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Toyota stands by donations to Republicans objecting 2020 election results amid media shaming effort

June 28, 2021 | | Print Article

One of the most egregious media-enabled myths about the 2020 election, inspired by hatred of former President Donald Trump, is that lawmakers objecting to certifying the Electoral College results are somehow committing treasonous behavior.

A myth that Toyota rejected, as the Japanese automaker opted to donate to a number of Republican lawmakers who voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results, believing that it was not “appropriate to judge members of Congress” for that vote.

Toyota issued a statement in response to Axios reporting on Sunday that the company donated $55,000 to 37 Republican lawmakers who objected to certifying the election. Or, as some wingnuts on the left have bemoaned, “politicians who [tried] to overthrow our democracy.”

“Nearly three-dozen corporate PACs have donated at least $5,000 to Republicans who objected to certifying the 2020 election, yet Toyota leads by a substantial margin,” the article noted.

Shaming actions such as this are a staple of the left-wing activist media, based on the politically motivated demonization of GOP lawmakers that subsequently makes the donations wrong or unacceptable because they questioned the election results.

This was certainly not the take when Democrats did precisely that in 2oo4, objecting to former President George W. Bush’s electoral votes in Ohio. Or again in 2017, when Democrats objected to Trump’s certification vote.

Under the law, members of the House and Senate have the authority to raise such objections and if a member of each chamber submits an objection, Congress will then separate into individual chambers to debate for two hours before voting on whether to continue counting the electoral votes in light of the objection.

“Toyota supports candidates based on their position on issues that are important to the auto industry and the company,” a Toyota spokesperson said in a statement. “We do not believe it is appropriate to judge members of Congress solely based on their votes on the electoral certification. Based on our thorough review, we decided against giving to some members who, through their statements and actions, undermine the legitimacy of our elections and institutions.”

Taking matters to the next level, Axios noted that some large companies, including Toyota, made political contributions to members of Congress “deeply enmeshed in the pro-Trump conspiracy theories that fueled the Capitol attack.”

This was not the only reference to the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol.

“The Japanese automaker’s donations this year included a February contribution to Rep. Andy Biggs, an Arizona Republican who has been one of Congress’ most vocal election conspiracy theorists,” Axios reported. “Biggs also helped organize the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally prior to the Capitol attack.”

That rally was entirely peaceful, and occurred before the Capitol was breached.

As for the aforementioned liberal wingnuts, the blue-check cancel culture cabal, they pounced on the story to push for a boycott of Toyota. An up close and personal lesson for the automaker that, when it comes to the American left, rational thought was lost a long time ago.

Toyota was named the world’s best-selling automaker earlier this year, having sold 9.5 million vehicles around the world last year.

Here’s a quick sampling of a few of those responses from Twitter:

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Tom Tillison
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