The Daily Signal - Former Kentucky AG Warns About Threat to Business From Woke Corporations

Episode Date: July 11, 2024

Conservatives must be vigilant about big corporations that seek to “cancel” those with differing political views, former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron warns. Cameron, a Republican, ran for governor in 2023, but lost to Democratic incumbent Gov. Andy Beshear. He now serves as CEO of the 1792 Exchange, a nonprofit organization that “seeks to preserve freedom by partnering with allies to steer public companies back to neutral on divisive, ideological issues,” according to its website. Cameron discussed with “The Daily Signal Podcast” what he says is the biggest threat to American business: Many publicly traded companies no longer focus on return on investments to shareholders.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm Elizabeth Mitchell, and this is the Daily Signal podcast for Thursday, July 11th. I sat down with former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who warned that conservatives must be vigilant about big corporations that seek to cancel those with differing point of views. Cameron, a Republican, ran for governor in 2023, but lost to Democratic incumbent Governor Andy Bashir. He now serves as CEO of the 1792 Exchange. a nonprofit organization that seeks to preserve freedom by partnering with allies to steer public companies back to neutral on divisive ideological issues, according to its website. Cameron joined the Daily Signal podcast to discuss what he says is the biggest threat to American businesses, that many publicly traded companies no longer focus on return on investments to shareholders. Stay tuned for my interview with Daniel Cameron right after this.

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You ran for governor recently. Could you tell us what you've been doing since then? Elizabeth, I'm delighted to be with you today. And right now, I'm the CEO of 1792 Exchange. We're a nonprofit that is committed to making sure that our corporations don't go too far to the left and that they don't buy lock, stock, and barrel the ESG and DEI craze. And so we're committed to working with corporations to make sure they're about producing high-quality products and not pushing partisan agendas.

And what do you see as the biggest threats facing American companies today? Well, I see as the biggest threat, this idea that we no longer are focused on the return and investment to the shareholder no longer focus on producing high-quality products. We've got to get back to that. I talked earlier about the fact that diversity, equity, and inclusion or DEI is ultimately about preferential treatment. And again, that shouldn't be what the American economic system is about. We don't need companies built on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

We need companies built on excellence, merit, and intelligence. Why did you decide to pivot from public service to working in business? Well, look, you know, we ran a very strong campaign for governor last year. My wife and I, and we worked all across our 120 counties, and we had a strong team around us and a lot of folks that went to the polls for us, but ultimately we came up a little short, and the loss can sting. But ultimately, it doesn't have to be final. And I serve a big God and recognize that my identity is not in a title.

My identity is as a Christ follower, and the Lord allowed another door to be open. And so I am excited about this role at 1792. Kentucky Governor Andy Bismere a vetoed a bill that would have protected kids from transgender surgeries. So what is the state of the culture war in Kentucky, and what would you do differently? Well, look, Andy Bashir vetoed that legislation that would have protected. our kids. And I think most Kentuckians want to protect our children. You know, I obviously ran very strongly on that point. And I think that we will continue to preserve protecting our kids. We've got a legislature that has done a good job of overriding the governor's vetoes

because he is often wrong. And our legislature reminds him of that by overriding his vetoes. I'm grateful for our legislature. Look, one of the key components of our campaign was the idea that we wanted to make Kentucky safer. And we put forward a public safety plan that the legislature, in large part, adopted through their safer Kentucky plan. And so we continue to have an impact, although we didn't win the governor's race, we continue to have an impact through public policy on the decisions that have been made by our legislature. And I'm grateful to them for the work that they've undertaken in pushing back against, Governor Bashir and standing up for our families. Look, here's a governor that ultimately

vetoed the legislation that allowed for our taxes to be lowered in Kentucky. When that whole process started, he actually vetoed the initial bill. Again, our legislature overrode him, so I think it's important that we continue to have leadership in the state that will push back against a governor that by and large doesn't have the interests of Kentucky. It's at heart. What are you most proud of accomplishing as Kentucky's Attorney General? Well, I was grateful for the work that we did to hold big business accountable for the number of opioids that they were pushing into Kentucky. We were part of one of the largest settlements in the country's history. We received in Kentucky at the time that I left office nearly $900 million to help fight the opioid epidemic.

So I'm grateful for the work that we did there. I'm grateful for the opportunity to preserve and protect constitutional rights. And I'm grateful that Kentuckians gave me an opportunity to serve in that capacity. What first inspired you to enter conservative politics? Well, look, I was inspired my parents. They were small business owners. They recognized the importance of getting the oppressive hand of government off of them so that they could flourish and run their business.

