We have all seen Jesse Jackson and other liberal activists use investor rights and the shareholder process and to advance their agenda. Instead of being left alone to innovate and grow, many large American corporations are spending time and treasure to defend against increasingly outrageous leftist advocacy efforts. Some political activists operating under the banners of "Corporate Social Responsibility" (CSR) and "Socially Responsible Investing" (SRI) are using the very tools of corporate governance to further an anti-capitalist program. These radical activists target law-abiding corporations with threats of boycott, negative publicity, litigation, and product disparagement unless their demands are met. Those demands are often payments to other left-wing advocacy groups. These tactics threaten American business competitiveness and the interests of millions of U.S. investors. But too often, corporate leaders bow to the threat of bad press and pressure from these liberal insiders. For an example, check out the Citigroup Environment grants page. Where are the free market environmental environmental groups? This is not even close to balanced, and some of these groups are extremely radical socialists. Rainforest Action Network (RAN), in particular, is extremely hostile to economic progress. So why are Citigroup shareholders funding RAN, a group that suggests that Ford Motor Company is killing people?
