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The Logo Lowdown, part 1
THE 2006 ELECTION RESULTS HAVE JUST COME IN! Not the polling results for Congress, of course—we got those last November. I’m talking about the money numbers—the votes cast in cash by major corporations eager to elect Congress critters beholden to them.
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The final reports to the Federal Election Commission arrived last month, revealing that a record level of corporate money poured into the corrupt system, with the preponderance of it flowing into the coffers of Republican candidates. It was hardly surprising, as George W and GOP congressional leaders have long since hitched themselves to the corporate wagon, loading it with billions of dollars’ worth of special tax breaks, regulatory favors, trade scams, no-bid contracts, subsidies, and other goodies.
Drug makers, for example, got Congress to hand them a multibillion-dollar boondoggle with passage of a Medicare drug bill that was essentially written by their lobbyists.
Computer giants have had Congress holding open the visa gates so they could bring tens of thousands of low-wage engineers and programmers from India and elsewhere to the U.S., knocking down the overall pay scale for these middle- class jobs.
Meat processors fought off consumers demanding action on mad-cow disease, even getting Congress to stall the simple requirement that food products have country-of-origin labeling.
Under GOP control, industry after industry has been porking out. You probably won’t be surprised to hear that in order to keep on in the same fashion, corporate America handed out generous campaign donations to its favorites in 2006.
But—which corporations, exactly? Working with the Center for Responsive Politics, our intrepid research director, Laura Ehrlich, has compiled a handy-dandy list of brand-name corporations that were major political players in the ’06 elections. We include only those that put $100,000 or more into candidates’ pockets, with at least two thirds of their money going to one particular party. The sums include donations from corporate executives and PACs.
Since these outfits rake in your consumer dollars, then donate a portion to the GOP, which in turn backs the anticonsumer, anti-worker, anti-environment agenda of the corporations, you might want to consult this Lowdowner’s Shopping Guide when making future decisions about how to vote with your consumer dollars.
| FOOD AND BEVERAGE COMPANIES | ||
| Corporation & products | Total contributed | Percentage contributed |
| Silver Eagle Distributors | $205,484 | 100% to GOP |
| Molson Coors Brewing Coors, Molson, Carling, Killian’s Irish Red, Blue Moon, Keystone, Zima, Winterfest. |
$168,597 | 83% to GOP |
| Reyes Holdings | $109,525 | 100% to GOP |
| Proctor & Gamble Eukanuba, Folgers, Iams, Metamucil, Millstone, Pringles; see also Consumer Products. |
$356,674 | 81% to GOP |
| Altria Kraft products including but not limited to: Maxwell House, General Foods, Sanka, Seattle’s Best Coffee, Starbucks, Tazo, Kool-Aid, Baker’s Hot Chocolate Mix, Del Monte juice drinks, Country Time, Crystal Light, Quench, Tang, Capri Sun, Fruit2O, Back to Nature products, Kraft cheese cubes, Breakstone’s Cottage Cheese, Knudsen, Light n’ Lively, Athenos Hummus, natural cheese (Athenos, Casino, Churny, Cracker Barrel, Delissio, DiGiorno, Handi-Snacks, Harvest Moon, Hoffman’s, MacLaren’s Imperial), Velveeta, Cheez Whiz, Oscar