Both Coca-Cola and Pepsi Sever Ties With ALEC
Two of the world’s largest beverage companies—Coca-Cola and PepsiCo—have both pulled from their membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative group that pushes voter suppression efforts and other cookie-cutter bills into state lawmakers’ hands.
Coca-Cola dropped its support from ALEC just hours after advocacy group Color of Change launched a campaign asking major companies like Coke and Wal-Mart to sever ties with the group. In addition to pushing voter suppression efforts to state lawmakers, ALEC has helped advance other right-wing legislation including “Stand Your Ground” laws. Such a law in Florida has helped George Zimmerman, who fatally shot Trayvon Martin in February, from being arrested.
“We have a longstanding policy of not taking positions on issues that don’t have a direct bearing on our company or on our industry,” Coca-Cola Co. spokeswoman Diana Garza Ciarlante told NPR after leaving the group on Monday.
Great thing about market forces is that they are politically agnostic. People drink Coke and Pepsi; people don’t want to support a company that supports ALEC. Good-bye, ALEC.
