Costco to conservatives: Get lost

http://www.michaelmbates.com ^ | 2/26/04 | Michael M. Bates

[Mike Bates]

After several years of shopping there, it looks like my days and evenings roaming the aisles of Costco are over. It’s a shame really.

The closest Costco, the one in Bedford Park, takes longer to drive to than the local Sam’s Club. The extra travel time was almost always worth it.

Costco has a larger variety of items. It’s well managed and rarely are there long lines as there often are at Sam’s. The store has an excellent electronics department and its spiral ham is out of this world. Holiday times are particularly good as you can always count on Costco to have imaginative seasonal items at sensible prices.

At first the idea of warehouse shopping seemed unusual. I just wasn’t in the habit of buying a dozen cans of mushroom soup at a time. The strangeness wore off when I calculated the savings involved.

I’ve been happy at Costco. But now, because of its executives’ foolishness, I’ll no longer shop there. And I don’t think I’ll be alone in abandoning it.

Bloomberg News reported earlier this month that Costco chairman Jeffrey Brotman gave $95,000 in December to the Joint Victory Campaign 2004 fund. The purpose of the fund is to "change the course of the country away from the Bush administration's radical agenda." This will be done by electing as many "progressive" (read Leftist) candidates as possible.

Also in December, Costco CEO James Sinegal gave $95,000 to the Joint Victory Campaign 2004 fund. He says he contributed because of job losses during the Bush administration, the invasion of Iraq and cuts in social spending.

Unemployment is a real problem and has been since the recession that, according to Alan Greenspan, started while Clinton was in the White House. Still, there is room for hope. In December, an all-time high of 138.5 million Americans had a job and the unemployment rate has dropped.

Mr. Sinegal calls our action in Iraq an invasion. Many people view it as the liberation of a country from a brutal, genocidal maniac bent on exporting terrorism. It’s true that the expected weapons of mass destruction haven’t been found, but many people other than George Bush believed they were there. Even French president Jacques Chirac told Time magazine last year: "There is a problem — the probable possession of weapons of mass destruction by an uncontrollable country, Iraq."

What of Mr. Sinegal’s concern about cuts in social spending? Perhaps he’s not noticed that some conservatives are unhappy with the president because he’s not doing much to curtail expanding welfare statism. Indeed, so far Mr. Bush has failed to veto a single bill sent to him by Congress.

An analyst at the Cato Institute calculated how much non-defense discretionary spending has escalated in the first three years of the Bush presidency. That figure is an eye-popping 18 percent. Some cuts.

Mr. Sinegal, according to Federal Election Commission records, has also given many thousands of dollars to the campaigns of numerous Democrats. He even gave money to someone named Howard Dean who, it is rumored, was running for president.

Mr. Brotman enjoys a similar contribution pattern. Just last June, he sent checks to Howard Dean, Joe Lieberman and John Kerry. Nothing like covering all the bases.

Quite clearly, these gentlemen have every right to use their money to defeat or elect anybody they desire. Correspondingly, I and other Costco patrons have a right not to line those guys’ pockets so they can so munificently support all those Democrats.

When conservatives boycott something, it’s often seen as a form of unfair, un-American censorship. When Leftists boycott, as they have with grapes, lettuce, Anita Bryant, Domino’s Pizza, GE and Target, just to name a few, it’s portrayed as a virtuously moral imperative.

Over the past several weeks I’ve sent a couple of emails to Costco’s headquarters asking if the company is tired of having Republican customers. Each time I’ve received a reply saying I’d hear from the company soon. Shockingly, that hasn’t happened.

Costco’s executives should have been a little smarter than to alienate a considerable portion of its customer base. In 1990 Michael Jordan ignored pressures to take sides in a North Carolina Senate race between a black Democrat and Jesse Helms. His reasoning was flawless: "Republicans buy shoes, too."

Guess I’ll find that spiral ham somewhere else from now on.

[Toespi]

This country is headed for a Civil War between liberals and conservatives. Maybe not a shooting war but certainly a hostile war of boundaries by boycotts. I frankly, am all for it because the truth is, this country would cease to exist as we know it without the contributions of the steady conservatives who pay the lion's share of the taxes, social security, and healthcare and basically keep their mouths shut. One week of an organized, meant-to-hurt boycott of these businesses, newspapers, radio/tv, hollywood, etc. owned by liberals would shake their foundations pretty badly.

[spetznaz]

You are thinking again! That can be quite dangerous, especially if you offer a logical explanation.

[Solson]

Not at all. Sam's Club is one banner under the Wal-Mart corporation. Costco is its own company which competes directly against Sam's Club. Sam's probably made Costco cards acceptable so they could drive Costco customers into Sam's without having to charge a membership fee. Smart move on Wal-mart's part.

[ElkGroveDan]

Wait until they learn that Democrats:

1) hate so-called big box stores and would like ot banish then forever

2) are in favor of mandatory union membership for just about everyone in the retail sector

As these concepts begin to sink in, they will either change their tunes or be ousted by their boards. In the end places like Costco are capitalism at its best. I predict that there will be a clash in the hallways of their corporate offices before very long.

In the meantime, as a father of five, I can't afford to pay a penny extra for anything. It is insane for me to buy other than in bulk. I plan on remaing a customer for now and sending them frequent letters of complaint.

