ABJ: Viewpoint: A functional democracy is key to business — and we have that
By Nathan Ryan – CEO, Blue Sky Partners Jan 19, 202
On Jan. 12, Walmart, the largest retail company in the United States, declared that it was going to "indefinitely" suspend political donations to members of Congress who voted against certifying Joe Biden's electoral college win.
In doing so, Walmart joined a growing number of U.S.-based companies — including Google, American Express, BlueCross BlueShield, AT&T, Coca-Cola and more — that have decided to pause political donations to lawmakers who refused to recognize the presidential election results in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
On first glance, this may seem a bit extreme and maybe even outright partisan — after all, the politicians who are going to feel the impacts of this are mostly, if not completely, members of the Republican Party. But in our hyper-partisan culture, in light of the events of Jan. 6, 2020, I think it's quite simple why these companies are doing what they're doing: You can't make money, pay employees and build a business if democracy collapses. In order for our democracy to thrive, Americans need to trust election results.
And they should.
In November 2020, Joe Biden was elected the 46th president of the United States in what the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency called "the most secure [election] in American history." Recounts in multiple states, overseen by elected and appointed members from both parties in every state, confirmed this. The Trump campaign tried and failed in the courts, losing more than 60 cases in courtrooms headed by judges appointed by Democrats and Republicans (including judges appointed by Trump, himself), and at the Supreme Court.
On Jan. 7, at 3 a.m., after a day of insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, a joint session of the United States Congress, headed by Vice President Mike Pence, voted to certify the results.
The president and his allies — including Sen. Ted Cruz and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton — had every legal avenue available to them and all they proved was that there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election.
Every American can and should feel confident in the outcome of the 2020 election.
As business leaders, it's important for us to affirm the integrity of our democratic system. After all, for all of our political and policy squabbles, it won't matter what the marginal or corporate tax rate is if society devolves into anarchy, run by militias, where Americans have no trust in the Constitution, our institutions, or the rule of law.
It's incumbent on us to encourage state leaders like Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Cruz and Sen. John Cornyn to speak the truth and stop the inflammatory rhetoric. A functional, trusted democracy is good for business. So if Texas is to continue to be the best state in the United States to do business, we can't allow Texans to lose faith in our democracy.
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BLUE SKY PARTNERS
Nathan Ryan is CEO of Austin-based consulting firm Blue Sky Partners, and a commissioner for Austin’s Economic Prosperity Commission.
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January 21, 2021
Blue Sky Partners