If you are a liberal (like me), you might be interested in knowing what the 10 most conservative companies in America are, so you know whom to hate, to protest against, to blame for everything that’s wrong with the world, etc. We also did a list of the 10 most liberal companies in the US for you to hate on (and to show we aren’t biased, even if I am) in case you think that liberals are Nazis and that food tastes better if you say thank you to a deity beforehand. Amen.
With the recent changes in the world’s political landscape, the differences between liberal and conservative ideologies have amplified and a war (of words, on the internet) is raging. Or, maybe the increased popularity of social media, which allows people to safely rant whilst hiding behind their virtual profiles, has put this conflict in the spotlight.
So, the differences in political views and the accessibility of the internet, which connects people from both sides of the aisle, led to the creation of tens (or maybe hundreds) of lists with companies that conservatives and liberals should boycott or support, depending on those companies’ perceptions as being liberal or conservative. Fortune, which releases an annual list of the 500 largest companies in America, contracted SurveyMonkey to conduct a poll and identify how those companies are viewed by liberals, moderates, and conservatives. What’s interesting is that, while the list included many differences, there were also similarities. For example, both liberals and conservatives like Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) (who doesn’t?), Alphabet, Walt Disney, and Microsoft. On the other hand, the poll also showed that liberals like Pepsi more than Coke (and vice-versa for conservatives), and conservatives are more likely to shop at Wal-Mart, while liberals buy their groceries at Target.
Stuart Monk/Shutterstock.com
The truth is that in most cases, especially in the case of retailers and other companies that conduct their business directly with consumers, they will try to hide their political affiliation and attempt to appear bipartisan. They will support different organizations that promote different causes. For example, they can score high on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, but also be a partner of the Salvation Army, which supports traditional marriage. However, in many cases, supporting various organizations and causes is just a smokescreen, something to make a company look good and to be used as “alternative facts” to counter-argue whatever horrible thing that company did or may do in the future. So, it’s a small price to pay in exchange for some good publicity.
So, the best way to judge a company’s liberalism or conservatism is by what it has done regarding areas like LGBTQ rights, same-sex marriage, gun laws, environment issues, etc. It’s true that most companies try to be appealing to everyone, but over the years, some of them had a slip or two, where they expressed their true feelings, supported a political candidate, etc. and even though they might have changed over the years, or the position expressed by their top management doesn’t necessarily align with that of the company, they have been labeled as liberal or conservative.
So, with this in mind (and with my liberal bias playing some role), I’ve compiled a list of the 10 most conservative companies in America. Check it out beginning on the next page.
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOX)
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOX) probably supports a lot of liberal causes, but it does own Fox News, which earns it a spot on this list. The fact that Fox News is highly biased and heavily promotes conservative propaganda is a well-known fact. The recent sexual harassment scandals that led to the ouster of the channel’s Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes and host Bill O’Reilly only led to more stones being thrown at the company by liberals. It’s not a terrible thing that Fox News is conservative, because in a market dominated by (let’s face it) slightly left-leaning media, there’s a demand for it. However, the company could’ve handled its recent issues better.
Copyright: bluemoon1981 / 123RF Stock Photo
Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR)
Up next on our list of most conservative companies in America is Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR), an owner and operator of hotel chains, which could’ve done better to win some points with liberals. On the one hand, a couple of years ago it launched a campaign to win more pro-LGBT consumers and it was a tough thing for them to do, since the company’s Chairman, Bill Marriott, is a very religious person, so he probably had to step over himself (the additional profits probably helped to accept the idea that he might spend afterlife in a hot place being poked with sticks). The company’s CEO Arne Sorenson last year released a letter to President Trump asking him to maintain equal rights for minorities and the LGBT community and to not deport undocumented immigrants. On the other hand, the same Bill Marriott donated $1 million to Mitt Romney’s conservative Super PAC “Restore Our Future”. And they banned pay-per-view porn from their hotels in 2011.
DoublePHOTO studio/Shutterstock.com
Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A’s conservative stance is no surprise to anyone. The company has done a number of things that have led to it being labeled homophobic, including the words of its president Dan Cathy, who said: “We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit” (by the way, the Bible also says that the earth is flat and does not move, but most people don’t find an issue with that). To address the issue, Cathy said that he regretted involving the company in his personal views and the company also said that it would stop donating money to anti-LGBT organizations. So, the company and its management have tried to show the public that they are no longer anti-gay, but most still don’t buy it.
