ELECTION: Where Are All the Owners Directing Their Employees How to Vote?
October 10, 2016
Trump, Trump, Trump...
I had this topic on my list of things to get to before the latest Donald Trump vulgarity broke last Friday. Trump's a pig, and we've known that for some time. If he's not dead now after disclosing his strategy to grab women in various ways, he'll never be dead.
But back to the topic of this post. In 2008 and 2012, we had a trend we don't see today - namely, business founders and owners of the GOP faith were writing memos and holding captive meetings to encourage their employee bases to vote. For the most part, they were not only encouraging them to vote GOP, but also letting their employees know that if the Democrat candidate were elected, jobs were at risk due to the cost structure that would cause (Obamacare, etc.)
Today - before the latest Trump news broke that surely cemented his demise - it's interesting to note that we have seen few of these articles around in 2016. It's not like GOP business owners have disappeared or they are any less likely to pressure their workforces to vote in a way that benefits them - it's that the GOP has presented a candidate so distasteful that the most vocal segment of the GOP base has remained silent.
I like the fact that we live in a country where business owners can actively talk to their employees about what they value.
The fact that those business owners are silent now tells you how much trouble the GOP is actually in. To the HR pros that are reading this, you get a break. The crazy founder of your business doesn't want to message the employee base because his/her gut told them not to rep Trump. Good instincts - that's why they are who they are.
I'm writing this as a moderate Republican. Good luck to the GOP senate and house candidates trying to get elected - with your base silent, you're going to need it.
Comments