Chick-fil-A is a successful, family-owned American business that should be celebrated. However, the Atlanta, Georgia, based company has come under relentless attacks from the radical Left because it believes in wholesome core Christian family values. Chick-fil-A’s “corporate purpose” is: “To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.”
Rick McKee / Augusta Chronicle (click to view more cartoons by McKee)
With the Left’s current war on business, fueled by President Obama’s divisive reelection campaign rhetoric, you’d think liberals would love a corporate purpose that wants to have a “positive influence.” But to the chagrin of liberals and big city elites alike, Chick-fil-A invokes God in the foundation of their business culture. Oh, the horror!
Dan Cathy, the president and chief operating officer of Chick-fil-A, whose father founded the company, has been made into some sort of boogeyman by the Left with the help of the mainstream media. Last month on “The Ken Coleman Show,” Cathy made some “controversial” comments on gay marriage. Cathy stated that he believes marriage is between a man and a woman. Cathy then went onto say, “We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles.”
Those honest comments did not sit well with former Obama Chief of Staff now Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emmanuel. Emmanuel, best known for using profanity on a daily basis, shot back at Chick-fil-A and supported a Chicago alderman’s call to ban the fast-food restaurant from Chicago. There have been more than 300 murders in Chicago since the beginning of 2012. You would think that would be the number one issue in a city that is dealing with a major crime wave, not to take spiteful action against a business that provides much needed jobs to Chicagoans.
Eventually, Emmanuel had to back-off from his initial comments after the Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said if Chicago instituted this ban it would be “viewpoint discrimination” and thus unconstitutional. The ACLU has been staunchly in the corner of gay marriage, but even they see the over-the-top statements by Chicago’s mayor as an affront to the First Amendment.
Rahm Emmanuel was not the only mayor to take on Chick-fil-A. Mayors in Boston, San Francisco, and Washington, DC all have made remarks similar to those of Emmanuel. Scandal plagued Washington, DC Mayor Vincent Gray even used the hashtag #hatechicken in a tweet about his stance on Chick-fil-A. #HateChicken, really? This type of demonizing rhetoric just shows how intolerant these liberal big city mayors are to views that differ from their own. It is foolish for mayors to openly go after a business that bring jobs to their cities.
It is also troubling that these mayors initially believed that they have such power to shut out a business from their cities. Of course, all of these mayors are liberals who evidently despise the free market and the First Amendment, but to shutout a business because of its religious beliefs is going down a slippery slope. These mayors do get cover from the mainstream media because it is a Christian philosophy that they are lampooning and the media just go right along with it.
Thankfully, leaders like former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee are rallying to the cause of promoting Chick-fil-A and its Christian values. Today, Americans all over the country will take part in Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day, including us at Citizens United. On Governor Huckabee’s Facebook event page alone more than 500,000 have signed up to attend by going to their local Chick-fil-A. What has happened to this business because of their Christian beliefs is an outrage and I urge Americans to rally around Chick-fil-A.
Why The Chick-fil-A Debate Matters,