I was inspired by Ronald Reagan, a president who believed wholeheartedly in this idea, of a shining city on a hill and that we can agree or we can disagree in a way that still allows for civility. And I like to promote the idea that we can have a positive agenda, an agenda that is about restoring economic opportunity for Americans, is about restoring safety and security for Americans, about restoring constitutional rights for Americans. And, uh, those ideas largely are driven by what I saw as a young kid from my parents' business and what I know of and appreciate about President Reagan. So what are some warning signs that consumers or investors should look out for

that the businesses they're involved with might care more about DEI and ESG than return on investment? Well, I think the greatest threat that we can see is this idea of debanking, that if you are a conservative and you want to host conservative, like-minded individuals in a event, there's a chance that a bank might cancel you. If you are a family foundation, there's a chance that a bank might cancel you. If you happen to support and try to defend a former president,

a bank might cancel you. And so we have got to be vigilant against big business that seeks to marginalize those that have a strong faith background or that are conservative. And so, yeah, at 1792, we want to remain vigilant on that front, but we want all Americans to remain vigilant on that front. Mitch McConnell is stepping down as Republican leader this year. What role do you expect him to play in the Senate going forward? Well, I think he and Senator Paul are going to continue to stand up for Kentucky

and fight for our interests and values. and I appreciate both of them doing so. Are you interested in running for office again? You know, that's a conversation I have with my wife, and we've got two kids now. We've got a two-and-a-half-year-old, Theodore, and a six-week-old in Bennett. So it's a conversation that she and I have, along with, you know, folks,

look, if there's a way for us to be helpful and continue to be the hands and feet of Christ and continue to talk about issues in a way that reflects our love for our neighbor and stands up for principled values in constitutional rights. We'll keep doing it. I don't know what that looks like at this juncture, but again, we enjoyed running in the governor's race and felt like we had a strong message,

and we'll see what else is out there. That's awesome. And as a Christian parent, what are some key issues for you and your family in this upcoming election? I think, look, safety and security, and making sure that drugs aren't pouring into our states and making sure that we are ultimately creating a better future for our kids, and that means economic empowerment and economic prosperity.

And the current administration, in my judgment, has been callous to and tone-deaf to those concerns. And so that's what we will be looking for as we make decisions in the November election. As Attorney General, you had an up-close view of that type of crime plaguing. a lot of American cities, what solutions would you advise for our elected leaders to pursue today? We've got to shut down the southern border, and you've got to have strong leadership in Washington that recognizes that we've got to get a handle on that southern border, that we have to support our men and women and law enforcement. We believe in second chances. So we serve a god of second chances, and so that will always be a part of the Republican Party platform. But we also have to maintain law and order.

And so I'm looking forward to, you know, conversations in this upcoming election season about, you know, how are we going to preserve our constitutional rights? How are we going to preserve our safety and security and secure our southern border? How are we going to maintain our energy independence? I mean, right now, this current administration is trying to give our energy sector to foreign adversaries. We've got to be mindful of that going forward. And you lived in D.C. but returned to your home state of Kentucky. So as someone who was formerly working in this city, what are some things that people here should pay attention to that everyday Americans care about that sometimes maybe get left behind? Well, look, I still live in Kentucky and we'll come up here periodically to be in our home base office.

But I think whether you live here or whether you live in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, you are concerned about safety and security. and you're concerned about affordability. That is a key driver of what we are seeing in terms of people ultimately making a decision about who they're going to support come the November elections. Are they safe? Are they secure? Is our southern border secure?

And can we afford things? And with his current administration, the answer to those questions have largely been no. With so many of our major companies being involved in DEI and ESG initiatives. How do you recommend consumers choose what companies they frequent since you can't boycott all of them? Well, look, I want businesses in this country to thrive and flourish.

I mean, Calvin Coolidge said that the chief business of the American people is business. And so I want to see every American company thrive. What I don't want them to see is them bow to the far left in the far left ideology. I want them to be about, again, creating good, high-quality products and not pushing partisan agendas. And I want them to focus on those things because it's good for the factory worker that has a 401K. It's good for the teacher and firefighter and police officer that has a pension, and it's good for the American consumer. And so that is what I ultimately want to see our business do. I encourage people to go to 1792 Exchange.com and to see and to look at the companies,

We have rated there. We have over 3,000 companies rated and I encourage you to, again, go there and consider those corporations and ultimately knowledge is power. And that's what we want to equip the American people with. Thank you so much for joining today. It's been an honor to talk to you. Thank you, Elizabeth. I appreciate you.

I hope you enjoyed my interview with Daniel Cameron on the show today. It was from the Faith and Freedom Conference a few weeks ago where Daniel Cameron, spoke about woke businesses. Tune in to our evening show right here in this podcast feed, where we will bring you the top news of the day at 5 p.m. Make sure you subscribe to the Daily Signal wherever you get your podcasts and help us reach more listeners by leaving a five-star rating and review.

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