Which really surprises me, because Republicans have been saying they’re the Free Speech party.
Delta airlines has decided to cut back on its association with the NRA. Not completely; Delta isn’t denouncing the NRA or the Second Amendment. But it’s decided to not donate money to the NRA. At least for a while.
Lt Governor Casey Cagle (R) is having none of that. He has publicly said that if Delta doesn’t resume its support of the NRA, he will retaliate against the airline by cutting some of their tax breaks: “I will kill any tax legislation that benefits @Delta unless the company changes its position and fully reinstates its relationship with @NRA. Corporations cannot attack conservatives and expect us not to fight back.”
This obviously is a First Amendment issue because another thing Republicans have constantly been telling us is that money is protected speech. So Cagle is telling a private corporation who it must donate money to, which is a government official dictating speech. And threatening them with his power as an elected official if they don’t say what he wants them to say.
I guess it’s the Colin Kaepernick rule at work: Freedom of Speech only protects you when you’re backing conservative views.
Maybe Delta should announce that its decision to not donate money to the NRA is an artistic expression.
Not really surprised at the sentiment of the governor. But isn’t what he is doing illegal? Using his office to force a private company to support his cause?
The tax break itself was merely a reward for Delta supporting conservative causes. As soon as Delta announced their ending NRA support, conservatives from all over the state immediately started calling on the state senate (which hasn’t passed the jet fuel tax break yet) to reject the bill.
So much for “small government” and the “free market” :rolleyes:.
Why act surprised that a Republican is opposed to the freedom of speech? The head of that party is on the record saying he’d silence journalists if he could.
So Cagle is going to use tax laws as a weapon against the right to donate as you choose - as a private entity - which is one of the selling points behnd Citizens United (wasn’t it?).
Abuse of power? Extortion? Suppression of free expression? Fascism?
Fuck Cagle. That airline, and all OTHER companies should heavily donate (under Citizens United) to ANYone who EVER runs against him in the future.
That is so utterly pathetic, but I have come to expect this kind of boorish, unconstitutional behavior from our current crop of Republicans.
Sickening!
I’m not sure the Lt Governor has the kind of power he thinks he has. Is the Lt Governor of Georgia as lame as the Vice President? As I understand it, the Vice President’s responsibilities are to break ties in the Senate and have a pulse.
Other than being ethically suspect, this is just plain stupid. Delta is the biggest private employer in Georgia. If they decide that a city other than Atlanta would make a good hub, they’re taking a huge chunk of Georgia’s economy with them.
That is a very expensive proposition. That standard to be applied is subtle and indirect hints, escalated to clear insinuations, then threats, then cave.
Not saying “that’s a nice airport you have there, be a shame if something happened to it” isn’t an interesting negotiating strategy, but Delta built up their Atlanta hub over a long time - I’d imagine it would take a long time for another airport to ramp up to take over that load of traffic.
Cagle is a jackass, and his motivation here is contemptible.
On a more general level, however, I’d be quite happy if they decided to stomp on this tax break. The willingness of state and local governments to hand out massive tax breaks to large corporations is part of what is wrong with government in America, and that’s especially the case when the breaks are targeted to benefit specific corporations.
As a practical matter, this looks like something that would involve relocating a major hub. Do either LaGuardia or JFK have the infrastructure in place to accommodate such a move, or would they need to put the screws to other carriers in order to accomplish it?
Fortunately, the US International Trade Commission overruled the tariff as unfair and idiotic, to the accompaniment of whiny Trumpian bleating. I’m sure Delta was pleased but may not have been able to respond due to not having the right to speak against Republicans.
They have other hubs - including the one I live in which was a Northwestern hub pre-merger. They have LOTS of employees in the Twin Cities yet as well. JFK was a Pan Am hub before Delta bought them. St. Louis doesn’t have a major hub right now - they were a TWA hub.
They can move the corporate office and put emphasis on other hubs they have, while expanding hub capability into states that will give them tax breaks.
They probably won’t, but lets not pretend like they are tied to Atlanta too closely.
I wonder what would happen if the airline held a press conference, announced they were leaving Georgia altogether, and then gave the official reason as “Fuck Cagle”. It won’t happen, but it would be fun to watch.
