华盛顿——参议院共和党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔(Mitch McConnell)周二表示，企业公开反对佐治亚州投票法是“相当愚蠢的”，他加大了对大企业的警告，要求它们在国会深入研究乔·拜登总统的基础设施一揽子计划和其他决定性问题时下台。
这位共和党领袖在肯塔基州发表讲话时说，公司仍然可以参与政治进程，并自由地为政治运动做出贡献。但是当立法者在重大问题上绞尽脑汁时，他警告首席执行官们不要发表这样的公开声明达美航空公司可口可乐和美国职业棒球大联盟反对佐治亚州新的更严格的投票法。
“在一个极具争议的问题中间跳来跳去是非常愚蠢的，”他告诉记者。
“共和党人也喝可口可乐，我们坐飞机，我们喜欢棒球，”他说。“这让很多共和党粉丝非常恼火。”
这位典型的保守的共和党领导人丰富多彩的语言显示了该党在后特朗普时代面临的困境。许多特朗普式的立法者正在对抗大企业，更倾向于前总统倡导的民粹主义、工人阶级主题——尽管他们依赖财力雄厚的企业捐助者来推动他们的政治运动。
通过介入这场辩论，麦康奈尔将自己置于新兴文化战争的对立面，这些进步团体向商界施压，要求他们不要在投票权、枪支暴力和其他重大问题上沉默不语。
随着拜登的2.3万亿美元基础设施一揽子计划和其他优先事项走向投票，国会将在其中许多战斗中占据中心位置，特别是参议院。
“他们有权参与政治进程，”麦康奈尔告诉记者。但他说，“如果我经营一家大公司，我会远离政治。”
McConnell warns biz off political speech, says it's 'stupid'
WASHINGTON -- Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday it's "quite stupid” for corporations to speak out against the Georgia voting law, intensifying his warnings for big business to stand down as Congress delves into President Joe Biden's infrastructure package and other defining issues.
Speaking in Kentucky, the GOP leader said companies still can participate in the political process and give freely to political campaigns. But as lawmakers wrestle with big issues, he warned CEOs off the kinds of public statements made byDelta Air Lines, Coca-Cola and Major League Baseball in opposition to Georgia's new, more restrictive voting law.
“It's quite stupid to jump in the middle of a highly controversial issue,” he told reporters.
“Republicans drink Coca-Cola too, and we fly and we like baseball,” he said. “It’s irritating one hell of a lot of Republican fans."
The colorful language from the typically reserved Republican leader shows the dilemma ahead for the party in the post-Trump era. Many Trump-styled lawmakers are bucking big business and leaning more heavily into the populist, working-class themes championed by the former president — even as they rely on deep-pocketed business donors to fuel their political campaigns.
By wading into the debate, McConnell is situating himself in the emerging culture wars on the opposite side of progressive groups that are pressuring business not to sit by silently on voting rights, gun violence and other big issues before Congress.
Congress will take center stage in many of these battles, the Senate in particular, as Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure package and other priorities head for votes.
“They have the right to participate in the political process,” McConnell told reporters. But he said, “If I were running a major corporation, I'd stay out of politics.”
