The Daily Signal - How This Organization Helps Americans Put Their Money Where Convictions Are

Episode Date: June 22, 2021

Amy Lannom Wilhite is executive director at 2ndVote, which keeps track of major companies' positions on social issues such as the transgender agenda. "You wouldn't support [certain positions] at the ballot box with a candidate that you vote for, so why would you spend your dollars there?" asks Wilhite, who joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to talk about how her organization helps Americans make consumer decisions based on their convictions. "We say your first vote is at the ballot box and your second vote is with your wallet," Wilhite says. "It's the power of what you have in your pocket and with the money that you spend. And we want to educate consumers so that they can shop their values [and] so that we can make change with all the corporate activism that's going on." We also cover these stories: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy calls for China to be held accountable for the COVID-19 pandemic.  In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court rules against the NCAA on the question of paying student athletes.  New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard is set to be the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympics.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Daily Signal podcast for Tuesday, June 22nd. I'm Doug Blair. And I'm Virginia Allen. On today's show, Rachel Daljudice talks with Amy Lanham Will Hight, the executive director of Second Vote. They discuss why it is important for Americans to put their money where their convictions are. Second Vote is an organization that keeps track of companies' positions on social issues so Americans can know who does and does not align with their values. Will Hyde joins the podcast to share how her organization is helping Americans give toward the issues they are passionate about. And don't forget, if you're enjoying this podcast, please be sure to leave a review or a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and encourage others to subscribe.

Today's interview was recorded at the Heritage Foundation Resource Bank Conference, so please excuse any background noise. And now, onto today's top news. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is calling for China to be held accountable for the the COVID-19 pandemic. On Monday, McCarthy sent a letter to GOP House members outlining eight pillars to hold China accountable. McCarthy wrote that the unfortunate reality is that countless friends and family members could have been saved had it not been for the deception of the Chinese Communist Party. Among the eight pillars, the House Minority Leader says legislation will be introduced to require declassification of any information concerning the origins of coronavirus.

McCarthy also argues that Congress should prohibit the National Institutes of Health from funding any research done by China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, or any other nation intent on harming America. McCarthy is also calling for visa restrictions and economic sanctions on people in China who are associated with the Chinese Communist Party, the World Health Organization, and any others who are allegedly involved in the COVID-19 cover-up. McCarthy joined Fox News on Sunday night to discuss the importance. of finding the truth about COVID-19. 600,000 Americans died. Let's find where it came from. Stop putting up roadblocks. You know, when this new administration came in,

prior we had Secretary Pompeo, the first thing they did was stop the State Department from doing the research. They criticized Senator Tom Cotton when he talked about what was happening in the Wuhan labs and the actions from the cell phones and others and the doctors. Let's make sure all information comes,

and this should not be political. It shouldn't be about Republicans or Democrats. It should be about all the Americans and everybody else in the world who had lost their lives. Wouldn't you want to know where it came from so it can never happen again? McCarthy also says the 24th Winter Olympics should be moved from Beijing because if China lied to the rest of the world, why should the world reward them? In a unanimous decision on Monday, the Supreme Court ruled against the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or the NCAA, in a case related to student-athlete compensation.

The court agreed with a lower court that ruled that the NCAA violated antitrust laws by placing limits on the education-related benefits that schools can provide to student athletes. The new ruling allows for student athletes to receive unlimited compensation if it relates to their education. Justice Neil Gorsuch drafted decision for the case writing, to the extent that the NCAA means to propose a sort of judicially ordained immunity from the terms of the Sherman Act for its restraints of trade, that we should overlook its restrictions because they happen to fall at the intersection of higher education, sports, and money, we cannot agree. While the court declined to weigh in on the larger question of financial compensation for student athletes, in a separate concurrence, Justice Kavanaugh wrote, the NCAA is not above the law. The NCAA couches its arguments for not paying student athletes in innocuous labels, but the labels cannot disguise the reality.

The NCAA's business model would be flatly illegal in almost any other industry. in America. Lead plaintiff's attorney Jeffrey Kessler also voiced his pleasure with the decision, saying, quote, it's tremendous to win this 9 to 0. He said in an interview with ESPN, hopefully it will be the major next step on the road to a true fair competitive system for these athletes. NCAA President Mark Emmert responded to the ruling by saying that his organization, quote, remains committed to working with Congress to chart a path forward, which is a point the Supreme Court expressly stated in its ruling. New Zealand weightlifter, Laurel Hubbard will be the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympic Games.

