Target Apologizes For Emmer Donation

From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune‘s Target Apologizes For Giving To Group Backing Emmer; CEO Gregg Steinhafel said he was “genuinely sorry” the 0,000 disappointed some workers as well as the public.:

Unable to extinguish a firestorm of protest among some of its customers and gay rights supporters, Target Corp. on Thursday took the unusual step of apologizing for making a political donation.
CEO Gregg Steinhafel sent a message to company leaders saying he was “genuinely sorry” that the donation had disappointed some. The message was posted on the company’s Intranet, making it available to all employees.
Minneapolis-based Target had tried for days to emphasize that the 0,000 donation to MN Forward, a pro-business group backing Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, was based solely on a tax and jobs platform. But because of Emmer’s stance against gay marriage, many perceived the donation as flying in the face of Target’s longstanding commitment to workplace equality.

…”While I firmly believe that a business climate conducive to growth is critical to our future, I realize our decision affected many of you in a way I did not anticipate, and for that I am genuinely sorry,” Steinhafel wrote.

The HRC had condemned the donation; a Facebook page supporting a boycott had reached nearly 50,000 members; MoveOn.org had began a campaign to gather 150,000 petition signatures calling for an apology. Target Corp. had do something dramatic to quell the gathering storm, and publicly apologizing for the Emmer donation appears have been that necessary something.

So for me, I feel comfortable buying hangers, vacuum cleaner bags, and other goods and services from Target again.