Corporations Painted in Red and Blue

From over at Common Dreams there is a great piece on upcoming anti-corporate activities. Corporate crooks may be feeling the heat already!!


Published on Tuesday, February 15, 2005 by the San Francisco Chronicle
Corporations Painted in Red and Blue
S.F. man politicizes purchasing power
by Joe Garofoli


Having taken a beating at the ballot box, the left is redirecting its post-election energy at corporate boardrooms.

Anti-corporate campaigns have been around for decades, but this fight-the- power generation is going about it with a little more finesse. For one, activists shy away from the term "boycott." Too negative.

"People are sick of that whiny sort of demeanor," said Craig Minowa, an environmental scientist who helps create campaigns for the Organic Consumers Association, a public interest advocacy group. "In the '60s it was down with this, down with that. Now, people want a more positive message."

Among the new wave is North Beach resident Raven Brooks, co-founder of BuyBlue.org. He tells consumers which companies are "blue" (Democratic) or "red" (Republican) -- depending on the contributions of its political action committees and top officers -- and then redirects red shoppers to bluer competitors.

"We're not telling people to boycott the companies -- we're just giving them information on how to shift their money," Brooks said.

In the coming months, everyone from environmentalists to organic food advocates will supplement their political lobbying with a heftier dose of consumer outrage funneled through "corporate responsibility campaigns."

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