Chamber of Commerce Muzzled

membership ticker

Autocratic forces are ascendant.

Truth-telling independent media is one remaining bulwark against an autocrat’s unrestrained exercise of power. At a time when billionaire owners of corporate media are making accommodations to political leaders, our nonprofit newsroom cannot be bought, bent, or broken. Depend on it, and please stand with us.

Autocratic forces are ascendant in America. But truth-telling independent media is one remaining bulwark against the unrestrained exercise of power. At a time when billionaire owners of corporate media are making accommodations to political leaders, our nonprofit newsroom cannot be bought or broken. Please stand with us.

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

The backlash continues against the Chamber of Commerce’s right-wing smear campaigns. Late last month, leaders of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce said they would not be participating in the US Chamber’s $50 million campaign to unseat members of Congress who supported health reform. “We get nowhere by fighting with our guys,” San Antonio Chamber president Richard Perez told the San Antonio Express-News. “They have been very good to us.” And today, the LA Times reports that the California Chamber of Commerce is pulling a TV ad against Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown after four members of its board complained that “this is nothing more than a typical political attack ad.”

Meanwhile, the US Chamber has launched a quixotic advertising campaign urging businesses to join “America’s most powerful grassroots force.” As recent events make clear, it’d more accurately read, “America’s most powerful corporate astroturfer.”