The corporate mob may have some people shaking in their boots, but a new trend says there's no reason to. After January 6th, when CEOs were tripping over themselves to say they'd stop giving to Republicans, it sounded like a death knell for fundraising. But, two months later, the threat has turned out to be an empty one. Everyday Americans pack a much bigger punch than these woke businesses, it turns out. And they're just getting started.
If anything, the GOP has been rewarded -- not punished -- for refusing to back down on things like election fraud. When the cancel culture came calling, leaders like Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) weren't intimidated. They just dug in harder. Now, the conservatives who stood up to the bullies are reaping the benefits. In the weeks since the inauguration, Republicans have seen a surge of donations, "more than offsetting the loss of corporate money," Newsmax reports. In fact, the evidence suggest the boycott by woke corporate America has awakened Americans who are tired of the Left and their elite corporate friends pushing their anti-American drivel to give to political leaders who are pushing back on the Left.
Tuesday, on "Washington Watch," former RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said he wasn't surprised. The grassroots may not realize it, but they're a much bigger force to be reckoned with than Big Business. As several pollsters have pointed out, the corporate PACs that stopped donating didn't donate that much to begin with! They "account for a VERY small percentage of total fundraising that is more than offset by a huge surge in grassroots support," Wes Anderson wrote in a memo.
In the meantime, contributions from small and big donors alike have been pouring into Republican headquarters, as more people see the danger of the Left's agenda. "The Democrats have become our best fundraisers," fundraiser Fred Zeidman half-joked. And the evidence is everywhere.
"Individual giving has actually gone up," Reince said. "I mean, I look at these numbers... at the RNC and the congressional and senatorial committees, and they had a great January. It's going to be reported that they had a great February. So obviously, the individuals out there -- in spite of what companies are saying to the public -- [people] out there are giving, and they're giving in big number." He pointed to the Republicans Senatorial Committee. "When do you start a cycle with $17 million dollars in cash on hand?" At the RNC, the story is the same: more than $80 million dollars in cash on hand. "So the individuals are making up for [whatever these corporations gave], and they're doing it because Joe Biden has overreached... He's hit everyone between the eyes of these executive orders [and the $1.9 trillion dollar COVID bill]. And people are scared and rightly so."
Even more incredibly, most of these donations are smaller--$200 or less -- and yet the sheer number of people giving to the conservative cause is offsetting the punch that corporate America thought they had. As Reuters points out, "The biggest beneficiaries of raising small donor donations are often rabble-rousing politicians who vow to take on the Washington establishment." A lot of the credit for this ground game belongs to Donald Trump, Reince says. He was capable -- not just connecting with everyday people, but motivating them to donate. "He built this small-dollar giving operation," Reince explained, that taught the party a lot.
Even now, with Trump out of office, the individual donations streaming into the Republican Party and its committees is record-breaking. That's even more unbelievable when you consider the great pains Democrats have taken to shame conservatives and anyone who supports them. Two months in, that seems to have backfired, Reince points out, because "for the first time in a long time, the Republican Party is going toe-to-toe with the Democratic Party on giving."
That ought to be a huge encouragement to every conservative who's frustrated by the media, Big Business, and the cancel culture. Everything you give to Christian candidates for office or to organizations like FRC who are advocating for biblical truth in the public square, makes a difference. And no gift is too small!
