By ED MORRISSEY I Hot Air
When does no change constitute big news?
When a major corporation delivers
a firm riposte to the Politicization Of All Things, even
if that delivery didn’t absolutely positively get there overnight.
After a
number of companies cut ties with National Rifle Association members by
eliminating discounts, Memphis-based FedEx announced today that it also opposes
the NRA’s policy positions.
However, the carrier refuses to change its discount
policies, saying they value their customers for more than just their politics.
Here’s the statement in its entirety, all two paragraphs
of it. NRA members won’t like Paragraph 1:
FedEx
Corporation’s positions on the issues of gun policy and safety differ from those
of the National Rifle Association (NRA). FedEx opposes assault rifles
being in the hands of civilians. While we strongly support the
constitutional right of U.S. citizens to own firearms subject to appropriate
background checks, FedEx views assault rifles and large capacity magazines as
an inherent potential danger to schools, workplaces, and communities when such
weapons are misused. We therefore support restricting them to the
military. Most important, FedEx believes urgent action is required at the
local, state, and Federal level to protect schools and students from incidents
such as the horrific tragedy in Florida on February 14th.
However, gun-control advocates won’t like Paragraph 2:
FedEx
is a common carrier under Federal law and therefore does not and will not deny
service or discriminate against any legal entity regardless of their policy
positions or political views. The NRA is one of hundreds of organizations
in our alliances/association Marketing program whose members receive discounted
rates for FedEx shipping. FedEx has never set or changed rates for any of
our millions of customers around the world in response to their politics,
beliefs or positions on issues.
Maybe both sides can call this a wash.
FedEx wants an
“assault rifles” ban, but doesn’t actually provide any clarity on what makes a
rifle an “assault rifle.”
The original ban didn’t do much better, opting
instead for arbitrary choices that nevertheless didn’t have any real impact on
crimes involving long guns, which continued to decline long after the ban
expired.
They also want large capacity magazines banned — some states have done
this already — without explaining what capacity makes them “large,” and why
their misuse is somehow more deadly than the misuse of other magazines. Perhaps
it would be better to focus on the misuse, no?
Still, even with all of those caveats (or perhaps better
described as virtue signaling), FedEx refuses to dump its NRA discount program
just to satisfy political activists.
That’s laudable, and surprising,
too.
How often do customers invoke the NRA discount?
I’ve been a member
for several years and never knew it existed, nor was I aware of other such
discounts for rental cars, hotels, and so on.
If FedEx closed up its discount
program without mentioning it, it might have been the proverbial tree in the
unattended forest.
That makes their public position on keeping the program even
more impressive.
That’s not the only pushback on the NRA-discount front
today, either.
Georgia lieutenant governor Casey Cagle, running for governor in
November, says he’ll block Delta Airlines’ attempts to restore a key tax break
as retribution for their cancellation of an NRA discount:
_______________
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.
______________
Georgia
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle (R) said Monday he would block any tax legislation that
benefits Delta Airlines after the company ended its discount program for
National Rifle Association (NRA) members. …
Delta,
which is headquartered in Atlanta, is reportedly seeking state approval to
restore a sizable fuel tax break that expired several years ago.
The
airline is one of several national corporations to end business partnerships
with the NRA in recent days following a mass shooting at a Florida high school.
Cagle,
who is running for governor this year, issued a statement accusing those
companies of “viewpoint discrimination against conservatives and law-abiding
gun owners.”
Perhaps a better question is why that tax break existed
at all, a question which could lead to a truly conservative approach to
taxation by eliminating all such breaks and charging taxes on a flat rate for
all businesses and individuals.
It’s hardly conservative to conduct social
engineering via the tax code or by threatening legislation no matter which direction
that social engineering takes.
Although most conservatives will cheer this
particular threat from Cagle, it’s yet another demonstration of the crony
capitalism that our tax and regulatory system perpetuate.
And yet, it’s tough not to cheer Cagle’s
statement.
The media and corporate worlds have gone far overboard into
“othering” millions of lawful gun owners who have nothing to do with mass
shootings, both inside the NRA and outside of it.
Punching back twice as hard
sounds pretty attractive after the hysteria and hatred unleashed over the last
few days.
That’s why FedEx’s example of engagement and inclusion deserves to be
highlighted and praised.
A READER’S COMMENTS:
M Scott Eiland · Maybe Delta should have
been clever enough to make sure its taxpayer funded goodies were secured before
commencing economic warfare on Americans exercising their First and Second
Amendment rights.
