[from two years ago Tuesday, July 24, 2012] Right-wing food companies (Oh, the horrors!)

http://www.salon.com/2012/07/24/right_wingers_food_companies_salpart/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow ^ | Tuesday, July 24, 2012 07:39 AM PST | Lauren Kelley

[2ndDivisionVet]

These food chains are owned by far right-wingers who've funded conservative super-PACs.

For all the Oreo Cookies out there – companies that support gay rights, if only because doing so is good for business – there are plenty of food companies that have not come around on progressive social issues. In fact, a number of food companies are owned by far right-wingers who’ve spent significant money opposing gay rights, abortion rights, and other important causes and funding attack ads against left-leaning politicians.

The companies in question include many popular chain restaurants that you may eat at occasionally, or even all the time. It’s wise to know where your dining dollars are going.

To that end, here are five food chains that are helmed by owners who support right-wing politics.

1. Chick-fil-A

It won’t be news to many readers that Chick-fil-A’s owner is deeply entrenched in conservative politics and social issues. The chain has been in the news many a time for its owner’s anti-gay attitudes, in particular.

The latest Chick-fil-A hubbub has been especially high-profile. Chain president Dan Cathy, who is the son of Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy, said in a recent interview with the Baptist Press that “as an organization we can operate on biblical principles.” Asked about the company’s support of the “traditional family,” Cathy answered, “Well, guilty as charged….We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit….We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles.”

Though Chick-fil-A’s attitudes were no secret, this was a bold statement. Unsurprisingly, a strong backlash led by gay rights supporters has ensued. (Meanwhile, the anti-gay side has been vocal in its support of the company.)

In response to the controversy, the company didn’t apologize, but it did spotlight its employee nondiscrimination policy and said that from now on it will “leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.”

2. Carl’s Jr.

Carl’s Jr. founder Carl Karcher, who died in 2008, had been a supporter of anti-abortion causes for decades. In particular, Karcher was fond of funding the anti-choice group Operation Rescue. He also had a mean anti-gay streak as well. From the AP story that followed his death:

He was reviled by abortion rights activists for his contributions to anti-abortion groups and his oft-repeated story about talking a Carl’s Jr. employee out of an abortion. Gay rights groups dubbed his hamburgers “bigot burgers” after Karcher supported a 1978 proposition that would have allowed school boards to fire teachers who were gay or advocated homosexuality.

3. Domino’s Pizza

Like Karcher, Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan is an unapologetic supporter of anti-choice groups, including Operation Rescue, Right to Life, Priests for Life, and the Committee to End State-Funded Abortion in Michigan. (Domino’s itself has noted that it does not, as a company, support “either side of the reproductive rights issue.”)

Monaghan is a devout Catholic who also founded Ave Maria University. It’s said that he was inspired by a visit to the Vatican in the 1980s to found the Ave Maria List, an anti-choice PAC.

4. White Castle

White Castle joins Carl’s Jr. on the list of beloved burger joints with right-wing ties. According to a recent ThinkProgress report about companies that have helped bankroll right-wing attack ads, White Castle has given $25,000 to the Congressional Leadership Fund super PAC, a group linked to House Speaker John Boehner that is supporting conservative candidates in the November election.

5. Waffle House

Waffle House (or Awful House as I used to call it growing up) is also mentioned in the ThinkProgress report. The breakfast joint has given $100,000 this election cycle to the Karl Rove super PAC American Crossroads. Mother Jones’ Tim Murphy reported on the donation:

This is surprising because one doesn’t normally associate Big Waffle with big scary super-PACs, but also not that surprising: CEO Jim Rogers Jr. is a longtime supporter of Republican causes, and the company’s political action committee has given exclusively to Republicans (in considerably more modest quantities). His ties to Romney date back to 2006, when he joined the finance team of Romney’s political action committee, Commonwealth PAC.

So there you have it. The next time you go out to eat at one of the above restaurants, know that your burger and waffle dollars might eventually end up funding anti-gay, anti-choice or other conservative causes.

