Politico: “Livid at what they see as corporate America’s progressive posturing on cultural issues, top Republicans are pushing for swift retribution and targeting those companies’ bottom lines. In recent days, GOP leaders have encouraged boycotts against a group of companies that have condemned or pulled business from states that have passed more restrictive voting laws. The appetite for punitive measures hasn’t ended there. Republicans are also encouraging state and federal officials to utilize the tax code as a means of hitting back at, what they deem to be, ‘woke capitalism.’ And they’re targeting some of the most iconic American brands – from Delta and Coca Cola to Major League Baseball – in the process. ‘The GOP response… is the successful playbook for how these fights will be won moving forward,’ said former OMB director Russ Vought, whose new group, the Center for American Restoration, is largely focused on cultural issues.”

“‘Boycotts may or may not work, but what will work is to identify every unique benefit these woke companies get under the law and remove them and require they operate as all other companies in those states have to,’ Vought added. The increasingly aggressive pushback against politically outspoken companies is the latest, and perhaps purest, illustration of a party at a philosophical crossroads. Republicans spent decades aligning themselves with the business community and its preferences for lower taxes and fewer regulations. During the 2017 GOP tax reform push, the party slashed the corporate rate from 35 to 21 percent. In return, they have been bolstered with industry money and political support. Now, however, they’re betting that they can win on a backlash to the idea that political correctness has entered the boardroom and is irreversibly damaging conservative causes. For Trump alumni like Vought and other conservatives who have soured on big business, the sudden enthusiasm for their cause has been a welcome development. Still, many conservatives remain skeptical that the newly coordinated campaign portends a seismic shift for Republicans. There is, for example, no appetite to embrace a corporate tax hike as proposed by President Joe Biden to pay for infrastructure spending. But while it may not be the end of the marriage for Republicans and big business, they see it as the beginning of a volatile patch in the relationship.”