Hubbard will compete in the super heavyweight category in Tokyo this summer. The International Olympic Committee guidelines allow biological men to compete as women if their testosterone levels are below 10 nanomoles per liter for at least a year before competition. Hubbard competed in men's weightlifting before transitioning to a female in 2013. The athlete said in a statement issued by the New Zealand Olympic Committee that I am grateful and humbled by the kindness and support that has been given to me by so many New Zealanders. But many athletes and women's sports defenders are speaking out

against the Olympic Committee's decision to allow Hubbard to compete as a female. Kathleen DeVias, co-founder of Save Women's Sports Australasia, told Reuters TV that males do have a performance advantage that is based on their biological sex. She added that biological men outperform women on every single metric, speed, stamina, strength. Picking testosterone is a red herring. We are forgetting about the anatomy, the fast, rich muscles, the bigger organs. Now stay tuned for Rachel's conversation with Amy Lanham Will Hight, the executive director of second vote. Do you have an opinion that you'd like to share? Leave us a voicemail at 202-608-6205 or even, even, Email us at letters at dailysignal.com. Yours could be featured on the Daily Signal podcast.

I'm joined today on the Daily Signal by Amy Alana Moilheight. Thank you, Amy, so much for being with us on the Daily Signal. Thank you, Rachel. Well, you're at Second Vote. Can you start off just by telling us about your organization's second vote? Oh, yeah. I'd love to. So second vote, we say your first vote is at the ballot box,

and your second vote is with your wallet. It's the power of what you have in your pocket and with the money that you spend. and we want to educate consumers so that they can shop their values so that we can make change with all the corporate activism that's going on. And it started back in 2011, Dr. David Black, our founder, and Congressman Diane Black, we're shopping at a grocery store. You know, we all do it. We all check out at the end, and typically they'll say, do you want to donate some money to this organization or that organization? And so Dr. Black said, sure, I'll donate when they ask him. And as they were walking to the parking lot, Congressman Black said,

Dave, why did you do that? And he said, why wouldn't I do that? And she said, because that organization that you just donated to supports Planned Parenthood. And so he thought to himself, okay, I'm a forensic toxicologist. You know, I do this for a trade and pretty educated. How come I didn't know that in an organization that, you know, is for children and to help children and they actually like support and align with, you know, Planned Parenthood. So he ended up looking into it, getting other researchers and kind of finding out what was behind

corporations and decided to put together second vote. And we have been around since 2012. This has been going on for a long time. Corporations have been doing this and supporting leftists and extreme, you know, radical left organizations. It's kind of been quiet. They've been doing it not now. Obviously, they're unapologetic, but before you didn't really know when you would go shopping with your retail dollars or your charitable dollars or even your invested dollar that sometimes the monies that you spend will actually go to these radical left organizations. And so you wouldn't support that at the ballot box with a candidate that you vote for. So why would you spend your dollars there? So we've got over 1,600 companies now researched. You can go to second vote.com and check out

different company scores. We also have an app on your phone. You can go to second vote.com and add it to your home screen. And so we're not in the app store, but you can add it that way. And so we, we score base on one to five, one being the far left and then two being lean left and then three is neutral and four is more right or conservative and then five is, you know, more conservative and right, far right. So we really want companies to be a three. When we start scoring, that's where they all start out. They all start out as neutral and then they can go up and down from there. And while we were a conservative research group, we applaud those that are on the conservative side that go that route. But we really want corporations to just be neutral and stay out of the culture wars and quit being so divisive.

Can you imagine the country what it would be today if corporations would do that and stay out of the social issues that we have going on right now, that if you go buy a cup of coffee, that you know you're just getting a good cup of coffee. And we also have said to shop local because when you're shopping local, the money is. staying in your community. Those small, you know, local businesses are usually supporting things like your high school choir and your Little League and things like that. They're not, they're not supporting the radical left organizations that are destroying our country and our world we live in today. I've said a lot. I can keep talking about it. But I know you probably have more questions to ask me, but that's just a little bit of a start of how second vote got going. That's awesome. And I actually

wanted to ask you more about, and you hit on this with the story at the beginning, but how people aren't aware of where their dollars are going. And I know other than having people research and look into second vote and all the research that they do, how would you encourage people to even talk about these issues of kind of following the money and being aware of where their dollars are going when they donate to someone? Well, I think, you know, we've seen the election and 75 million, you know, voted for President Trump. And if they're so concerned about those, you know, the issues that are on that side, on the right side, and the issues that we score on are typically the top, issues for conservative. It's life. It's border security and immigration. It's the Second Amendment. It's

basic freedoms, which involves religious freedom and the First Amendment, and then education and environment, meaning when I say environment, it's meaning too much government regulation. We don't approve of that and cap and trade and those kind of things. So those are the six issues that we score on that are typically most important to your everyday shoppers. And so, you know, if you're going to go pick a candidate that aligns with your values, then you can also go behind the scenes and look at the company's scores. Because when I tell you that we have the scores out there, you can actually see behind the issues and behind the scores. So we research everything that we do and we cite it. It's a free app. Anyone can see our scores and shop with their dollars based

