It's amazing how much one poll can tell you about the current cultural moment we're living in. In 2019, a majority of Republicans agreed with the statement that "large corporations have a positive effect on the way things are going in the country these days." Just three years later, in October of 2022, only 26 percent of Republicans agreed with that statement.
What happened between 2019 and 2022?
Many of America's most iconic corporations put their support behind draconian COVID lockdowns and mandates, provided financial assistance to groups that backed violent riots, and revealed their true identities as progressive political organizations masquerading as companies. Now, conservatives are awake to the fact that their money could end up supporting abortion, open borders, and a whole host of policies contrary to their values.
And thanks to the menace of woke corporations, the Republican Party has never been more united, despite the fact that we are in the midst of a political primary.
There are different Republicans running for the GOP nomination from Vivek Ramaswamy to Ron DeSantis to former President Donald Trump. But they all have one thing in common: their opposition to woke capital.
This united front from conservatives is causing great discomfort in liberal corporate boardrooms all across America. This summer, Target, Bud Light, and Disney saw a $50 billion decrease in their market capitalizations. This is great news, not just because conservative-led boycotts have proven effective, but especially because these corporate profits are changing hands.
While Disney suffered due to their preaching of progressive values that are out of touch with tens of millions of Americans, "Sound of Freedom" became one of the most successful independent movies of the past year, making $242 million gross revenue with just a $14 million budget.
The cultural victories extended over to music, where Oliver Anthony scored a number one Billboard hit with "Rich Men North of Richmond," making him the first ever artist to top the charts with no prior chart history.
And when Target decided to make transgender advocacy one of its core issues, PublicSquare, the company I started to help freedom-loving Americans can easily find businesses that they can feel proud to support, leaped ahead of them in the App Store, and Target had its first quarterly drop in revenue in six years.
The parallel economy is booming!
It's one thing to boycott. Boycotting is important. You shouldn't feel like you should have to spend money with companies that aren't aligned with your values. But boycotting in and of itself is insufficient unless we move our dollars to entities we can be proud to spend our money on.
So while conservatives have many disagreements about our preferred candidates and policy priorities, we are united in our opposition to Bidenomics and the woke corporate oligarchies. Tens of millions of Americans are voting with their wallets, becoming a force every company has to reckon with, and we're learning an important lesson in real time: We can shift society back toward conservative values through the power of commerce.
Michael Seifert is the founder and CEO of PublicSquare, an online marketplace for freedom-loving Americans. Michael is a devoted husband and father. He and his family live in West Palm Beach.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