[Gabz]

On the other hand, this life-long New York Giants fan shedded all his hatred of the New York Jets when it was learned that Jets team owner Robert Wood Johnson IV (heir of the Johnson & Johnson fortune) was one of the major players in George W. Bush's rise to the top of the GOP in the late 1990s.

I would be interested to see some of this information............most especially considering that the RWJFoundation is one of the biggest anti-private property rights and prohibitionist groups around right now.

[Modernman]

I know of no EEOC regulations regarding political affiliation as a basis of discrimination. Do you?

No, but most states have laws against discrimination based on political affiliation. It would come down to a question of where the fired employees lived, I guess.

What the writer wants is not to patronize stores whose corporate execs make huge contributions to Leftists.

I doubt he could shop anywhere, then.

[CMAC51]

My membership expires next month. I will go to Sam's Club. Thank you.

I presume then that you only use LINUX based computers because Windows and Mac are the products of leftists.

When corporate behavior offends conservative sensibilities it is appropriate to respond. This however is personal behavior and you are shooting yourself in the foot if you react against the corporation.

[green iguana]

This is my favorite line:

"Also in December, Costco CEO James Sinegal gave $95,000 to the Joint Victory Campaign 2004 fund. He says he contributed because of job losses during the Bush administration..."

I wonder if Costco is using its postion as a major retailer to help remedy this by primarily selling products that are made in the USA, thereby creating jobs. Bet not.

[BushisTheMan]

Progressive Insurance, Microsoft I already boycott these. The first one because it is a big DemoRAT contributor and on its way to Fascism. The second because I hate their products.

[Rutles4Ever]

Maybe not a shooting war but certainly a hostile war of boundaries by boycotts. I frankly, am all for it...

What an absolutely asanine statement. What do you think would be the cumulative economic toll of neverending product boycotts? How many jobs would be sacrificed so we can express our displeasure with where someone sends their money (unless it's in the name of the corporation itself)? To wish for economic gridlock is tantamount to composing a love-letter to Jimmy Carter. One Jesse Jackson is enough. We don't need to stoop to his level to achieve success in conservative ideology.

[eleni121]

Don't need COSTCO BUMP!

[oceanview]

where is this policy that Sam's accepts Costco membership cards? is that just to enter the store, or can you make a purchase at Sam's with it?

[raybbr]

I didn't have any problem with the link. I use Mozilla Firebird to browse. It blocks pop up ads and has built in filters.

[Dataman]

The second because I hate their products.

I hate their products too but BG is a major contributor to abortion.

Big $$$

[oceanview]

it pops up a "The clock on your PC is wrong" alert.

[Quix]

Much agree with you on all counts.

Not really an option in my region anyway. The nearest Costco is in Albuquerque, 200+ miles away. I'll make do with Sam's.

I was greatly disappointed to hear of their huge donation and philosophical bent. I suppose, at some point, given trends, it will be impossible to shop sensibly and avoid such mentalities on the part of the organizations. But, when we can, while we can--makes a lot of patriotic and Christian sense to me.

[headsonpikes]

...it's just a matter of which flavor of socialism you prefer.

Most folks prefer the flavor of socialism that comes from having the other guy in the big iron pot.

[Recovering_Democrat]

When I found out about the COSTCO/Anti-Bush Connection, I told some friends. One of us actually received an answer from a senior officer of the company, and I've been given permission to share it with you all! Here it is:

"Dear Member,

Thanks for taking the time to share your views with us. Perhaps you will allow me to take a moment to respond.

Costco is a publicly traded company with a widely distributed ownership. No individual employee of Costco owns more than 2% of the outstanding stock of the company.

Costco does not engage in any political activity. We have a firm rule prohibiting the contribution of any company funds in support of or against any candidate for public office. On the other hand, individual employees of this company, like those of most other companies in America, participate in the political process on their own time, and using their own funds.

In the instance you are complaining about, two of our most senior employees made a decision to support an organization that is dedicated to assisting the Democratic Party candidate in the upcoming election. Since we are a two party system, our executives have only two choices, unless they refrain from any political activity. In this case, their contribution represents a commitment, personal to them, and having nothing to do with Costco or its funds, which demonstrates active participation in the electoral process. We don't know what could be more patriotic than that.

If you are going to select businesses to patronize based solely on whether the employees support Democratic or Republican candidates, you are going to be kept very busy keeping up with the ever-changing tides of candidate support, and will have little time left to shop.

In short, I think you have been misinformed about the nature of the fund to which Mr. Brotman and Mr. Sinegal contributed, which has on its roster many fine American leaders who are very patriotic. It has nothing whatsoever to do with not supporting our President in his effort to eradicate terrorism, a cause that all Americans support.

I hope you will reconsider your decision about shopping with Costco. At least, if you make that decision, we think you should have all of the facts first.

Sincerely,
Joel Benoliel
Senior Vice President

(999 Lake Drive Issaquah, WA 98027 425/313-8100)


LOOKS LIKE THEY REALLY DON'T CARE, DOESN'T IT??

[international american]

When the Chairman and the CEO use their corporate titles and company name to trash Republicans, it gives you insight into the entire corporate culture. If they had done it quietly, that is a different matter.

[douglas1]

EXACTLY RIGHT .