Target Corporation's July 6 donation to a Minnesota political action committee that is backing the state's anti-gay Republican candidate for governor has run into a national political buzzsaw powered by the LGBT community in recent weeks. Calls for contrition on the part of Target and for LGBTs and their allies to boycott the company have caused the giant retailer to rethink its political giving strategy only a few days after staunchly defending its contribution.
The recent brouhaha portends a potential match-up, as the 2010 election cycle heats up, between the political interests of major corporations and the political mettle of the LGBT community.
Minnesota Forward, a business community-backed political action group, received $100,000 in cash and $50,000 in in-kind contributions from Target to support the company's "business objectives," according to a statement from Target's CEO Gregg Steinhafel. But various LGBT groups and activists charge Target's objectives run contrary to the interests of not just Target's gay and lesbian shoppers but the LGBT community as a whole. Officials with Minnesota Forward did not respond to repeated requests for comment at press time.
Minnesota Forward has run ads in the state supporting state Republican Rep. Tom Emmer. Emmer, who is likely to grab the GOP nomination for governor, is against marriage equality and leveling the playing field for LGBTs in areas of discrimination in housing, the workplace, immigration and health care. Emmer has also been linked to an anti-gay ministry that reportedly advocates violence against LGBTs. A spokesperson for the Emmer campaign said the group would not comment on the controversy and said the decision about which candidate to support in the race for governor was solely a decision of Minnesota Forward.
The Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) issued a statement July 30 condemning Target's donation and asked its members to sign on to a letter calling on the retailer to make an equivalent donation to candidates who support equality for LGBTs. Target has consistently received high marks in HRC's index on corporate equality, but the group has no plans to change Target's rating in the wake of the corporate giving uproar. The index, said a spokesman for HRC, does not take into account corporate campaign donations.
That, however, has come under fire from some activists. Jeffrey Henson, who started a Facebook page calling for a boycott of Target, said HRC's index should take into account corporate giving, or at the very least, HRC—the country's largest LGBT-rights organization—should not take donations from the very organizations it rates. "It would be like having Consumer Reports take money from Toyota and then rating Toyota as the number one maker of vehicles," Henson said. Henson's page has been "liked" by more than 28,000 Facebook users.
One Target boycotter, Randi Reitan, was featured in a YouTube video produced by an independent media group known as The Uptake. The group's executive producer and founder, Michael McIntee, told Windy City Times that consumers, following a January Supreme Court case that allows corporations to give more freely, should be more cognizant of where corporate dollars are going. Reitan is heard in the video saying that she will avoid shopping at Target until "they make this right," echoing the sentiments of HRC and other activists.
McIntee added that his group has surveyed a number of consumers who have vowed to hold off on spending money at the Minnesota-based retailer until Target makes a move in a more positive direction. He estimated that, if the boycott holds, Target could lose upwards of $250,000 over the course of a year, more than the $150,000 the company has already dumped into the coffers of Minnesota Forward.
Target, however, is not the only corporate giant to come under LGBT inspection in recent weeks. Minnesota-based Best Buy gave $100,000 to Minnesota Forward July 19 and has similarly faced calls to "make it right" by making an equal contribution to an LGBT-friendly candidate or organization. In an open letter to both corporations, HRC states that the candidates supported by Minnesota Forward would turn back the clock on the quest for equality in Minnesota. Best Buy officials could not be reached for comment at press time.
Corporate giving has a long history in U.S. politics, as does the boycott of corporate interests by consumers. John Stauber, founder of the Center for Media and Democracy, a group that analyzes corporate giving, said Target executives are now being forced to "walk a tightrope" that straddles on one side heeding the call of LGBT activists to not support anti-gay causes and on the other side not being seen as giving in too easily to the very same demands. Stauber said: "Successful boycotts encourage successful boycotts."
A successful boycott, Stauber said, does not have to hit Target to a great extent in its wallet, but instead where it hurts the most: Target's public image.
"The boycott is a long-standing tactic. Target will try to prevent people from hearing about it," Stauber said. "This is classic corporate crisis prevention. Target really has to take it seriously. The LGBT community is tremendously successful in advancing its agenda. If this were just another [ People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals ] campaign, then I wouldn't worry about it, but the LGBT community has a lot of political and financial influence."
According to figures from the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, LGBTs, in the United States, have a collective buying power of more than $700 billion.
In Illinois, Target has given to a bevy of local politicians and political organizations, ranging from the likes of Barack Obama to Mayor Richard M. Daley. The corporation's donations total more than $600,000. Some local politicos have spoken out following the giving scandal. James Cappleman, who is running for alderman in Chicago's 46th Ward, called the contribution to Minnesota Forward "disheartening" and said that the "ball is now in Target's court" to do something to allay the concerns of LGBTs.
State Rep. Greg Harris said he would feel "a little different" if Target had given $10,000 or $15,000 to Minnesota Forward, but that the company's donation of $150,000 means the corporation has "bought themselves the whole package" when it comes to Emmer's views on LGBT issues. "They can't say that they haven't adopted his social or political agenda when they've given that much money," Harris said.
Target denied requests to interview any of the corporation's LGBT employees or its director of diversity, but a spokesperson told Windy City Times that the corporation has "heard the calls" to boycott the retailer and that those calls are "disappointing" given Target's record of supporting LGBT causes. The spokesperson added that in the wake of the uproar over the donation to Minnesota Forward, Target executives are currently "evaluating" the company's giving strategy.
