MoveOn.org is wading deeper into the
effort to boycott Target for supporting an anti-gay marriage
gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota. The progressive group Tuesday
unveiled a new ad urging shoppers to boycott the retail giant.
“Target and other big corporations
are trying to buy our elections,” a male announcer says in the
30-second spot.
“But if we all work together, we can
stop them,” he says, then adds, “Boycott Target. Our democracy
is not up for sale.”
The Minnesota-based business apologized
two weeks ago for contributing $150,000 to MN Forward, an independent
political fund supporting Tom Emmer, the anti-gay Republican nominee
for Minnesota governor. But on Monday, the company rejected a
request from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest
gay rights advocate, to give an equal amount of money to a pro-gay
candidate.
In announcing its new ad, MoveOn.org
chided Target for “meddling in our democracy” and refusing to
“acknowledge its customers' outrage.” The group said corporate
money in elections amounted to “political bribery.”
“[A]nd we're not going to stop
targeting Target until they stop trying to buy our elections,” the
group said.
On Monday, after nearly a month of
increasing pressure – from social conservative and progressive
groups alike – the company refused to take any action.
“We believe that it is impossible to
avoid turning any further actions into a political issue,” Target
said in a statement.
Facebook groups both supporting and
opposing the boycott have attracted thousands of members.
Electronics giant Best Buy Co. and
other Minnesota-based businesses – including Red Wing Shoes and
Polaris Industries, Inc., a manufacturer of snowmobiles – are also
being criticized for contributing to MN Forward. However, Target
gave the most money and has a strong history of supporting the gay
community.
After a Target protest at a
Chicago-area store, Illinois State Representative Greg Harris, who is
openly gay, told gay website ChicagoPride.com: “Companies like
Target need to understand that they can't have it both ways when it
comes to issues of our basic rights, and that the facts will
eventually come out.”
Complicating matters is Target's
current bid to open two stores in the epicenter of the gay rights
movement, San Francisco, where the retailer's actions have some city
leaders concerned.