[ChildOfThe60s]

Lady is a joke.

"Lady"? Surely you jest.

[Pox]

In-N-Out is enormously popular in California. To bad mouth that company is to have large numbers of moderates question the philosophy and agenda of the left.

[MaxMax]

I meant to say “chick”.

[Mastador1]

She fails to point out that today’s Carl’s Jr. is far from Karcher’s Catholic leadership. Like many other companies, once the founder dies so does his morals. At least the companies I’m familiar with like Disney, McDonald’s, Carl’s Jr., Knott’s Berry Farm and I know there are many others.

[tumblindice]

‘Harold and Kumar Do White Castle’.
The last time I tried to ‘do White Castle,’ I couldn’t finish.
Then I didn’t think the greasy belching would ever stop. Yuk.

[Piranha]

The author is naive. Nobody will care about these companies. Brandon Eich was outed as a donor to Proposition 8 in California so the board of directors could force him out and replace him with someone who favored Digital Rights Management (DRM).

Unless one of these companies is doing something that the obama regime dislikes, or unless the conservative members of management become vocal regarding some issue or other, they will be able to keep their jobs.

[GeronL]

bump

[RPTMS]

They’re not all in for the author’s agenda, which is all that matters to her.

[Impy]

“anti-choice groups”

You mean the teacher’s unions, Lauren?

Choice=School Choice.

Stop speaking in code and call ABORTION what it is, ABORTION. Are you afraid to call it by it’s own name?

[PizzaDriver]

Did ya notice that TRADEMARKed term OREO COOKIE is used as a term of derision in the original article?
If Redskins must be dropped as a liscensed Trademark so should OREO!!!

[boop]

I always confuse Slate with Salon.

Which is the one that is the penny stock again?

I mean they both pump out leftist crap, but who's buying it?

[VeniVidiVici]

Waffle House (or Awful House as I used to call it growing up)

Love Waffle House. And they are building new stores it seems everywhere.

[RichInOC]

Carl Karcher’s pro-life sympathies, I strongly suspect, led in no small part to one of my favorite commercials ever, 2005’s “Ultrasound”:

“Man, it is really hot in here...Mom! [fweet!] Yo, Mom! You’re not wolfin’ down jalapeños again, are ya? Yeah, ’cause let me tell you about my friend, Ned...his momma ate nothin’ but spicy foods?...Homeboy came out red, Ma! Bright red! So if you keep crammin’ those peppers down your neck, I might just bust out of here early...grab something on the way out, take it with me.”

[DemforBush]

“Lauren Kelley is the activism and gender editor at AlterNet”

A dingbat by any other name...

[Liz]

No less a sophisticate than Esquire Mag named Chick-fil-a one of the nation's best sandwiches.

ESQUIRE REVIEW You can get a chicken sandwich anywhere, which may explain your low expectations. Boneless breast. Bun. Blah. But down south, there lives an eye-opener.

A come-to-Jesus sandwich. The Chick-fil-A. Seasoned, breaded breast served on a toasted buttered bun with dill- pickle slices. No mayo. No sauce at all. Deceptively simple, yet transcendent. The hook is the breading: spicy, with an intoxicating crunch.

The meat is always juicy, never chewy. The bun is like lingerie -- there, but not, providing delicious support without obscuring the main flavor. The first bite changes everything you think you know about chicken. And about the need for condiments. -- Allison Glock

Read more: http://www.esquire.com/features/food-drink/sandwiches#ixzz211NacUiU

Here's your deluxe Chick-Filet-a sandwich:
w/ frilly lettuce leaf, vine-ripened tomato slices
cheese slice; add a side of hot, crisp waffle fries and
large iced lemonade, couple containers of CFA's luscious
"special sauce" and you got lunch.

[Liz]

[SoFloFreeper]

The makers of OREO cookies are pro-sodomy? I will remember that next time I am in their aisle...I always wondered why those cookies on the shelf were all crumbled and not worth buying...