DELTA, THE NRA AND THE ICK FACTOR
While there are legitimate arguments to be made both for and against Delta Airlines for announcing it is ending its discount program for members of the National Rifle Association (NRA), a bit of an “ick” factor was added to the story Monday when the Georgia lieutenant governor and others sounded as if they would hold the airline for ransom unless it changed its mind on the NRA decision.
Over the weekend, following last week’s Florida high school shooting that left 17 dead, the airline said it would cut ties with the NRA. It is one of more than a dozen companies to do so since the incident.
On the whole, we think it’s a ridiculous decision for any company to make retribution against an organization that had no role whatsoever in the shooting. It is a decision, instead, that only kowtows to the flawed, left-wing storyline to blame guns, a gun-rights organization and Republicans who support gun-rights laws for the carnage instead of the personal baggage that made the shooter do what he did.
On the other hand, Delta is allowed to make business decisions it believes are best for the airline. Evidently, its management calculated that it would take more grief for its connections to the NRA than it would lose business by cutting those ties. That may or may not turn out to be the case. But its statement on the move sounded defensive. “This is not the first time Delta has withdrawn support over a politically and emotionally charged issue,” the company said. “Last year, Delta withdrew its sponsorship of a theater that staged a graphic interpretation of “Julius Caesar” depicting the assassination of President Trump. Delta supports all of its customers but will not support organizations on any side of any highly charged political issue that divides our nation.”
The NRA in no way took the “side” of the shooter, of course, but corporate-speak is not known for being even-handed, just covering company flanks.
The situation is complicated by the airline’s desire to restore a sizable fuel tax break that had been granted it in the mid-2000s when it was in financial trouble, but that expired in 2015. A decision to restore the break already had been approved by the state House as a part of a larger budget package being pushed by current Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal and by a state Senate committee.
But, said Cagle and other Republican legislators, why should we cut Delta a fuel tax break when its financial pressures have eased so much that it can rescind a discount program over a purely political decision? So they’re threatening to spike the deal.
“If Delta is so flush that they don’t need NRA members’ hard-earned travel dollars,” said former state Sen. Rick Jeffares, who is running for lieutenant governor, “it can certainly do without the $40 million tax break they are asking Georgia taxpayers for.”
We believe it’s legitimate for Georgia legislators considering a taxpayer expenditure of nearly $40 million to examine all aspects of the airline’s bottom line — its profit-loss statement, how much it re-invests, how much it gives away, how sound it is for the future, and even whether they should be picking winners and losers. The same legislators also need to determine how valuable they believe the airline is to Atlanta, where it has its headquarters, and Georgia, where the company employs 33,000 people.
Delta, which has declined to name other groups it gives discounted fares, hasn’t threatened to move if it doesn’t get the break, but many other cities would stand on their heads to be home to the nation’s biggest airline, the presence of which is significant at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International, the world’s busiest airport.
But several politicians threw out trial bon mots just in case.
Ohio, said U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, “would be lucky to call itself the home of Delta headquarters.” “Hey @delta,” Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam tweeted, “Virginia is for lovers and airline hubs. You’re welcome here any time.”
Where we believe the “ick” factor descended was when the statements began to sound like a quid pro quo — a favor or advantage in return for something.
“I will kill any tax legislation that benefits @Delta unless the company changes its position,” tweeted Cagle, who is running for the Republican nomination for governor, “and fully reinstates its relationship with @NRA. Corporations cannot attack conservatives and expect us not to fight back.”
Instead, he said, Delta and other corporations who want to take a stand on gun violence should donate part of their profits to mental health treatments and school safety initiatives.
“They should put their money where their mouth is,” he said, “instead of engaging in viewpoint discrimination against conservatives and law-abiding gun owners.”
We don’t disagree, but such statements begin to sound like political blackmail. And in the hyper-partisan world in which government politics already exist, that’s the last thing we need.