So says one of my best customers.
I'm in my business for an hour on a typical Sunday morning and one of my customers, a successful small-business woman who still has her Bush sticker on her Range Rover, comes by to pick up some product. We were talking as small business people often do about expenses and bookkeeping and taxes and worker's comp and labor. It's loading-dock therapy: small business people have almost no one else who understands what is causing the stress in their life--except other small business people.
Anyway, she makes this blanket statement that "of course ALL business people are Republicans".
"No", I reply.
"You're not?" she asks, sounding shocked.
"Nope. Tried it once, didn't work for me. I'm a very strong Democrat. A fiscally-conservative, socially-liberal, environmentalist, pro-choice, pro-truth, small-businessperson Democrat." (I didn't mention the bit about raised Lutheran/practicing Buddhist. No sense confusing things further, right?)
She was astounded. She looked at me with disbelieving eyes. She went on to talk about how Republicans are looking for profits and Democrats are only looking at their paychecks. That Democrats don't understand business and the challenges--and rewards--of business. That only Republicans understand and stand behind business.
Well, the conversation went on for awhile. I tried hard to make my point about my personal responsibility to tell the truth, be sensitive to social and personal needs and freedoms, in the context of working to produce a lasting and profitable business (all while trying to keep her happy with me and my business. No sense pissing off the customer that just wrote you a $500 check...)
It's not important if I convinced her or not--I'm sure I didn't--but the main thing is to note yet another Republican myth that is seen as fact by an important segment of the voting public: small business owners.
In my imagination we Democrats produce a business and marketing plan for the next six years that addresses each demographic and social group to `sell' our clear messages. I want small business people in this country to be addressed as well. There is so much that is wrong with the Republican agenda from the stand point of small business and so much Democrats can gain by working with small business owners.