In recent weeks, General Electric and Comcast have both ceased doing business with companies in the gun trade. One media outlet thinks it knows why: Unable to get gun control from Congress, the Fortune 500 firms are working with their favorite socialist president to eliminate America's free market in guns.

Sunshine State News, a shadowy state-capital outlet that reports the latest from Florida's right-wing fever swamps, interviewed Lake County Property Appraiser (and gun-shop owner) Carey Baker, who's singlehandedly holding down this fortress of derpitude:

“I believe these companies have succumbed to [Obama] administration pressure... This is all coming to a head in what I think is a concerted effort to discriminate, to marginalize, and eventually eliminate the firearms industry. And I believe it's politically motivated.” Baker admits he has no hard evidence of the Obama administration having orchestrated, or collaborated in the development of, these policies; but both GE and Comcast have been the recipients of the administration's generous corporate welfare to favored companies.

The article points out that both GE and Comcast enjoyed billions in stimulus money. Plus Comcast owns that lefty MSNBC, and GE "was one of the chief donors to Obama's 2008 and 2012 election campaigns." So you know there's a conspiracy here.

Here are a few things Baker and Sunshine State News don't point out, though: GE, which has long been one of the nation's largest defense contractors, donated significantly more money to anti-gun-control Republicans than to Democrats in 2012. It donated nearly three dollars to Mitt Romney for every dollar it gave to Obama. It gave more money to Scott Brown and John Boehner, staunch gun-rights defenders, than to any other Senate and House candidate.

Comcast gave a lot more to pro-gun-control Democratic candidates, it's true—except in the House, where Republicans took the lion's share of donations from Comcast and its employees. (In other words, a major US corporation contributed to the campaigns of incumbent politicians who were likely to win again. ¡Que escándalo!)

But Comcast also works with the conservative-leaning American Legislative Exchange Council, and it's hired a top Republican Iraq War flack to handle its strategic communications. The Comcast VP who's currently in charge of NBCUniversal—in other words, the big boss of that librul MSNBC channel—was, in fact, a major GOP bundler for George W. Bush.

Comcast even gave Sunshine State News the courtesy of explaining its position (which is surprising, if you've ever tried to get customer service from the company for your cable box). "Consistent with longstanding NBC policies, Comcast Spotlight has decided it will not accept advertising for firearms or weapons moving forward," a spokeswoman told the news site. "This policy aligns us with the guidelines in place at many media organizations."

What does all this prove? Nothing, really—which also what Baker's batshit conspiracy theory amounts to. Nevertheless, he's convinced the Lake County board of commissioners to approve a censure of Comcast and urge the state Legislature to get involved. "I just don't think they can have a broad-based ban over an entire legal, constitutionally-protected industry," says Baker, a Republican whom Jeb Bush calls a "bold conservative."

Yeah, that corporate capitalism thing is a real bitch. Who was in favor of that, anyway?

[Image via BigStockPhoto]