Mayer, Louis Rich, Taco Bell Dinner Kits, Lunchables, Boca, Tombstone, Bull’s-Eye BBQ Sauce, Del Monte canned fruits and vegetables, CarbWell products, Aylmer products, Grey Poupon, Cream of Wheat, Dream Whip, Jell-O Knox Gelatine, Balance products, Ever Fresh, Cool Whip, Barnum’s Animals, Biscos, Café Crème, Cameo, Chips Ahoy!, Honeymaid, Lorna Doone, Mallomars, National Arrowroot, Newtons, Nilla, Nutter Butter, Oreo, SnackWells, Teddy Grahams, Air Crisps, Better Cheddars, Cheese Nips, Doo Dad, Flavor Crisps, Harvest Crisps, Ritz, Stoned Wheat Thins, Triscuit, Uneeda, Zwieback, Balance brands, Planters, Corn Nuts, Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme, Kraft Caramels, Toblerone, Claussen Pickles, Alpha-Bits, Banana Nut Crunch, Blueberry Morning, Bran Flakes, Cranberry Almond Crunch, Shredded Wheat, Fruit and Fibre, Golden Crisp, Grape-Nuts, Honeycomb, Raisin Bran, Sugar-Crisp, Good Seasons salad dressing, Seven Seas salad dressing, Miracle Whip, A1 sauce, Shake ‘n Bake. |
$1,264,435 | 65% to GOP |
| UST Inc. Wines: Chateau Ste Michelle, Columbia Crest, Col Solare, Conn Creek, Distant Bay, Domaine St Michelle, 14 Hands, Northstar, Red Diamond, Saint M, Snoqualmie, Stimson Estate Cellars, Villa Mt Eden, Boonaroo, Spring Valley Vineyard, Antinori; see also Tobacco Products. |
$531,500 | 86% to GOP |
| Dean Foods Alta Dena, Barbe’s, Barber’s, Berkeley Farms, Brown’s Dairy, Country Fresh, Creamland, Dairy Ease, Dean’s, Gandy’s, Garelick Farms, Hershey’s Milks and Milkshakes, Horizon Organic, International Delight, LAND O LAKES, Lehigh Valley Dairy Farms, Louis Trauth, Mayfield Dairy, McArthur Dairy, Meadow Brook Dairy, Meadow Gold, Melody Farms, Mountain High Yoghurt, Oak Farms Dairy, Organic Cow of Vermont, PET Dairy, Price’s Creameries, Purity Dairies, Rachel’s Organic, Reiter Dairy, Robinson Dairy, Schepps Dairy, Silk Soymilk, Stroh’s, T.G. Lee Dairy, TofuTown. |
$523,400 | 71% to GOP |
| PepsiCo Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi ONE, Mountain Dew, Code Red, LiveWire, MDX, AMP, Mug Root Beer, Mirinda Orange, Sierra Mist, Tropicana drinks and juices, Frappuccino, Starbucks DoubleShot, Aquafina, Lipton, SoBe, Quaker Milk Chillers, Baked!, Cheetos, Cracker Jack, Doritos, Fritos, Funyuns, Gamesa Cookies, Lay’s Potato, Oh Boy! Oberta Meat Snacks, Rold Gold Pretzels, Ruffles, Sabritones, Tostitos, Sun Chips, Cap’n Crunch, Life Cereal, Quisp, Mother’s Natural Foods, Kretschmer Wheat Germ, Aunt Jemima, Rice-A-Roni. |
$376,392 | 70% to GOP |
| Pilgrim’s Pride Poultry, eggs, deli products. |
$351,400 | 100% to GOP |
| Flowers Foods Nature’s Own, Cobblestone Mill, Sunbeam Bread, Bunny Bread, ButterKrust, European Bakers, BlueBird, Mrs. Freshley’s, Mi Casa, Tesoritos. |
$182,950 | 100% to GOP |
| Smithfield Foods Meats: Smithfield, John Morrell, Kretschmar, E-Z Cut, Dinner Bell, Rath Black Hawk, Rodeo, Hunter, Peyton’s, Tobin’s First Prize, Farmland, Roegelein, OhSe, Patrick Cudahy, La Abuelita, Pavone, Ember Farms, Cook’s, Stefano Foods, Butterball, Gwaltney. |
$166,360 | 86% to GOP |
| Swift & Company Beef and pork supplier. |
$138,750 | 75% to GOP |
| ConAgra Act II Popcorn, Andy Capp’s, Angela Mia, Award, Banquet, Big Mama Sausage, Blue Bonnet, Brown ‘N Serve, Chef Boyardee, Crunch ‘n Munch, DAVID, Dennison’s, Egg Beaters, Fernando’s, Firecracker, Fleischmann’s, Gebhardt, Gilardi Foods, Gilroy, Gulden’s, Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt’s Snack Pack, J. Hungerford Smith, Jiffy Pop, Kid Cuisine, Knott’s Berry Farm, La Choy, Lamb Weston, Lamb Weston Inland Valley, Libby’s, Luck’s, Manwich, Marie Callender’s, Move Over Butter, Orville Redenbacher’s, PAM, Parkay, Patio, Pemmican, Penrose, Peter Pan, Ranch Style, Reddi-wip, Ro*Tel, Rosarita, Slim Jim, Squeeze ‘N Go, Swiss Miss, The Max, Van Camp’s, Wesson, Wolf. |
