Posted on 10/16/2006 5:12:16 AM PDT by Dane
Wal-Mart 'Has Declared War' on Dems, Union Foe Charges By Randy Hall CNSNews.com Staff Writer/Editor October 16, 2006
(CNSNews.com) - Wal-Mart "has officially declared war on the Democratic Party" just three weeks before the Nov. 7 midterm elections, according to a group that wants to "change" the nation's biggest retail chain by unionizing its 1.3 million employees.
"Rather than embrace our positive vision for a better America, Wal-Mart has officially declared war on the Democratic Party, elected leaders and every American who believes we should pay workers a living wage, provide affordable health care to all, protect American jobs and keep America safe," Paul Blank, campaign director for WakeUpWalMart.com, said in a statement Friday.
"Even though an overwhelming majority of Americans, including Democrats, Republicans and Independents, now reject President Bush's right-wing agenda that has brought us a culture of corruption, repeated scandals, shipped American jobs overseas and even jeopardized our national security, Wal-Mart is launching a political campaign to help keep President Bush in power by trying to defeat Democrats who called on Wal-Mart to be a more responsible employer," Blank added.
Blank's comments came in response to an article in Thursday's Minneapolis Star Tribune, which stated: "The world's largest retailer is about to take the unusual step of distributing information about specific candidates to its 1.3 million employees nationwide, according to a company official.
"The information, which is still being prepared, likely will include quotes from elected officials who have been critical of Wal-Mart, as well as information about their voting record concerning legislation that has affected Wal-Mart's business," the story noted.
The Star Tribune report stated that "Wal-Mart said it will specifically target local, state and national leaders who appeared this summer at a series of anti-Wal-Mart rallies organized by Wake Up Wal-Mart."
As Cybercast News Service previously reported, the "Change Wal-Mart, Change America" bus tour covered 19 states in 35 days and was designed to pressure the retail chain to increase employee wages and improve its corporate citizenship.
David Tovar, director of media relations at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., told the Star Tribune: "Our associates are very proud of the Wal-Mart they work for, and we feel they have a right to know what some politicians are doing and saying about the company."
Even Chicago aldermen, many of whom supported a measure to force large retailers such as Wal-Mart to pay employees a "living wage," could be targets, Tovar said. The bill was vetoed by Mayor Richard Daley on Sept. 11, and the city council was unable to resurrect the measure.
The controversy comes two weeks after the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company launched its associate (employee) voter registration drive in Iowa on Sept. 29. As part of that effort, Wal-Mart is distributing educational materials made available by the League of Women Voters, as well as a voter education packet.
"As the nation's largest private employer, we are in a unique position to strengthen the communities we serve by encouraging our associates to register to vote and empowering them to participate in America's democracy," Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott said at the time.
Cybercast News Service has reported that several Democratic officials have been critical of Wal-Mart's policies, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy.
In addition, most of the officials who spoke at events during the "Change Wal-Mart" tour were Democrats, including Sen. Joe Biden from Delaware, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and John Edwards, a former U.S. senator and vice presidential candidate from North Carolina.
None of that was lost on Blank, whose Wake Up Wal-Mart organization is funded by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union - which usually supports Democratic candidates.
"From this day forward, no citizen -- regardless of their party affiliation -- should doubt how right-wing Wal-Mart's agenda really is," Blank said. "It is an agenda that no American could support, jeopardizes the future of our country and is one of the key reasons why Wal-Mart's public image continues to collapse."
"On behalf of the American people, we are not going to allow big corporations like Wal-Mart to take America in the wrong direction," Blank added.
"In that spirit, WakeUpWalMart.com, with the help of 276,000 grassroots supporters, will be announcing a major new initiative next week that will make it clear to Wal-Mart and its right wing operatives that our movement will never stop fighting until the day Wal-Mart truly changes for the better," he noted.
"That's going a bit far," Tovar told Cybercast News Service regarding Blank's comments.
"Our voter registration campaign is part of our ongoing effort to keep our associates informed about statements that are made about the company," Tovar said. "Communicating with our associates is something that we've been doing for a long time, and this is just a continuation of that.
"Anytime misstatements about Wal-Mart are made by public officials and candidates for public office, we are compelled to let our associates know the accurate information," he noted. "At the same time, when others praise Wal-Mart, we have the same responsibility to let them know that as well.
"All of this is done on a nonpartisan level," Tovar stated. "We're not telling our associates how to vote in any way, shape or form, but we do feel that sharing this type of information is a responsibility that we owe to our associates.
"And it's something, quite honestly, that they appreciate," he added.
All righty then Paul, why don't you take that frog in your pocket and the two of you can start a company and YOU can pay your workers that living wage and YOU can provide affordable health care and YOU can protect American jobs and YOU can keep America safe.
But you better have one damn smart frog.
In the intercourse of business, Paul is definitely shooting Blanks.
LOL!! You 2 are good :)
What are the chances that Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, Bill Clinton or even Hillary (who was once a member of the Board of Directors) have ever been inside a Wal-Mart? I'd say it's as close to zero as you can get.
Makes perfect sense that Wal-Mart would inform their employees. This makes the lesson two-fold: two things not to be trusted are 1) Democrats and 2) MSM.
I agree. Providing assist for voter registration and information on candidates compiled by the League of Women Voters does not exactly sound to me like some right wing plot.
Before the advent of widespread use of the internet, the information compiled by the LOWV was often the best around, and certainly the most comprehensive.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the LOWV usually supports Democrat candidates...?
Yes they usually do. However, I always found their voter guides and candidate debates to be informative and balanced.
Agreed.
And the fact they do tend to lean left, makes this latest anti-Walmart temper tantrum all the funnier.
I've bought two televisions from Wal-Mart. No problem.
Yeah, let's bash the company that provides employment to the people we supposedly champion. Liberals' IQ are on par with bread mold.
All your Wal-Marts are belong to us.
What do they expect Wal-Mart to do, support the candidates that showed up to anti-Wal-Mart rallies?
Once again, the Democrats claim foul when held accountable for their actions.
I really don't NEED anything from Wal-Mart this week, but think I'll at least buy a bag of Made in America dog food just because I love watching libs get their panties in a wad. :)
If I recall correctly Wal mart has given quite a bit more money to the Dems compared to the Republicans.
That is a silly notion, because Walmart sells what everyone else is selling, such as Target , K-mart, major clothing stores, home goods...it is the sign of the times, that goods are made in China....cheaply ..You should ammend it say all stores are in bed with the Chinese. If you find a store that does not sell Chinese goods, please post it here.
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