Today’s Wall Street Journal includes a very informative editorial about recent efforts to silence the voice of the business community in the political arena.

Specifically, several activist investment firms, many with ties to labor unions and George Soros, are filing shareholder resolutions that require disclosure of companies’ political spending. Their campaign is now receiving support from California’s massive state pension funds, CalPERS and CalSTRS, against the objections of the U.S. Chamber.

While “disclosure” and “transparency” may be the buzz words surrounding these efforts, the real impact of these resolutions would be to scare businesses away from participating in the political process.  How so?  The Journal’s editorial explains using the recent example of the Target Corporation:

Target donated to Republican candidate [for Minnesota Governor] Tom Emmer because of his fiscal positions relevant to the state’s business climate. But the left assailed Target because Mr. Emmer opposed gay marriage. Target has a history of supporting equal rights and benefits for gay employees, but that didn't stop the attacks by MoveOn.org.

These tactics make clear that the true intention of activist investment groups and their allies is to punish businesses for choosing to participate in the political process in the hope that they elect not to participate at all, leaving the political playing field wide open to unions, plaintiffs’ lawyers, and other groups opposed to the business agenda.