Keep Your Walgreens
I’ll Take CVS Any Day
The next time you stop at your friendly, neighborhood Walgreens to pick up a prescription for prostate health pills or some multi vitamins for men, you might want to think twice and instead, patronize the area CVS.
That is if you don’t want to support a company that reneged on a promise after the Jan. 6, 2020, insurrection and have contributed to some of the 147 GOP members of the so-called congressional “Sedition Caucus,” who voted to overturn the election of Joe Biden as president, claiming unsubstantiated voter fraud. Prior to the insurrection, trump urged thousands of followers to storm the Capitol and in the mayhem that followed, nearly 140 law enforcement were assaulted, one was killed and four more police would die by suicide in coming months and hundreds were arrested.
Soon after the violent insurrection, Walgreens announced, “Walgreens holds in high regard the role of government and the peaceful transition of power that is core to our democracy. As such, our political action committee suspended contributions to members of Congress who voted to object [to] the certification of U.S. electoral college votes.”
That promise didn’t last very long.
Walgreens donated $25,500 to 11 members of the Sedition Caucus in November 2021, breaking the pledge they made after Jan. 6, to indefinitely suspend contributions to members of Congress who objected to the election certification, according to a review by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a non-partisan watchdog group.
The biggest beneficiaries from Walgreens were the Republican powers, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve Scalise, at $5,000 each. Other recipients included representatives Greg Steube, Markwayne Mullin, Tom Rice, Ron Estes, Neal Dunn, Buddy Carter, Richard Hudson, Jackie Walorski and the leadership PAC of Rep. Elise Stefanik. In December, Walgreens gave Rep. Diana Harshbarger $1,000. Rice apologized for his vote in December, but after Walgreens had already made the contribution.
Here’s a bit about those who benefited by Walgreen’s shady dealings.
Steube represents Florida’s 17th congressional district. In December 2020, Steube was one of 126 Republican members of congress who signed an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the U.S. Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election. The high court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing to challenge the results of an election held by another state.
Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., called for Speaker Nancy Pelosi to not seat Steube and the other Republicans who signed the brief supporting the suit. Pascrell said that “the text of the 14th Amendment expressly forbids Members of Congress from engaging in rebellion against the United States. Trying to overturn a democratic election and install a dictator seems like a pretty clear example of that.”
In June 2021, Steube was among 21 House Republicans who voted against presenting the Congressional Gold Medal to police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Mullin, who represents Oklahoma’s 2nd congressional district, is one of four Native Americans in Congress and is a former professional mixed martial arts fighter. Mullin also signed on to the amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania to overturn Biden’s election and bring trump back to the White House.
Rice Jr. represents South Carolina’s 7th congressional district. Rice was one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach trump in the the second impeachment. In response, he was censured by the South Carolina Republican Party and later joined in the amicus brief to overturn Biden’s election. Rice also was one of 35 Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to approve creation of a commission to investigate the storming of the Capitol.
Estes represents Kansas’s 4th congressional district and also signed the amicus brief to deny Biden the presidency.
Dunn is a surgeon who represents Florida’s 2nd congressional district. After the Capitol attacks, Dunn condemned the rioters but still objected to the certification of electoral votes to keep trump in power. He also signed the amicus brief, has received the highest rating from the NRA and is against banning semi-automatic weapons.
Carter represents Georgia’s 1st congressional district. Carter owns three pharmacies and in March 2014, while a member of the Georgia State House, he sponsored a bill to increase reimbursement rates for pharmacies in Georgia. Carter voted against certifying the 2020 presidential and said he had no regrets and that it will be “a cold day in hell” before he apologizes for his vote.
Hudson Jr. represents North Carolina’s 8th congressional district and was a staunch trumper. His wife, Renee, was chief of staff for Kellyanne Conway, the former top aide to trump who famously referred to trump’s lies as “alternative facts.”
Hudson Jr. signed the amicus brief was one of the 147 Republican lawmakers who objected to the certification of electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election.
Walorski represents Indiana’s 2nd congressional district and also was a strong trumper. She signed on to the amicus brief and was targeted by Pascrell for “engaging in rebellion against the United States.” She lives in Jimtown, outside of Elkhart, Ind., and is a member of South Gate Church, an Assemblies of God megachurch in South Bend.
Stefanik represents New York’s 21st congressional district and is chair of the House Republican Conference, making her the third-ranking House Republican. She was a strong trumper, defending him during his 2019 impeachment amid the Trump–Ukraine scandal. She also backed trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, objecting to Pennsylvania’s electoral votes, and charged that Pelosi was responsible for the Jan. 6 attack.
Stefanik voted against establishing a Jan. 6 commission and called trump the “strongest supporter of any president when it comes to standing up for the Constitution.” She also has promoted the conspiracy theories about a “a stolen election.”
