Subsidizing bigotry of any kind is bad for business Watch video
So far, 11 major corporations have discontinued their support of the political career of Rep. Scott Garrett (5th Dist.), and they should be commended for taking a principled stand against someone who believes gay Americans are unsuited for public office.
While Garrett has probably cast votes and twisted arms to benefit their businesses, these institutions recognized that his position on gay rights is untenable, so Capital One, Goldman Sachs, UBS, State Farm, First Energy (which owns Jersey Central Power and Light) and many others have decided to drop the seven-term congressman into the "Life's Too Short" file.
Which raises the question: What is keeping everyone else from doing the right thing?
A Star-Ledger review of Garrett's donors disclosed dozens who still sponsor the man who refused to support Republican candidates who happened to be gay, and many of these donors are located in New Jersey.
They include Affinity Federal Credit Union of Basking Ridge, American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Group of Woodcliff Lake, ICAP North America of Jersey City, NJACA of Bloomfield (the prison lobby), New Jersey Right to Life in Piscataway, Selective Insurance Company of Branchville, and mighty PSEG.
They also include PACs belonging to state pols such as Sen. Michael Doherty (R-Hunterdon) and Assemblymen John DiMaio (R-Warren) and Parker Space (R-Sussex).
Some are hedging. Affinity, New Jersey's largest credit union, says it is "currently reviewing the status of our relationship with Scott Garrett."
Perhaps they are pondering how to explain to the LGBT members of their workforce why they are aligned with a homophobe.
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Would they continue to subsidize Garrett if he refused to support his party's Jewish candidates? Or African-Americans? Or Asians?
This is no different. These companies cannot reconcile Garrett's brand of bigotry, and they shouldn't allow it to go unchallenged in their planning meetings and executive luncheons.
Why are these Jersey companies allowing their brands to be stained by Garrett's narrow-minded creed? Don't they have a single board member who feels compromised by subsidize someone who believes that the repugnant national symbol of racial hate -- the Confederate flag -- should fly at veterans' cemeteries?
Not all of Garrett's bankers are based in New Jersey, of course.
Consider KPMG, one of the world's "Big Four" auditing firms: It has been an world leader in its support of gay rights over the years -- it offered benefits for same-sex domestic partners as early as 1999 -- but the company still funds Garrett, and Garrett continues to hold his hands out for more.
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Does not compute.
A spokesman emphasized KPMG's "longstanding commitment to diversity in all its forms, including the LGBT community," but that doesn't explain why KPMG gave $2,000 to Garrett last Sept. 18th -- two months after Politico reported Garrett's acid refusal to donate to the National Republican Congressional Committee because it supported gay candidates.
Perhaps these companies need a reminder that a robust corporate culture reflects the values of its constituents, and that jeopardizing one's image in support of a bigoted ideology isn't a prudent business option. We hope their customers, investors, and employees remind them of that, starting immediately.
More: Recent Star-Ledger editorials.
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