$123,000 | 82% to GOP |
| A&R Foods | $119,600 | 98% to GOP |
| HJ Heinz Bagel Bites, Boston Market, Catelli, Classico, Delimex, Farley’s, Greenseas, Guloso, Heinz Ketchup, Heinz Vinegar, HP Sauce, Heinz 57, Jack Daniel’s Sauces and Marinades, Lea & Perrins, Nancy’s, Ne-nerina, Olivine, Ore-Ida, Orlando, Plasmon, Polly Mi Chica, Polly Rice Flour, Smart Ones, tinytums, T.G.I. Friday’s, Wattie’s, Weight Watchers Foods, Wyler’s. |
$105,898 | 74% to GOP |
| United Dairy Farmers Homemade Brand ice cream, Premium Homemade ice cream and yogurt |
$168,400 | 100% to GOP |
| E&J Gallo Winery Gallo wines, Bridlewood Estate, Frei Brothers, Indigo Hills, Louis M. Martini, MacMurray Ranch, Turning Leaf, Bella Sera, Black Swan, DaVinci, Ecco Domani, Red Bicyclette, Whitehaven, Carlo Rossi, Livingston Cellars, Peter Vella, Wild Vines, Burlwood, Copperidge, Liberty Creek, William Wycliff Vineyards. |
$175,120 | 94% to Dems |
| Southern Wine & Spirits | $176,250 | 77% to Dems |
| Charmer Sunbelt Group | $110,850 | 95% to Dems |
| Astrale e Terra Winery | $100,400 | 100% to Dems |
| TOBACCO COMPANIES | ||
| Corporation & products | Total contributed | Percentage contributed |
| Altria Group Philip Morris products: Apollo Soyuz, Bond Street, Caro, Chesterfield, Diana, F 6, L&M, Lark, Longbeach, Marlboro, Merit, Multifilter, Muratti, Optima, Parliament, Peter Jackson, Petra, Philip Morris, Polyot, Red & White, SG, Start, Vatra, Virginia Slims. |
$1,288,703 | 65% to GOP |
| Reynolds American Cigarettes: Camel, Kool, Winston, Salem, Doral, Pall Mall, Barclay, Belair, Capri, Carlton, GPC, Lucky Strike, Misty, Monarch, More, Now, Tareyton, Vantage, Viceroy, American Spirit. Smokeless tobacco: H.B. Scott’s Private Blend, Morgan’s, Levi Garrett, Peachey, Taylor’s Pride, Union Workman. |
$860,000 | 86% to GOP |
| UST Inc. Smokeless Tobacco: Copenhagen, Skoal, Rooster, Red Seal, Husky, Skoal Bandit. |
$575,900 | 85% to GOP |
| Loews Corporation Holding company for: CNA Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, Lorillard, Inc. products (Newport, Kent, True, Maverick, Old Gold), Texas Gas Transmission Company, Gulf South Pipeline, Loews Hotels, Bulova. |
$235,250 | 87% to GOP |
| Vector Group Liggett Select, Eve, Grand Prix, Quest, Jade, Pyramid, USA, Tourney, Tourney |
$110,100 | 84% to Dems |
| BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS | ||
| Corporation & products | Total contributed | Percentage contributed |
| National Beer Wholesalers Assn. | $3,064,250 | 69% to GOP |
| Nat’l Fedn of Independent Business | $897,431 | 90% to GOP |
| National Assn of Convenience Stores | $811,332 | 78% to GOP |
| Wine and Spirits Wholesalers | $665,858 | 69% to GOP |
| National Cattleman’s Beef Assn. | $386,294 | 76% to GOP |
| Food Marketing Institute | $343,071 | 89% to GOP |
| Internat’l Franchise Assn. | $338,500 | 87% to GOP |
| Hardwood Federation | $313,969 | 79% to GOP |
| U.S. Chamber of Commerce | $231,440 | 80% to GOP |
| American Meat Institute | $231,234 | 81% to GOP |
| American Forest & Paper Assn. | $218,171 | 88% to GOP |
| National Pork Producers Assn. | $178,801 | 75% to GOP |
