Marcus (left) said retailers who don't give to Coleman "should be shot."

Marcus (left) said retailers who don't donate to Coleman "should be shot."

Did bailout money end up boosting Norm Coleman’s senatorial campaign? Hard to say, but damning new evidence unearthed by Huffington Post suggests that the former U.S. senator was heavily promoted by corporate opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act, including bailout recipient Bank of America Corp. On Oct. 17, three days after the financial institution received $25 billion in bailout funds, Bank of America hosted a conference call with conservative activists who charged that the proposed legislation would turn America “into France” and spell “the demise of a civilization,” according to leaked audio of the call. Former Sen. Coleman campaigned against the measure (erroneously at times) and was supported by a series of TV commercials made by the anti-labor Coalition for a Democratic Workplace — and his name came up on the call.

Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus said: “If a retailer has not gotten involved in this, if he has not spent money on this election, if he has not sent money to Norm Coleman and all these other guys, they should be shot. They should be thrown out their goddamn jobs.”

During the call, a man, presumed to be an employee of Marcus’ foundation, suggested that listeners could influence the election without violating campaign finance laws by giving to the foundation. “Some organizations have written checks for $250,000, $500,000, some $2 million for this.”