Harshbarger is a pharmacist who represents Tennessee’s 1st congressional district. She has been criticized for her alleged involvement with American Inhalation Medication Specialists (AIMS), a business her husband, Robert, ran that sold mislabeled pharmaceuticals from China. In 2013 Mr. Harshbarger pleaded guilty to fraud charges related to the company and was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison, in addition to over $800,000 in restitution and over $400,000 in asset forfeiture. Harshberger voted against certifying the results of the 2020 Presidential election, based on false claims of voter fraud.
Walgreens is the latest in a line of mega corporations that have gone back on their commitment to end contributions after the foiled attempt at insurrection by trumpers. CREW reported that since the abortive insurrection, 717 corporations and industry groups have funneled more than $18 million to the re-election of members of Congress who objected to the 2020 presidential election results and the party committees supporting them.
Top corporate donors to those who claimed the election was rigged include Boeing ($346,500), Koch Industries ($308,000), American Crystal Sugar ($285,000), General Dynamics ($233,500) and Valero Energy ($207,500).
Toyota called the Jan. 6 attack “horrific” and within a month of the riot, contributed $9,000 to nine Sedition Caucus member. Cigna and AT&T also resumed giving to seditionists within two months of the riot, with AT&T also contributing to both GOP party committees.
After the attack, Aflac, Ford Motors, and Valero Energy pledged to pause donations and have since contributed more than $300,000 to seditionists and their party committees.
The eight Republican senators who voted to reject electoral votes in various states and are part of the Sedition Caucus, include:
Ted Cruz, Texas; Josh Hawley, Missouri; Cindy Hyde-Smith, Mississippi; John Neely Kennedy, Louisiana; Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming; Roger Marshall, Kansas; Rick Scott, Florida; and Tommy Tuberville, Alabama.
The 139 Republican members of the House of Representatives who voted against certifying electoral votes and are part of the sedition caucus include:
From Alabama: Robert Aderholt, Mo Brooks, Barry Moore, Gary Palmer and Mike Rogers.
From Arizona: Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, Debbie Lesko, David Schweikert and Rick Crawford.
From California: Ken Calvert, Mike Garcia, Darrell, Doug LaMalfa, Kevin McCarthy, Devin Nunes and Jay Obernolte.
From Colorado: Lauren Boebert and Doug Lamborn.
From Florida: Kat Cammack, Mario Diaz-Balart, Byron Donalds, Neal Dunn, Scott Franklin, Matt Gaetz, Carlos A. Giménez, Brian Mast, Bill Posey, John Rutherford, Greg Steube and Daniel Webster.
From Georgia: Rick W. Allen, Buddy Carter, Andrew Clyde, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Jody Hice and Barry Loudermilk.
From Illinois: Mike Bost and Mary Miller.
From Indiana: Russ Fulcher, Jim Baird, Jim Banks, Greg Pence and Jackie Walorski.
From Kansas: Ron Estes, Jacob LaTurner and Tracey Mann.
From Kentucky: Hal Rogers.
From Louisiana: Garret Graves, Clay Higgins, Mike Johnson and Steve Scalise.
From Maryland: Andy Harris.
From Michigan: Jack Bergman, Lisa McClain and Tim Walberg. From Minnesota: Michelle Fischbach and Jim Hagedorn.
From Mississippi: Michael Guest, Trent Kelly and Steven Palazzo.
From Missouri: Sam Graves, Vicky Hartzler, Billy Long, Blaine Luetkemeyer and Jason Smith.
From Montana: Matt Rosendale.
From Nebraska: Adrian Smith.
From North Carolina: Dan Bishop, Ted Budd, Madison Cawthorn, Virginia Foxx, Richard Hudson, Greg Murphy and David Rouzer.
From New Jersey: Jeff Van Drew.
From New Mexico: Yvette Herrell.
From New York: Chris Jacobs, Nicole Malliotakis, Elise Stefanik and Lee Zeldin.
From Ohio: Steve Chabot, Warren Davidson, Bob Gibbs, Bill Johnson and Jim Jordan.
From Oklahoma: Stephanie Bice, Tom Cole, Kevin Hern, Frank Lucas and Markwayne Mullin.
From Oregon: Cliff Bentz.
From Pennsylvania: John Joyce, Fred Keller, Mike Kelly, Daniel Meuser, Scott Perry, Guy Reschenthaler, Lloyd Smucker and Glenn Thompson.
From South Carolina: Jeff Duncan, Ralph Norman, Tom Rice, William Timmons and Joe Wilson.
From Tennessee: Tim Burchett, Scott DesJarlais, Chuck Fleischmann, Mark E. Green, Diana Harshbarger, David Kustoff and John Rose.
From Texas: Jodey Arrington, Brian Babin, Michael C. Burgess, John Carter, Michael Cloud, Pat Fallon, Louie Gohmert, Lance Gooden, Ronny Jackson, Troy Nehls, August Pfluger, Pete Sessions, Beth Van Duyne, Randy Weber, Roger Williams and Ron Wright.
From Utah: Burgess Owens and Chris Stewart.
From Virginia: Ben Cline, Bob Good, Morgan Griffith and Robert J. Wittman.
From West Virginia: Carol Miller and Alexander Mooney.
From Wisconsin: Scott L. Fitzgerald and Tom Tiffany.