Posted on 10/27/2006 7:50:28 AM PDT by SmithL
Wal-Mart’s first company-wide voter registration drive has become entangled in national politics as a union group and the Rev. Jesse Jackson demand that the retailer fire a Republican consultant connected to a U.S. Senate campaign television ad that critics call racist.
Veteran Republican strategist Terry Nelson is the head of an outside group that created the Tennessee ad for the Republican National Committee against Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Harold Ford Jr.
Nelson is also one of two political consultants —— the other is a Democrat — that Wal-Mart hired last month to help get voter registration information to its more than 1.3 million U.S. employees.
Union-funded WakeUpWalMart.com and Jackson, in a joint statement, said Wal-Mart has a responsibility to fire Nelson to show that it has no tolerance for racism.
Wal-Mart rejected those calls.
"This has nothing to do with Wal-Mart, so it would be absurd for us to comment on it," Wal-Mart spokesman Dave Tovar said.
"This has nothing to do with our commitment to diversity," he said.
Wal-Mart has bolstered its diversity efforts in the past year, including expanding targets for managers to increase diversity in the work force, doing business with more minority and women-owned companies and putting money into programs for minority small businesses and job creation programs.
The Tennessee political ad in question targeted Ford, a black Memphis congressman, in a way that critics — including the NAACP — called a racist sexual innuendo about a black man and white woman.
The RNC, which paid for the ad, denied that it had any racial subtext. Party chairman Ken Mehlman said it was produced by an independent organization.
Nelson, the RNC’s deputy chief of staff in 2002 and the Bush campaign’s political director in 2004, is the head of that independent unit, RNC spokesman Danny Diaz said.
The ad began a five-day run Friday, and the RNC said Wednesday the commercial would no longer air, although it was still seen in some Tennessee markets Thursday.
Wal-Mart’s critics said the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer must prove that it can live up to its stated goals of promoting diversity.
"If Wal-Mart is truly interested in changing for the better, we implore you to send a message to all Americans, especially African-Americans, that Wal-Mart will not do business with consultants who use race as a political tool to divide our nation," WakeUpWalMart wrote in a letter faxed to Chief Executive Lee Scott.
Jackson said Wal-Mart owed an apology to Ford and the American people for Nelson’s involvement in the ad and in its voter registration effort.
"Wal-Mart will determine what it will do based on how they view the gravity of the situation. It will be a reflection of their values — will they coddle him or dismiss him?" Jackson said.
When did this happen????
This is certainly not a racist TV ad, and anyone who knows anything about Ford knows that he likes white women. If anyone is a racist, it is Je$$e Jack$on.
Jesse Jerkson needs to be fired from this planet. The ad is funny.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cWkrwENN5CQ&mode=related&search=
WalMart Ping...............
What a stretch of the imagination - even for dims.........
Talk about the epitome of racist hypocrisy -- Jackson is it.
Hmm, who is the democrat consultant, and what are his/her contributions to democratic politics.
Of course, we are led to believe that having a democrat do any consulting is absolutely ok, because they would never put their political spin on their work.
The blonde's role in the ad was that of an utter bimbo. In these PC days, you can only put a white woman in such a role.
If they had put a black woman in that role, Jackson et al would have gone even more ballistic.
I saw this ad, and found nothing racist to it. I thought it was pretty damn funny. People get offended too damn easy these days.
I also saw the ad, it is not racist in the least.
What's that thing about 6 degrees to Kevin Bacon, or something? That is what this stretch by these racebaiters reminds me of........
Wal Mart is big enough to stomp that preening race pimp Jesse Jackson into dust and I hope they waste no time doing so.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
considering the Ford ad has absolutely NOTHING to do with WalMart, I don't see why they would even consider apologizing........this is such a stretch. The left so hate WM they will try anything, but even this is beyond them. They are getting desperate.
Wow. That is almost the ultimate FR article. It's got Wal-Mart, unions, Jesse Jackson, racism, Ken Mehlman, diversity, Harold Ford and the NAACP. If somebody had gotten mauled by a pit bull after abandoning their kids (who went missing), it would have been perfect. ;-)
Just askin'.
The DNC contracts and runs an ad, then calls their own ad racist, and then has the ba__s to blame Wal Mart.
This world is mad, I say, simply mad.
However, in the ad, they have pi--ed of Canada, too. A guy in the ad says something like "Canada can take care of North Korea, they not busy".
Never mink, I missed that it was a RNC ad. So the DNC has a twofer, get the RNC and Wal Mart.
"People get offended too damn easy these days."
It gives people with an anti-American agenda an excuse to whine and get their Pablum. It's really political and not in a good way.
LOL!!!!
right before this article was posted I informed my husband I need to go to WalMart -- I need fabric to finish our daughter's Halloween costume, as well as supplies to get a jump on my holiday baking and candy making :)
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