Every activist group, regardless of ideology, has some kind of schtick. Some prefer working on TV ad campaigns, others like lobbying, others prefer press manipulation. The American Family Association, unfortunately, only has one move: boycotts. It’s getting embarrassing.
As a rule, the AFA boycotts are counterproductive. A few months ago, for example, the group announced it was ending its nine-year boycott of Disney. A grand total of zero of the AFA’s demands had been met and the company enjoyed a surge in profits after the boycott began (though the two were no doubt unrelated). A few months later, the group went after Ford Motor Company, which didn’t seem particularly concerned.
This followed similar recent efforts by the AFA against Crest toothpaste, Volkswagen, Tide detergent, Clorox bleach, Pampers, MTV, Abercrombie & Fitch, K-Mart, Burger King, American Airlines and S.C. Johnson & Son, makers of Windex, Ziploc, Pledge, Glade, and Edge. Late last year, the AFA also went after the movie “Shark Tale,” because the group believed the movie was designed to brainwash children into accepting gay rights. Not a single AFA target has ever caved to the group’s demands.
And yet, the group keeps trying.
The maker of the highly popular American Girl line of dolls has become the target of conservative activists threatening a boycott unless it cuts off contributions to a youth organization that supports abortion rights and acceptance of lesbians.
The protest is directed at an American Girl campaign in which proceeds from sales of an “I Can” wristband help support Girls Inc., a national nonprofit organization that describes its mission as “inspiring girls to be strong, smart and bold.”
One conservative group, the American Family Association, based in Mississippi, is urging its members to demand that American Girl halt support for Girls Inc., calling it “a pro-abortion, pro-lesbian advocacy group.”
“Let American Girl know they are making a terrible mistake,” said American Family’s chairman, the Rev. Donald E. Wildmon. His group says it has 2.2 million members.
There’s no indication that Wildmon was kidding. This might be funnier, though, if he weren’t a serious player in conservative circles.
For example, when 13 members of the executive committee of the Arlington Group, an umbrella alliance of 60 religious conservative groups, participated in a conference call with White House-backed surrogates of Harriet Miers, it was Donald Wildmon and the American Family Association hosting the call.
When leading religious right organizations decided that they’d work together to try and endorse a movement-backed presidential candidate in 2008, Wildmon and the AFA was among the names of those who hope to pick the next GOP nominee.
It’s embarrassing enough when activists like these develop boycott fixations, but it’s worth realizing that we’re not just talking about random clowns with no power. Today’s GOP makes guys like Wildmon and groups like the AFA influential.
American Girl probably shouldn’t worry too much about the AFA’s boycott, but anyone worried about the future of the Republican Party has plenty of cause for concern.