Anheuser-Busch hires ex-GOP aides to lobby after Dylan Mulvaney controversy
Anheuser Bush has reportedly hired a number for former Republican political aides in an effort to mend relations with conservatives following its controversial partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Disclosures show that weeks ago the embattled company, owned by Belgium-based brewing conglomerate InBev, hired lobbying firm Origin Advocacy for representation on “general policy regarding the alcohol-beverage industry,” Fox Business reported Friday.
The account is being handled by Origin founder Sean McClean and Origin partner Emily Lynch — both former veteran staffers to Republican politicians.
According to Origin’s website, McLean previously served on the legislative staff of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and was the White House liaison for the Commerce Department under President Trump. He also once worked as the legislative director for Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) when she served in the US House of Representatives.
Lynch began her career working on on the committee staff for Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) before later serving as a legislative assistant to former Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R, NH), and then Rep. Virginia Foxx (R, NC).
Some conservatives do not want lawmakers to take meetings with the lobbyists., AP
The American Accountability Foundation [AAF], a conservative opposition research group, sent a letter to congressional aides urging them to reject the beer giant and Origin, according to Fox Business.
AAF President Tom Jones slammed Origin in the letter, accusing them of “making the rounds on the Hill trying to red-wash Bud Light’s disastrous decision to partner with a man pretending to be a woman and tell you the company really does respect conservative values.”
He accused the lobbyists of “making the shamefully offensive equivalency argument that their transgender activist beer can is just like their beer can honoring WWII vets,” Jones wrote.
Outraged conservatives boycotted Bud Light after their partnership with Mulvaney. Twitter/@OliLondonTV
“If partnering with a trans activist wasn’t shameful enough, equating Dylan Mulvaney to a World War II hero is really beyond the pale,” he continued.
Bud Light is reportedly gearing up to go on a major marketing offensive beginning this week in an attempt to win some of its customers back, after the Mulvaney campaign sent sales of the popular beer plunging 17% during the week ended April 15, The Post reported on Thursday.
Mulvaney rose to fame documenting her transition from a man to a woman on her TikTok in a series she dubbed “365 Days of Girlhood.” On April 1, to celebrate the conclusion of her transition, Bud Light sent the influencer custom-made can’s featuring her face. She later posted another video enjoying one of the beers in a bathtub.
The company has been largely quiet since.
Anheuser-Busch revealed earlier this week that two marketing executives overseeing Bud Light — the brand’s vice president of marketing Alissa Heinerscheid and her boss, Daniel Blake — have been put on leave as the brand scrambles to quell the outrage sparked by the company’s partnership with Mulvaney.
Bud Light is set to start a marketing blitz this week to win customers back. Alamy Stock Photo
In a series of private Zoom meetings this month with US beer distributors, Bud has promised “there will be an improved screening process before any marketing hits the public,” a Northeast-based distributor told The Post.
AAF told Fox Business in a statement, “If Bud Light wants to regain the trust of conservative customers, they should apologize for insulting their values by embracing the woke left’s radical gender agenda instead of wasting their money on lobbyists. Bud Light sided with the Left against the average American and no amount of D.C. lobbyists in fancy suits will make them forget that.”
Source: New York Post
