Daily Kos

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  •  Tip Jar (4.00 / 4)

    By organizing a movement like this, the Democrats could re-assume the mantle of patriotism.  Like it or not, various degrees of patriotism/xenophobia are what wins elections, and "multi-cultural" values and not supporting wars to kill foreigners aren't particularly xenophobic.  Outsourcing is the one main xenophobic wedge issue Democrats have; as the businessmen paying for the Republican Party won't stand for higher costs of business.  We need to go public at enemy number 1 in this regard: Wal-Mart.

    Any American who loves his country should show that by shopping somewhere besides Wal-Mart.  There's no point in mentioning that the other major retailers are partially at fault as well; boycotts and protests only work piecemeal.  As the number-one offender, and one with a significant corporate flip-flop in the recent past, they are the ideal company to target this at.

    But this would only be successful on a national scale.  We would need every union, every Democratic politician, even some Republicans to go out and say "Wal-Mart doesn't support America".  We need to have Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid handing out fliers in front of a Wal-Mart in the Washington area.  We need job programs so any Wal-Mart employees layed off as a result of the decrease of sales at Wal-Mart can get a new job and not be financially harmed themselves as a result of the boycott.

    Wal-Mart used to support "Buy American".  Why doesn't Wal-Mart support it anymore?  Why is Wal-Mart flip-flopping on patriotism?  Why is Wal-Mart sending American jobs overseas?

    I think that we deserve answers to these questions.  Do you?  Do you think a drive like this could possibly be successful?

    by Power on Mon Nov 29, 2004 at 07:48:16 PM PDT

    •  I think a drive like this, (none / 0)

      will definitely bring the point home about who gets hurt in walmart's game, esp as dick cheney uses them as an example of a model business.

      what we really need to do is seek out other models of success according to our business principles, and show how the game is stacked in the favor of for those who hurt this country in the short and long run.

      by alivingston on Mon Nov 29, 2004 at 07:57:13 PM PDT

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      •  we need (none / 0)

        some serious action against them. more than just information--a strong concerted effort to effect their business in a negative manor. Boycott, investigation, audit-repeat.

        by garfield on Mon Nov 29, 2004 at 08:02:23 PM PDT

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      •  Better business plans (none / 0)

        Yes.  Simply moving jobs back to the U.S. won't even fix the problem, although it will help to stop some of the bleeding.  We need to find ways for responsible corporations to prosper.  The only example I can think of offhand is Ben & Jerry's.

        They may teach MBA's "A corporation's primary goal is to provide a profit to its stockholders", but we need to make sure that this isn't their only goal.  They also need to make sure they maintain a healthy relationship with the communities they service.  Corporations are supposed to help their customers, not just the corporation itself and its investors.

        by Power on Mon Nov 29, 2004 at 08:04:55 PM PDT

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    •  Concur (none / 0)

      Have been speaking to people--it just has to stop.

      Dailykos has it's financial power of however many readers per day--well it should pick a fight with Wal Mart--57 million people should not spend their money there--esp considering that they spent so much to beat Kerry.

      Let's do it--let's make them pay. No more WalMart.

      City Councils need to invoke laws making it urban sprawl and therefor illegal to move into the area bc of decreased property values as a result.

      by garfield on Mon Nov 29, 2004 at 08:00:42 PM PDT

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      •  But Kos isn't enough (none / 0)

        Even if every account corresponded to a person who would participate in a boycott and convince 5 of their friends to do so as well, that's only .05% of the American public.  Wal-Mart wouldn't even notice that.

        The only way we can make this work is to make sure EVERYBODY knows about this.  This shouldn't just be something the "liberals" take on.  We need "NASCAR dads" in South Carolina, military families in Arizona, retired folks in Louisiana, Evangelical Christians in Missouri, ranchers in Wyoming, EVERYBODY to know about the anti-American actions of Wal-Mart.  We shouldn't look at this as a left v. right issue.  The Democrats should lead, but this should be "The People" versus "Evil Anti-American Corporations".

        by Power on Mon Nov 29, 2004 at 08:09:34 PM PDT

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