What happened to those corporate promises to stop funding election deniers?

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     January 5, 2023 The second anniversary of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol is fast approaching, giving way to inevitable reflections on the state of American politics two years after a violent mob attempted to overthrow democracy. Personally, any assessment I'd have on the health of the US would greatly depend on my mood. On a good day, I'd recall that election deniers were among the [biggest losers]( in the November midterms. Watching the [current mess in the House](, however, I'd probably tell you that the idiots have won; we are doomed. But hard numbers aren't affected by moody newsletter writers. In fact, they appear to tell a familiar story. [As my colleague Tim Murphy writes today](: Many of America’s largest companies have long since moved on. In the first national election since a sitting president tried to overturn the popular will, some of the country’s biggest brands showered election deniers with millions of dollars in donations via their political action committees. In the days after the insurrection, dozens of companies told [Popular Information]( and other outlets that they were pausing or reconsidering their political donations. Hallmark, which had donated to Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) in the past, singled him out by name in its statement condemning the attack. Big-pocketed corporations such as Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Comcast, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and AT&T promised to suspend all contributions to members of Congress who voted against certifying the results either temporarily or for the entire 2022 cycle. But not only did each of those six companies eventually turn the spigot back on, they all ended up writing checks to help reelect Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.)—a leading opponent of certification whose own chief of staff [attempted]( to distribute a fake slate of electors on the day of the insurrection, according to the January 6 committee. Capitalism's biggest titans loudly pledging to do the moral thing, only to quickly resume business as normal? Sure sounds like an American story to me! —Inae Oh Advertisement [Icarus Films, Inc.]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [Corporate America Condemned the January 6 Riot—Then Went Right Back to Funding Election Deniers]( Two years later, it's business as usual for many of the companies that vowed to suspend donations to stop-the-stealers. BY TIM MURPHY [Fiercely Independent] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( [Trending] [New York teams up with the feds to sue subprime auto king]( BY MICHAEL MECHANIC   [Record heat has turned Europe's ski season into a slushfest]( BY JON HENLEY   [What the January 6 committee missed]( BY DAN FRIEDMAN   [Amid fresh new Trump attacks, Biden will honor Georgia election workers]( BY ARIANNA COGHILL Advertisement [Icarus Films, Inc.]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [Heavier storms are here. Rain gardens can help.]( At the most basic level, they function like sponges. BY JACKIE FLYNN MOGENSEN Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755