chain “would suspend its political contributions to Adam Putnam, a Republican candidate for Florida governor, after being faced with overwhelming pressure to cut ties with him because of his fierce support for the National Rifle Association.”
Not all was perfection in Hoggtown — a number of customers, unhappy with the chain’s knuckling under to the demands of an upstart, vowed to do their shopping elsewhere — but ultimately the boycott was more successful than Hogg’s previous efforts.
In fact, it was a little too successful. According to news radio station WUSF, the company released a statement Friday that read:
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
At Publix, we respect the students and members of the community who have chosen to express their voices on these issues. We regret our contributions have led to a divide in our community. We did not intend to put our associates and the customers they serve in the middle of a political debate. At the same time, we remain committed to maintaining a welcoming shopping environment for our customers.
We would never knowingly disappoint our customers or the communities we serve. As a result, we decided earlier this week to suspend corporate-funded political contributions as we re-evaluate our giving processes. [Emphasis added]
In other words, Adam Putnam is not the only politician that will no longer benefit from Publix’s largesse. All political causes, left and right, will be affected. Conservative writer Caleb Hull computes the damage:
Because David Hogg convinced Publix to pull political funding from an NRA supporting candidate, they also backed out of funding for same-sex marriage and abortion advocacy…
GOOD ONE pic.twitter.com/E3EoUzTcqn
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) May 25, 2018
Other commenters have weighed in on Twitter (h/t Twitchy):
He's right!
David's attempted extortion convinced Publix to stop all political donations, which includes their donations to Planned Parenthood. https://t.co/ng8aBo6xeU
— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) May 26, 2018
So for about $5000 donated to a candidate who receives NRA donations, David hogg got Publix to stop donating millions to local government and planned parenthood and a bunch of LGBT causes. That's an amazing self own
— John (@John_Faker) May 26, 2018
In short, mission accomplished!
