Conservatives have finally started to realize that in the ongoing culture wars, politics must mean much more than simply canvassing for votes. Through fits and starts, right-wing activists are seeking to exert their will over corporations and other powerful “non-political” actors to force them away from routinely and reflexively supporting left-wing causes.
One of the most promising efforts to date has been the conservative boycott of Anheuser-Busch over the company marketing its flagship product, Bud Light, in association with noted transgender-identifying “influencer” Dylan Mulvaney.
The boycott was promoted by conservative activist and Daily Wire host Matt Walsh, who launched a social media discussion proposing a boycott, and soliciting suggestions for which company to target, among several corporations recently involving themselves in the policy fight over transgenderism, before finally settling on Anheuser-Busch.
The popular response from the base to the boycott suggests the target was well chosen. Conservatives began rapidly amplifying the message, spreading memes mocking Bud Light and posting videos of themselves abandoning Bud Light products. As infamous left-wing organizer Saul Alinsky notes, any tactic your side enjoys is a tactic worth repeating.
News reports carried clear evidence that the boycott was creating a noticeable effect on the company’s sales. The company’s CEO issued a non-apology letter, which was correctly rejected by the boycott supporters as utterly meaningless.
But soon the campaign hit a snag. President Donald Trump’s son Don Jr. made a public statement urging the boycott to come to an end, and the National Republican Congressional Committee walked
