It’s been a very long time since HRC participated in direct activism of protest. They’ve embraced a cooperation and “access” model with Fortune 500 companies, and I don’t think that’s a terrible idea, but I do think they’ve gone too far.

What good was access this year when Arkansas went on such a malignant spree of anti-LGBTQ legislation? Walmart could have put its foot down and powerfully pressured the Arkansas legislature, but that did not happen.

To be fair, legislative pressure does happen sometimes. Last year, some of the worst of Texas’s excesses were avoided because corporations threatened economic consequences if the legislature followed through.

I’m not convinced HRC was the reason for that, but I know they worked to help make it happen.