Picture this: You slide into your Progressive Insurance-covered Toyota automobile or SUV and bypass the ChevronTexaco and Exxon Mobile service stations in order to stop at Shell to fill your tank. From there, you pick Arby’s over KFC, McDonald’s and Wendy’s for lunch. You decide to shop at Costco instead of Circuit City, Sears, Target or J.C. Penney. And you charge your purchase on your CitiBank card instead of American Express or Capital One.

That’s what you would do if you followed the advice of www.choosetheblue.com, a Consumer Reports-like site for Democrats who want to patronize companies that support them. Corporations and labor unions are prohibited from making direct contributions to political candidates. But they are able to circumvent this ban by donating to political action committees (PACs) or having their employees donate money to a candidate’s campaign.

Each day, consumers make dozens of decisions that translate into millions of dollars, decision about what to wear, where to eat and what to buy. Although some companies protect themselves by giving to both major parties, most funnel the bulk of their resources to Republicans.

Organizers of choosetheblue.com decided to examine the records of the Federal Election Commission and the Center for Responsive Politics to see how companies and industries were contributing to the major parties.

Records on the retail industry show that Home Depot, J.C. Penney Co., Circuit City, Dollar General, Saks, May Department Stores, Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart gave more than 80 percent of their political donations to Republicans. On the other hand, Costco, Bed Bath & Beyond, B. Dalton Bookseller, Barnes & Noble and Harmon Discount Drugs each gave more than 90 percent of their contributions to Democrats.

In the insurance category, Prudential Financial walked a line down the middle, giving 52 percent to Republicans and 48 percent to Democrats. Center Insurance Agency gave 98 percent to the GOP, American Financial Group donated 97 percent and State Farm Insurance contributed 81 percent to Republicans. Cigna Corp. directed 85 percent of its donations to the GOP, Northwestern Mutual donated 74 percent and AFLAC gave 63 percent.

Favoring Democrats were Torchmark Corp. and its subsidiaries – American Income Life Insurance, First United American Life, Globe Life and Accident, Liberty National Life, United American and United Investors – at 88 percent. National Indemnity favored Democrats 67 percent to 33 percent. Metropolitan Life, New York Life and General Reinsurance played it close to the middle, with Democrats getting the edge by 52 percent, 54 percent and 55 percent, respectively.

Among the major automakers, only Toyota favored Democrats, 74 percent to 26 percent. Ford gave Republicans 72 percent of its political donations, Chevrolet and GMC, 64 percent, Daimler Chrysler, 63 percent and Nissan 57 percent.

Aloha Airlines (96 percent), Hawaiian Airlines (91 percent), Jet Blue Airways (89 percent), Net Jets (89 percent) and Alaska Airlines (56 percent) were the only airlines to give Democrats more than Republicans. North American Airlines, Ryan International and Skywest Airlines gave 100 percent of their political donations to Republicans. GWV Vacations gave 98 percent to Republicans and Papillon Airways gave 97 percent, AirTran donated 95 percent and America West Airlines, 87 percent. Southwest, Continental and ATA gave slightly more than 70 percent while United, USAirways, American and Delta each gave 60 to 65 percent of their donations to the GOP.

Among major hotel chains, only Loews (99 percent) and Hyatt (87 percent) donated more to Democrats. Omni Hotels gave 100 percent of its donations to Republicans. Drury Inns gave 98 percent and Extended Stay America, 82 percent. Among those giving more than 75 percent of their contributions to Republicans were: Ritz-Carlton, Marriott, Fairfield Inn, Holiday Inns, Renaissance Hotels and Residence Inn.

Of the major restaurant chains, only Hard Rock Café favored Democrats, donating 100 percent to them. Restaurants donating more than 90 percent of their contributions to Republicans were Cracker Barrel, Hooters, Logan’s Roadhouse, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Red Lobster, Macaroni Grill, Pizza Hut and Waffle House.

In banking, Chevy Chase Savings Bank donated 78 percent of its funds to Democrats while Bank of America and Citigroup stayed near the middle. Bank of America favored Republicans 51 percent to 49 percent while Citigroup favored Democrats 55 percent to 45 percent. AmSouth, BB&T, Advanta, Sun Trust, US Banco, Home Federal, Fifth Third Bancorp and Wachovia directed more than 70 percent of their contributions to the GOP.

Now that we can see where companies made their political donations, we need a similar analysis of how each company interacts economically with – or disengages from – Black America.