“Voting with your wallet” is very effective. From the Montgomery Bus Boycott of the mid ’50s to the United Farm Workers’ grape boycott against the Delano growers in the late ’60s to the Gay Liberation Movement’s Boycott of Coors Beer in the ’70s (to this day, you still won’t find a gay bar serving Coors!), financial pressure is real pressure, and corporations will do anything to ease the pain.

Ballast Point is an up-and-coming craft beer owned by Constellation Brands, but their profits don’t just go back into the company. Ballast Point’s owners make huge political donations every election. In 2016 alone, Constellation Brands PAC donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the campaigns and PACs of Paul Ryan, House Majority leader Kevin McCarthy, and many of their Republican colleagues.

Ballast Point’s owners raised more money in 2016 than in any of the past five elections, and they are already gearing up to help Republicans win the crucial 2018 midterms. Constellation Brands PAC is listed as “Vice Chair” of Paul Ryan’s upcoming Chicago fundraiser (when the Speaker of the House hopes to raise $2 million in one night). The invitation to the fundraiser, an event that plans to sell special access to Paul Ryan for $50,000, shows Constellation Brands’ name printed at the top.

Are Ballast Point and Constellation Brands supporting Republicans because they are a conservative corporation?

Constellation Brands is actually testing the waters on the other side of the aisle. Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth’s “Victory Fund” PAC received $5,000, and Illinois Democratic House Reps Danny K. Davis, Mike Quigley, Daniel Lipinski, and Robin Kelly received a combined $6,500 from the makers of Ballast Point.

So, why does Ballast Point put so much money into politics? What are they after?

We don’t know the full answer right now, but we can demand answers. Because Ballast Point Beer and Constellation Brands have chosen to align themselves with Paul Ryan, a politician who has repeatedly promised to shred the social safety net in the service of ever-larger tax cuts for billionaires, The Revolution League would like to ask Ballast Point and Constellation Brands these questions:

1. Knowing what you know about Paul Ryan’s desire to endanger senior citizens, children, retirees, the poor, and people with pre-existing health conditions, why have you chosen to enthusiastically support his re-election and his programs?

2. If you are against Paul Ryan’s policies and what he stands for, what has he or the Trump administration promised your company in exchange for full support of their regressive, inhumane policies?

3. How do you think craft beer enthusiasts would respond if they knew you had chosen to ally yourself with an administration that favors the rich, the powerful, and the corporate over small, independent businesses?

Until Constellation Brands disentangles their future from that of Paul Ryan, The Revolution League is calling on all Chicagoans, Chicago bars, and Chicago liquor stores to

BOYCOTT BALLAST POINT BEER!

#DONTDRINKBALLAST

READ THE LATEST ON THE BOYCOTT HERE

Research for this article was done on OpenSecrets.org. See the Constellation Brands PAC OpenSecrets Profile here

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