TMON/Shutterstock.com
Hobby Lobby
It’s no secret that Hobby Lobby, that’s up next in our list of most conservative companies in America is a company owned by people with strong religious views. In 2014, it won a Supreme Court case that allowed it to not cover certain types of birth control under the Affordable Care Act because of its religious beliefs. The company’s founders, David and Barbara Green, also support a number of religious organizations. Salon reported that Hobby Lobby was also a large donor to the National Christian Charitable, which in turn supported the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian nonprofit that claims to be advocating for “religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and marriage and family.”
poppix/Shutterstock.com
Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN)
Up next on our list of most conservative companies in America is Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN) which has managed to offend many groups of people, including gays, Irish, blacks and Mexicans. For example, the company sold a game called “Ghettopoly” in 2003, while in 2005, it upset the entire country of Mexico with a T-shirt that read “New Mexico, Cleaner than Regular Mexico”. It also had t-shirts with a badge that looked very similar to the Star of David. And let’s not forget Urban Outfitters’ “suicidal shampoo”, promotional pens shaped like hypodermic needles for a “Hairroin” salon, its Navajo-labeled line of clothes, and so on. All of these products led to the company being criticized many times by representatives of the offended groups and by the Anti-Defamation League. Maybe these events don’t really label the company as conservative, but rather insensitive and ignorant (which some might argue are synonyms with “conservative”), but it’s also worth pointing out that in 2008, Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN) president and founder Richard Hayne donated $14,000 to the campaign of Rick Santorum, whose homophobic views are well-known. All in all, it found its place on our list of the 10 most conservative companies in America.
Africa Studio/Shutterstock.com
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)
We are continuing our list of most conservative companies in America with Casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) which is one of the largest donors to the Republican party, having given over $69 million. Back in the 2012 election season, Sheldon Adelson, the company’s founder, chairman and CEO, spent at least $98 million to support the party, which was the largest amount ever donated in American history. Out of this amount, $30 million went to the “Restore Our Future” super PAC and $20 million to the “Winning Our Future” super PAC that backed Newt Gingrich (the guy who last October lashed out at Megyn Kelly and accused her of being “fascinated with sex” and not caring about public policy). In addition, Adelson has done other things like supporting an organization that opposed the recreational use of marijuana and said that Palestinians are living in a made-up nation.
Kobby Dagan / Shutterstock.com
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL)
A couple of years ago, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) that’s up next on our list of most conservative companies in America was in the middle of a firestorm. The restaurant chain pulled some items related to the “Duck Dynasty” reality show, after its “patriarch” Phil Robertson made anti-gay and racist comments during an interview. However, the company later brought back the merchandise and even apologized after customers protested and boycotted the chain. That its customers were “offended” that the company didn’t want anything to do with a bigot tells us all we need to know about what kind of customers eat there, while the fact they apologized for pulling a bigot’s merchandise tells us all we need to know about the company. In addition, back in 2014, a survey done by Experian Marketing Services showed that Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) was more likely to serve conservative customers.
Guryanov Andrey/Shutterstock.com
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)
Like every oil company, Exxon Mobil, the next one in our list of most conservative companies in America represents the root of all evil for liberals. Not only does the company’s business contribute to global warming, but it actually spent a lot of money to release information to deny the existence of climate change, even though its own researchers knew about the issue back in the late-1970s. Moreover, its former CEO Rex Tillerson is currently the Secretary of State in the Trump administration. Also, let’s not forget that Tillerson also got an “Order of Friendship” from Putin and if you are friends with Putin, you’re not a friend of liberals.
Katherine Welles / Shutterstock.com
Sturm, Ruger & Company Inc (NYSE:RGR)
No list of conservative companies would’ve been complete without a company engaged in the making and selling of guns. Sturm, Ruger & Company is not only one of the largest gun makers in the U.S, but is also one of the largest supporters of the NRA (the guys who think that the best gift for a baby shower is a 12-gauge shotgun), having pledged to give the association $5 million in 2016. And as if that weren’t enough, last year Sturm, Ruger & Company Inc (NYSE:RGR) CEO Michael Fifer expressed his political position during the company’s earnings call and criticized Hillary Clinton.
Kreangkrai Indarodom/Shutterstock.com
Koch Industries
The Koch brothers are to liberals what George Soros is to conservatives. Charles and David Koch have fortunes estimated at over $40 billion each and they use that money to help the Republican party win elections and then promote their interests in Washington. Koch Industries seems like a shady company that was investigated many times by Congress and the Department of Justice. In addition, it’s no secret that Koch is one of the biggest polluters in the U.S.
360b / Shutterstock.com
That concludes our list of the 10 most conservative companies in America. We didn’t include any financial companies, even though common sense dictates that they are also conservative. Financial companies are probably not so much conservative as they are pro-establishment, so they back whoever is in Washington and whatever views are aligned with the power that gives them the possibility to operate and generate cash.
Of course, some might argue that many of the actions that label the companies included in this list happened a long time ago and the companies reviewed their positions, but (at least online) the general perception of them has remained conservative.
Disclosure: None