on the values with the scores. But you can also see like behind the wall, I would say, of where our research is and where it comes from. We look at 990s. We look at corporate stances. We look at CEO's public statements. And so we put that out there for everyone to see so that you can make an informed decision of where to shop. And, you know, we all have money. And people now are saying, what can I do? You know, I've just live at home. I just do this. I'm a mom or I do that. Everybody has money, whether it's a little or a lot. And we spend it somewhere. And so let's start making better informed decisions so that we can, you know, align our dollars with our values. And not just that, we're not just, you know, a think tank. We're really more of an action tank. We want people to

take action. We also want people to reach out to these organization CEOs and their board members and say, look, I really like shopping at your store. I like the products that you have. I love the store environment. But, you know, if you keep attacking what I believe in and you keep supporting these radical left things, then I just can't continue to shop there. And I think if we can make our voices heard more, then they'll start listening. You know, the left has been so organized, so together, so loud, and, you know, and we're just hard workers. We just want to raise our family, go to church. But it's time that we raise our voice, and it's time that we actually do something, and we can with our money. Well, we're talking here at Resource Bank, and you recently

spoke on a panel that was called mobilizing customers, employees, and shareholders, for the captured corporation. Can you talk about what the captured corporation is? The capture corporation? Yes. Well, it's basically, I mean, you've got one side that with the stockholders, and that's a whole different side of things that I can speak on a little bit in a minute, but it's the whole thing that what the corporations are doing. They're controlling everything right now. And if we have the power to actually do something as well, and if we don't step in with our money and make those decisions, and the corporations will continue to do what they've been doing and what we're seeing today. And Some of that, you know, politically with Georgia and some of those laws you've seen people,

the corporations kind of step out and say things. But they also backtracked a little bit because people started speaking out on that. And they also saw that, okay, maybe I spoke up when things weren't, you know, really accurate. And so we've got to actually step up and let our voices be heard against these corporations that are doing these things. Another thing that Congressman Diane Black and Dr. David Black have done recently is start a for-profit side. It's called Second Vote Advisors, and they've created some ETFs. And so it's second vote advisors.com, and there's two, it's on the Chicago Board of Exchange, so people can invest their money with their values as well.

And so they've got two different ETSs right now. One is Life, and one is EGIS. The ticker is L-Y-F-E, and the other one is E-G-I-S. So with the Life Fund, it's a pro-life or it's a, it's a pro-life, or, neutral on the issue. So you know that you can invest in that fund knowing that your money's not going to go anything that's against life and those kind of things. Or it's neutral on the issue. And the same way with the Aegis one, which is border security and Second Amendment, it's either neutral on the issue or it's pro, you know, the legal immigration and pro second amendment

and those kind of things. So that's something that's, I think is very important. And I'm so excited that that was created just within the last year. And I would encourage any of your followers to reach out to second vote advisers.com. Why is mobilizing so important? Can you talk a little bit about that? I think it's important because when we're just all scattered and we're all doing our own thing, we don't get a lot accomplished. And so when we're all on the same page, and I think that's, you know, here at that resource bank

that we're all trying to do. We're all trying to get together and kind of be on the same page. and the left has been so well organized, so well funded that they've been able to do with the ton here recently and create the progress that they've made. And it's time that we get together and all kind of connect and do the same thing on our side so that we can make a bigger impact. You mentioned the situation of Georgia, how the MLB decided to move out of Georgia because of the election integrity law and ended up going to Colorado, which in fact their election integrity or their election law there is pretty similar to what is in Georgia. right now. Can you give some other examples of how woke culture and how woke corporations are kind of influencing society right now? Yeah, I mean, I think you can see that with all the different social media technology that you have going on. Obviously, they have impacted our

freedom of speech. And matter of fact, we've done a few things similar to that where we've scored all the different social media outlets. We've recently, we did a Black Lives Matter organization guide so that you can see on our website what all corporations have contributed to that organization. We also have a Planned Parenthood guide so you can see what corporations are donating to Planned Parenthood. Also in 2015, Second Vote started a United Way guide so that at the time we found that over 83 chapters were giving to Planned Parenthood. And since we've been doing the guide, it's come down to about 57 chapters. So we've made an impact just by putting them on watch. I think if we can do that as people, as consumers, if we can let corporations know that they're on watch, that we can actually start making an impact on these companies.

