Why Does Woke Capital Love Matt Schlapp?
American Conservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp claims to be an ardent Donald Trump-style conservative. His organization’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) gathers various factions of the political right under one roof and showcases the direction of the movement. He works closely with President Trump and his wife Mercedes held a senior position in his administration.
One would think that woke corporations would hate such a man and never give him money. Everyone knows left-wing corporations hate Trump and what he stands for. They would not give money to publications like The American Conservative or congressional candidates like Joe Kent and Anthony Sabatini. They despise the principles of America First.
But these companies have given a lot of money to Matt Schlapp. Why would these woke corporations donate to a supposed Trump ally? It’s because Schlapp is no friend to the America First cause. These corporations supported Schlapp to make the conservative movement more progressive-friendly.
And Schlapp delivered.
The ACU chairman is the stereotypical swamp monster. Even after taking over the ACU in 2014 he continued to work as a lobbyist through his firm, Cove Strategies. He raked in tons of business from corporate clients while his wife worked in the Trump administration.
Many of Cove’s clients would raise the eyebrows of CPAC’s attendees. Many of these companies benefit from the military-industrial complex and its neverending wars.
One such company is Oracle. The tech giant is a long-time client of Cove and paid the firm $200,000 in 2019. When it’s not paying Matt Schlapp, Oracle is using it’s funds to promote the LGBT cause and diversity indoctrination. In 2015, the company formally endorsed the “Equality Act,” which would expand federal anti-discrimination laws to include sexual orientation and empower progressive bureaucrats to cripple businesses that run afoul of the LGBT agenda.
Oracle touts its commitment to “diversity and inclusion,” which is often a byword to hide Critical Race Theory training. In 2021, Oracle published an article saying it was dedicated to ensuring “racial justice” was made into a movement rather than a moment. The article listed events and initiatives the company promoted to achieve this left-wing goal.
Other mega woke corporate clients include Walmart, Delta Airlines, Comcast, Cisco and Verizon.
Walmart paid Cove over $200,000 in 2019. The retail giant endorsed Black Lives Matter, removed All Lives Matter merch from its stores, imposed a racial equity initiative after the killing of George Floyd, and finances a wide variety of LGBT groups and causes.
Delta Airlines also endorsed BLM, going so far as to raise a BLM flag at its national headquarters. And like Walmart they instituted a racial equity initiative vowing to advance “racial justice” through its business practices. Delta also condemned Georgia’s election reform laws in 2021 and claimed these common sense proposals violate the company’s “values.” Delta paid Cove Strategies $40,000 in 2017.
Comcast donated $100 million to organizations affiliated with Black Lives Matter in 2020. It’s donated millions more to LGBT groups. It’s so woke that it was named one of the Human Rights Campaign’s favorite corporations. The cable giant paid Cove $120,000 in 2019.
Cisco not only publicly supported Black Lives Matter, it fired several employees who objected to its BLM support. Cisco’s website declares that one of its chief purposes is to advance social justice. “At Cisco, our purpose is to Power an Inclusive Future for All,” the company proclaims. Cisco paid Cove $40,000 in 2018.
Verizon is also a proud supporter of Black Lives Matter. In fact, it paused its pride month campaign in 2020 to devote more space to BLM. When the telecommunications giant isn’t promoting black power, it donates large sums of money to the LGBT cause. It also declares on its website to be a “champion for LGBT rights every day.” Verizon paid Cove $160,000 in 2019.
Schlapp also took money from woke Hollywood. The Motion Picture Association of America paid Cove over $200,000 from 2016 to 2017. Why would one of the most liberal industries in the country support the head of the American Conservative Union?
Schlapp’s lobbying in the Trump White House extended advocating for pardons. Pharmaceutical executive Pete Petit paid Schlapp $750,000 to get him a pardon from Trump, which the ACU chief failed to secure.
One of the most concerning groups Schlapp advocates for is the Seasonal Employment Alliance. Unlike the corporations listed above that provide other services besides woke sermons, SEA is dedicated entirely to increasing the number of foreign workers to take American jobs. It’s an immigration lobby, and it paid Schlapp’s firm $200,000 to promote its cause in 2019. There is nothing America First about helping giant corporations secure more cheap foreign labor.
Schlapp has long advocated for more liberal immigration policies. In 2015, he said conservatives should be more open to amnesty. "For conservatives, if you can show the economic need for immigration, I think they can be convinced that there are steps that need to be taken," he told USA Today. The conference rarely hosts panels critical of mass immigration, a fact pointed out by the respected Center for Immigration Studies. Money seems to dictate what Schlapp believes in.
The insidious influence of woke corporations may explain Schlapp’s other strange decisions about CPAC. For one, the ACU chief says he doesn’t like using the word “conservative” anymore because it’s too limiting. This is a person who runs an organization and event with conservative in their respective titles. Maybe it’s easier to line up corporate clients when you don’t identify as a conservative.
Besides excluding immigration restrictionists, Schlapp wants to make CPAC more progressive-friendly in other ways. A video emerged earlier this year of him saying he didn’t want a “pro-life panel” at the event. Sure enough, CPAC 2022 lacked any speakers or panels who focused specifically on abortion.
Schlapp also wants conservative to be more accepting of transgender individuals. In March, he said transgender swimmer Lia Thomas “deserves our compassion.” Conservatives lambasted the ACU chairman for his tone-deaf comments on an athlete ruining women’s sports. While conservatives may have not been pleased with Schlapp’s comments, it probably thrilled his corporate sponsors.
CPAC may get even worse. ACU executive director Dan Schneider recently announced his departure from the group. With Schneider gone, the organization will be left solely to Matt and Mercedes Schlapp — who have demonstrated that their own financial interests take priority over any aspect of the MAGA agenda. Matt Schlapp has inverted America First, accepting large sums of money from other nations' governments. In Schneider's absence, the Schlapps' "money first" agenda will be on full display for everyone to see.
CPAC should be an event that clearly stands with America First principles. It shouldn’t cater to woke corporations that want to impose gender ideology on children and finance BLM agitators. It should care more about what the conservative base wants.
The base wants a conservative movement that puts American workers first, ends the forever wars, proudly proclaims itself pro-life, and opposes transgender athletes in girls’ sports.