| Nat’l Assn. of Chain Drugstores | $175,355 | 65% to GOP |
| RETAIL STORES | ||
| Corporation & products | Total contributed | Percentage contributed |
| Wal-Mart Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club. |
$1,427,026 | 71% to GOP |
| The Home Depot | $820,060 | 74% to GOP |
| Target Corporation | $482,888 | 74% to GOP |
| Amway/Alticor Inc. | $301,050 | 100% to GOP |
| Limited Brands Victoria’s Secret, Express, Bath & Body Works, The Limited, C.O. Bigelow, The White Barn Candle Company, Henri Bendel. |
$277,000 | 68% to GOP |
| National Retail Federation | $211,150 | 79% to GOP |
| JCPenney | $180,650 | 84% to GOP |
| Best Buy | $130,300 | 88% to GOP |
| Federated Dept Stores Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s. |
$103,913 | 76% to GOP |
| Walgreen Company | $125,501 | 64% to GOP |
| Gap Inc. Gap, Old Navy, Forth and Towne, Piperlime. |
$216,939 | 74% to Dems |
| Costco Wholesale | $148,396 | 85% to Dems |
| Barnes & Noble | $129,680 | 81% to Dems |
| RESTAURANTS | ||
| Corporation & products | Total contributed | Percentage contributed |
| National Restaurant Assn. | $1,649,546 | 69% to GOP |
| Outback Steakhouse Carrabba’s, Roy’s, Bonefish Grill, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, Lee Roy Selmon’s, Cheeseburger In Paradise, Blue Coral Seafood & Spirits. |
$595,864 | 95% to GOP |
| Darden Restaurants Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Smokey Bones, Bahama Breeze. |
$265,629 | 75% to GOP |
| Wendy’s International | $241,250 | 85% to GOP |
| McDonald’s McDonald’s, Chipolte Mexican Grill, Aroma Café, Boston Market. |
$229,440 | 85% to GOP |
| Brinker International Chili’s, On The Border, Maggiano’s Little Italy, Romano’s Macaroni Grill. |
$124,900 | 86% to GOP |
| American Beverage Assn. | $115,607 | 78% to GOP |
| Pizza Hut Fran. Assn. | $106,500 | 93% to GOP |
| Ladex Corp. Canned fruits and vegetables. |
$102,300 | 66% to GOP |
| Yum! Brands Inc. Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC, A&W All American Foods. |
$95,550 | 83% to GOP |
| Riese Organization Times Square Grill, Lindy’s, Martini’s, Knot Just Pretzels, Roy Rogers, Nathan’s Famous, T.G.I. Friday’s, Charley O’s. |
$90,300 | 100% to Dems |
| AGRIBUSINESS | ||
| Corporation & products | Total contributed | Percentage contributed |
| Deere & Company Tractors and farm equipment. |
$457,800 | 84% to GOP |
| Weyerhaeuser Company | $452,826 | 77% to GOP |
| International Paper Paper brands: Accent, Great White, Hammermill, Springhill, Williamsburg. |
$389,549 | 89% to GOP |
| California Dairies, Inc. | $379,500 | 82% to GOP |
| Pfizer, Inc. | $156,500 | 65% to GOP |
| American Proteins, Inc. | $128,593 | 100% to GOP |
| Albertsons | $225,000 | 73% to GOP |
| Syngenta Corporation | $117,250 | 71% to GOP |
| Schnucks | $143,735 | 100% to GOP |
| Scotts Miracle-Gro | $135,778 | 98% to GOP |
| Peace River Citrus Products, Inc. | $117,560 | 95% to GOP |
| Centric Group | $160,200 | 100% to GOP |
| Swift & Company | $138,750 | 75% to GOP |
| Publix Super Markets | $137,820 | 88% to GOP |
| Georgia-Pacific Dixie brand paper products and plastic cutlery, Spectrum paper, Georgia Pacifica and Advantage brand office paper and ink cartridges, various commercial paper products. |
$212,550 | 70% to GOP |
| Plum Creek Hollow Farm | $100,100 | 93% to Dems |
| Flo-Sun Inc. Sugar. |
$411,240 | 65% to Dems |
| Connell Company Rice and sugar. |
$354,000 | 97% to Dems |
| Florida Sugar Cane League | $211,922 | 65% to Dems |