If you could point out one thing that people could do to counteract these book corporations, what would that one thing be? First, we always say this. The one thing is shop local. It might cost a dollar or more, but shop local first. And then, you know, start searching. Just pick one company or one organization that you shop with. Check them out on our website. at all the things that they support. And, and, you know, take a look at that and take notice. And if you don't like what you see, if they don't score either a three or above, reach out to that CEO, reach out to the board of directors, you know, and let them know, you know, that you are no longer going to shop with them if they are going to continue this. It's, if we do these things

every single day, and if 75 million or half of that, you know, does something like that, then we can actually start making them an impact. But, you know, you can't just hear like Target has done something bad or Starbucks has done and you just like okay for a week I'm not going to go you know you've got to take action you've got to speak out you've got to tell others about second vote so that you know people can be aware of where their dollars are going well we talked about this before we got started but and you've mentioned something that second vote does is track companies social issues positions do you all advocate boycotts and if so is there an example of a boycott from the right that has been done recently that really has brought about change we we don't really advocate boycott

We really don't. We want people to shop at the highest score on the second vote scale that you can that align with your values. And we want you to try to make an impact with reaching out to those organizations. So we don't necessarily say boycott, but we do want people to make their voices heard and to reach out. That's what's been done on the left. And so we've just got to do more of that on our side. But I think just impacting like we have done with United Way. And there was another time a few years ago that Macy saw that we were doing something with one of the issues that we support.

And we put that out there and they stepped back and said, hey, we're no longer going to do that. And so it's always good to hear back from corporations. We send them letters and emails to let them know what their score is. First of all, who we are, what we do. We showed them their score and we asked them to review it, let us know if there's anything else that they would like to add or if there's something they disagree with. And then about five days later, we posted it on our website. So we always love hearing back from organizations

because we know that they care and they're on the lookout, and we're starting to hear more and more about that. So we hope we start hearing more and more as time goes on because that means consumers are actually like watching, looking, and connecting with these CEOs and these corporations to make an impact. Well, going back to the discussion over what corporations, there's a recent poll that came out that said that about, 57 to 64% of Americans oppose corporations that weed into political and cultural fights.

Is this a growing movement that you're seeing? Are people, do you think, getting increasingly frustrated by corporations getting so political? Oh, yeah. I see that every day. I mean, I was at CPAC earlier this year in January, and you could just see that there, and it was a lot of talk there about just all the wokeism going on, and people are ready. people want to do something. I've been speaking all over since CPAC just on this same subject because people are wanting to know what they can do. And some people are, you know, coming out

that said, I've never been active. I've never done anything. This is my first time at an event or, you know, at a conservative, you know, group or meeting. And they just, they want to know what they can do. And I see that all over. And so with second vote, this is something you can do every single day. We make it very easy on our website. We even have a way you can click on an email at the bottom of a company score that has a connect with their CEO or their board member. So it makes it really easy for them to just write a quick email to them. We also list better alternatives. If there are any, if there are better alternatives, we list those at the website too for a company if it's a low score.

And then we don't want consumers to feel guilty about shopping somewhere. We try to say shop the highest score, even if it's a two, and there's another alternative that's a 2.7. Well, go with the one that's a 2.7 and then do something about it, you know, reach out to that organization. So I can't say it anymore how we just can't sit still anymore. We have to make our voices heard. What kind of risk does the country run if this isn't addressed if people don't speak out, if they don't try to reach out and let corporations know that they're concerned about a stance that they're taking? I mean, I think we can kind of see the risk and where it's heading and where it's going just in the last few months.

And if we want to see our country become a socialistic country, then I think that's a big risk. I think that's one of the biggest risk. I know you and I don't want to see it that way, but I see that coming if we don't start doing something about it. Well, lastly, June is celebrated as Pride Month, and there are many, many, many corporations who are releasing rainbow-colored items and events. For a lot of conservatives, it can seem like corporations are hopelessly liberal. Is there any hope that conservatives in the right can push back on this successfully? Well, I think there's always hope. That's why we do what we do.

We don't want to ever stop. And so I think there is hope. But, you know, we just don't want that issue attacking our First Amendment rights. And when that crosses over, that's an issue and our religious freedom and those kind of things. And so we try to spotlight those companies and those organizations. that are doing that. We have an HRC guide there on our website that you can take a look at. But I think there's always hope. That's why we're here today. That's why the several hundred people came out to CPAC. And that's why I'm like all over the United States right now talking

about second vote because there is hope. People want to know what they can do and they want to do something. So I'm optimistic always. My glasses have full. So there is hope. And I'm excited that we can make change. Well, Amy, on that hopeful note, thank you for joining us on the Daily Signal. It's great having you with us. Thank you so much, Rachel. Appreciate it. And that will do it for today's episode. Thanks for listening to the Daily Signal podcast. You can find the Daily Signal podcast on Google Play, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and IHeart Radio. Please be sure to leave us a review and a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and encourage others to subscribe. Thanks again for listening. I'll be back with you all tomorrow. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to you by more than half a million

members of the Heritage Foundation. It is executive produced by Kate Trinko and Rachel Del Judas, sound design by Lauren Evans, Mark Geinney, and John Pop. For more information, visitdailysignal.com.