EDITORIAL: Citizens Bank's Political Donations to Extremist Candidates

EDITORIAL: Citizens Bank's Political Donations to Extremist Candidates

Citizens Bank donated thousands of dollars to two GOP election deniers. These members of Congress are among the most extreme.

Citizens is not the only Rhode Island corporation to donate to election deniers, but it is the only consumer-focused company to donate.

The bank has donated $8,500 via its political action committee to two sitting members of Congress who refuted valid elections. They are: 

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer MO-3 $7,500

Rep. Virginia Foxx NC-5 $1,000

 

Here are the views of Rep Luetkemeyer:

Luetkemeyer voted against the Women's Health Protection Act when the bill was before the U.S. House. He said in a statement the day the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the nearly 50-year precedent established by Roe v. Wade was "a great day, not just for pro-life Americans, but for everyone who believes in the rights of the innocent, the protection of the vulnerable and the miracle of life."

Luetkemeyer was one of five Missouri Republicans in the House who voted to overturn election results Jan. 6, 2021, after an angry mob stormed the U.S. Capitol building, leaving several people dead or injured and disrupting the proceedings for hours. 

 

Here are the views of Rep. Foxx, another election denier and ultraconservative:

“The deliberate destruction of human life is a tragedy beyond words, and it is a damning rebuke of the values that we have always espoused in this country. One day, we hope it will be different. We hope life will cease to be valued on a sliding scale. We hope the era of elective abortions, spurred by bomb-throwing political opportunists on the left, will be closed, and collectively deemed one of the darkest chapters in American history. Today’s historic ruling by the Supreme Court takes a sizable step closer to closing that chapter.

“Children in the womb are people. They are our future leaders, sons, daughters, and future members of Congress. An outright denial of life for the most vulnerable – who cannot speak for themselves – is in no way justified. Abortion is not an exercise of freedom; it is a death knell for the most precious gift that God has bestowed upon us: life.” 

Foxx is also one of the members of Congress most opposed to the expansion of organized labor.

 

Citizens has the legal right to make donations to whomever it chooses, but for the overwhelming majority of Rhode Island, the views of those they donated to are inconsistent with their values.

Please note if Citizens was funding the campaigns of "defunding the police" candidates, we would raise concerns about those extremist views as well. 

America needs less destructive extremism, and one of our biggest banks and largest employers should rethink its political strategy.