Toyota chooses democracy.

     “We understand that the PAC decision to support select members of Congress who contested the results troubled some stakeholders.”

          Statement by Toyota 

Well, yes.

A majority of Americans haven't yet decided to abandon democracy. 

After the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol, Toyota joined a large number of businesses saying they would suspend political contributions to the GOP House Members who voted not to count electoral votes from battleground states that supported Biden. At stake in America is whether we have a peaceful transfer of power based on elections. Businesses decided they crossed a line.

In the past few months the line got fuzzy. Trump continued to say he won by a landslide and GOP politicians either echo Trump or mumble. That remains a minority view. The mainstream American public, and the business community, wanted the stability of a secure democracy.

Then came the surprise report by Axios. A few companies had made political contributions to those Members after all. It signaled a re-definition of the insurrection and votes to void the election. The "Overton Window" of acceptable thought had moved. Now officeholders could vote to overturn the election and remain in good graces. Toyota was prominent in the size and number of its contributions.

I drive a hybrid Toyota Avalon. Toyota sedans have an image and reputation, drawn by extension from the pioneering Toyota Prius. It is a quiet statement of reliability, quality, and environmental common- sense. I know and like the owner of the dealership that sold it to me. He seems responsible and reasonable--a good citizen--as did the Toyota brand. 

I do not see Priuses with big Trump flags and "Don't Tread on Me" banners. A Prius represents the opposite. A Prius is the trigger for people with diesel pickup trucks with their fuel systems modified to make intentional pollution--called "Rolling Coal"--to create a blast of thick smoke. 

I decided my next car probably could not be a Toyota.

Toyota apparently did not like the attention they were getting in the aftermath of the Axios story. Twitter comments piled on. Kara Swisher, a well-known tech journalist, is an example. She tweeted "I briefly considered the Toyota Sedition, but settled on the Kia Sorento. More USB ports and 100 percent less insurrection." Here is a tweet in response to hers:

The Lincoln Project created an ad, calling for a boycott of Toyota products. 

Why would Toyota support politicians who try to overthrow the very system that has been so profitable for them. . .. It's time to call Toyota's corporate leadership. If they don't reconsider where they spent their money, Americans can reconsider where we spend ours.

Here is the ad on YouTube: Click: 60 seconds

Toyota's first response was to defend themselves. They said they did not think corporate donations should be based on a single vote to overturn an election. Then they reversed, with this:

Toyota is committed to supporting and promoting actions that further our democracy. We understand that the PAC decision to support select members of Congress who contested the results troubled some stakeholders. We are actively listening to our stakeholders and, at this time, have decided to stop contributing to those members of Congress who contested the certification of certain states in the 2020 election.

Some critics will say they knuckled under to threats. I think they recognized they erred and wanted to fix the mistake--the classic Toyota manufacturing policy of "continuous improvement." One error was to have ignored the traditional Japanese warning that the nail that sticks up is the one that gets hammered. They stuck out. The second is briefly to have misunderstood their own brand and the center of American politics. Americans have not resolved whether our democracy is secure. The former president has not accepted the results of the election, and his party is supporting him, actively or by silence.

Squeeze. That creates a squeeze for Republican officeholders. They want to support elections--and they certainly would not endorse the principle that President Biden and Vice President Harris can void an election to keep themselves in office. Republican officeholders know, on principle and as precedent, that the January 6 insurrection and votes are dangerous. They want to move on and change the subject.

Toyota was squeezed, too. They wanted to donate money on issues relating directly to their interests as a manufacturer, and to treat the January 6th votes as long past and gone. But Trump has kept democracy on the table, top of mind for both Republicans and Democrats. Toyota needed to defend their brand. Toyota vehicles don't represent insurrection. The Toyota brand is not a "Democratic" brand, even if a Prius does trigger Rolling Coal. The brand represents good citizenship.

It isn't good citizenship to overturn an election. 

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