"I want to sell YOU a car!"
Anybody who lived in Central Florida in the 1970s knows those words. As soon as they hear them, they picture a crazed man jumping on car hoods and tearing up price tags.
The man was Art Grindle, a car dealer and, later, Republican legislator. So why is he deserving of a "Rest in Peace" here on Daily Kos?
Jump through the orange vortex for the answer.
Art Grindle started selling cars in Houston. One day, on a live TV commercial (yes, they used to do those, once upon a time), he got tired of boring scripts and yelled into the camera, "Look, I've got all these cars! They've got to go!" Embarrassed and sure he failed, he called back to the dealership, only to be told customers were lining up to buy cars.
He ended up in Orlando, where he became known for his trademark frenetic jumping around and yelling "I want to sell YOU a car!" He was a local celebrity, and put a 30-foot tall sign of himself, pointing at the customers, in front of the dealership.
Then he started using his money. He hosted a Cerebral Palsy Telethon for years. He contributed to Make-A-Wish, Boys and Girls Clubs, and March of Dimes. Most of all, he raised more than $2 million dollars for Seminole State College, and got personally involved with the students.
Eventually, he retired from the car business and ran for the State Legislature. That's where he did something unimaginable in today's environment. In the 1980s Art Grindle, new and used car dealer, sponsored legislation in Florida. He sponsored Florida's first Lemon Law, a law that allowed used car buyers to return lemons. Now how many Republicans, who in lock-step believe "regulation is an evil that destroys the marketplace," would even think about doing something like that today? Even more, how many Republicans, ELECTED FROM THE INDUSTRY, would sponsor a law that protected consumers from that industry?
Art, you were a good man.
Rest in Peace.