The Emerging Conservative Consumer Demographic

Will this result in political power?

Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North of Richmond” is one of the biggest songs in America. A month ago, Anthony was completely unknown, playing open mics in eastern North Carolina. Today he has several songs dominating the streaming charts and is expected to place high on Billboard’s Hot 100.

What changed for Anthony? His music video went viral on conservative Twitter.

Conservative consumers shared the song, downloaded it, and pushed it on their platforms, making “Rich Men North of Richmond” the latest example of conservatives demonstrating market power. It’s the latest in a string of victories for an emerging right wing consumer base, who have voiced their preference for some products and their hostility toward others on several occasions this year. 

But will this market power translate into political power? So far, the answer is no.

The signs of an emerging conservative consumer demographic (CCD) have been discernible for at least two years. The first shoots of the budding trend could be seen in right-wing novelty songs. Several raps attacking vaccines or Joe Biden have topped the iTunes chart over the past two years. Donald Trump’s collaboration with the J6 Choir was also a hit in this category. These flashes in the pan didn’t resonate much beyond the conservative sphere. But their high number of downloads did speak to a small, highly engaged audience hungry for entertainment media that affirmed their political group identity. This year, we’ve seen this same genre of media extend deeper into the mainstream than ever.

The Bud Light boycott was the first effort to cross over. Conservatives were livid over the company’s partnership with transgender political activist Dylan Mulvaney and vowed to punish the beverage giant. Initially, I was skeptical conservatives could pull it off. For years, the right has threatened to boycott myriad corporations to no avail. They boycotted the NFL over the anthem protests, only to return to the league when it became a full-on propaganda vehicle for Black Lives Matter. 

Conservatives proved me wrong. Bud Light suffered a massive decline in sales and a permanent hit to its reputation. The American Right may have fixated on Bud Light more than the beer’s real-life importance, but it’s easy to understand why. The boycott was their first big victory in a while, especially in the marketplace. After a disappointing midterm and mounting state persecution, the Bud Light boycott gave conservatives hope that they could affect change.

And so they went after other woke companies. Target suffered from a right-wing backlash after it promoted Satanic-themed LGBT merchandise to children. The retailer’s stock plunged as conservatives vocally launched a boycott, and the company dropped the offending material. Target’s reaction indicated that for the first time in over a decade, corporate giants might start caring what conservatives think, rather than trying their best to offend them.

The Right doesn’t just punish. As Oliver Anthony shows, it also rewards those who offer products to their taste. Sound of Freedom, an independent film without Hollywood’s backing, became a blockbuster this year thanks entirely to conservative support. The human trafficking flick was overt in its religious message, unlike the usual Hollywood fare. Conservatives responded well to its Christian themes and its subject matter, as well as the generally conspiratorial worldview it promotes. The millions in box office receipts showed that there is a large audience for this kind of movie.

Shortly before Anthony’s country tune, conservatives made Jason Aldean’s “Try That In A Small Town” the biggest song in America. Aldean released the anti-crime anthem back in May to little fanfare. The music video changed the song’s fortunes. The clip, featuring riot and crime footage, instantly connected with conservatives. They loved the song’s celebration of flyover country and its intolerance of disorder. The attempts to “cancel” the song reinforced conservative support for Aldean. CMT and MTV banned the video over its alleged racism. Media outlets shrieked that it endorsed lynching. These efforts only caused more on the right to rally around the song, and eventually it hit number one on the Billboard chart. 

Aldean is one of the biggest country artists (even if he is a bit past his prime now). It’s not that unthinkable he could have a number one hit. Oliver Anthony was completely unknown before his song went viral, and it’s possible that he may have the number one hit in America. That’s the power of the conservative consumer demographic. Smart executives are bound to take notice and try more ways to engage with this vocal market. We are bound to get more movies, music, and general commercial products tailored for the CCD. Black Rifle Coffee has already become a successful business based on this model. Expect more to follow that example.

The CCD also can make companies leery of pissing them off. Several companies cut down on Pride Month excesses last June to avoid suffering Bud Light’s fate. In the post-Mulvaney world, companies will still promote gay marriage in ads and support various diversity initiatives, but they will try to minimize the over the top political activism to avoid conservative outrage.

This is a positive development, but it’s worth noting some important shortcomings. For one, on the backlash front, conservatives are more concerned with the superficial aspects of wokeness than the structural wokeness transforming American society. Do not expect a Bud Light-style boycott over a company practicing anti-white discrimination in its hiring practices. Conservatives even admit that’s not what they primarily care about. Breitbart admitted the shallow focus on anti-wokeness in a June article:

The people boycotting Target and Bud Light are not boycotting the hiring practices of those companies. They’re boycotting those companies’ efforts to promote and validate a gender ideology movement that runs counter to most of their values, and they believe should not be marketed to or around children. Companies can engage in diverse hiring practices without putting a transgender activist on a beer can or selling chest binders.

“Diverse hiring” is ok, so long as you don’t partner with Dylan Mulvaney. But the diverse hiring matters more than this particular campaign, and is presumably at some deeper level what led to the campaign in the first place. Woke HR practices could jeopardize your job or even prevent you from getting one, just because of their skin color. That doesn’t seem very important to the CCD.

The other issue is that the CCD’s market power will not necessarily translate to political power. The CCD, despite what some of its leaders claim, is not the majority of Americans. It’s a minority, but one that companies have to keep in mind. They may treat this group the same way they cater to black,  Hispanics, and even gays. That’s an improvement over the past, but it doesn’t mean conservative are now in control of the country.

Far from it. We’re reminded of this by the latest headlines. While Anthony’s song went viral, Donald Trump was indicted for a fourth time. A vote billed as a referendum on abortion failed miserably for pro-lifers in red Ohio. Special elections as a whole have gone badly for Republicans, and the forecast for November’s elections doesn’t look good either. All of this comes on the heels of a midterm where Republicans performed well below expectations. Many analysts expect 2024 to be another disappointment. 

If the majority were rising up against wokeness, that would be reflected at the ballot box. It is not.

The CCD probably doesn’t even have the allegiance of most self-identified Republicans. A new poll found that well over 60 percent of GOP voters prefer a candidate who priotizes “law and order” rather than anti-wokeness. Anti-wokeness is obviously the priority of the CCD. A majority of Republican voters also prefers political leaders who don’t interfere with corporations rather than ones who target woke corporations. The CCD is arguably a minority within its own party.

The CCD is making an impact, but not to the extent that the Right thinks. The focus on pettier matters like Bud Light may be a response to the feeling of political impotence. Diehard conservatives see the news around them and feel helpless in the political arena, so they focus on less important things they feel they can change. The Bud Light boycott and Oliver Anthony’s success gives them back a sense of power. It makes them think they’re in control of the country when most other events suggest otherwise. That’s why conservative media focuses more of its outrage against a beer company than against a system persecuting a former president. The latest on Bud Light makes them feel powerful, the Trump indictments makes them feel powerless.

Conservative media may decide it’s better to just focus on woke companies and BASED country songs rather than the general political situation. Commentators will think it’s better for their bottom line to pretend things are going their way instead of facing reality.

It’s a good thing the CCD is now emerging. But don’t see this as our salvation. A drop in Target’s sales won’t give us our country back. Only the political struggle will.