
 |
|
February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
|
| |
Jewish World Review
April 19, 2005
/ 10 Nisan, 5765
Howard Dean should visit a Wal-Mart
By
Peter A. Brown
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Declaring war on the nation's largest private employer is a questionable strategy for a party trying to soften its anti-business image.
Yet Democrats, in the midst of deciding who they are and what they stand for, have settled on one thing Wal-Mart is their Public Enemy No. 1. Their latest attempt at a legal shakedown in Maryland shows just how pathological they have gotten.
While on his tour of red-state America to convince the heathen in the heartland that Democrats don't have horns, party Chairman Howard Dean might want to visit a Wal-Mart.
Talking to its patrons might provide a valuable lesson for Dean, because Wal-Mart shoppers are many of the same folks whose departure made Democrats the minority party.
That's why the effort by Maryland's Democratic Legislature to extort money from Wal-Mart in order for it to do business there showcases the mentality that divides Dean & Co. from most of the nation's voters.
The Maryland fiasco is the latest by the party and its interest groups unions, feminists, blacks and environmentalists, etc. to demonize the giant firm.
They think Wal-Mart epitomizes all they disdain about the 21st-century economy, viewing its low prices as bad because they come from non-union wages and foreign imports.
Most Americans see the company as providing the benefits of globalization. They are voting with their wallets for its low prices, and they profit from the dampening effect Wal-Mart has on inflation overall because its size forces suppliers and competitors to keep costs down.
The Maryland incident spotlights the Democratic view that the private sector exists to fund government. Lawmakers want to spend more on health care a worthwhile goal but lack the votes, and courage, to raise taxes.
So lawmakers enacted legislation that would affect only Wal-Mart by requiring companies with 10,000 employees or more to spend 8 percent of their payroll on health care for their workers, or to contribute to a state health-care fund for the poor. Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich has promised to veto the bill.
This view that government can take the money it wants from business for whatever purpose it deems necessary is the mentality in Europe, where double-digit unemployment and anemic growth rates are the product of such voodoo economics. The result is that those countries have much lower living standards than we enjoy here.
Wal-Mart symbolizes the United States' political divide. It is a hit in most of America, but clearly the firm is more popular in states that voted for George W. Bush over John Kerry.
Given the retailer's success in the commercial marketplace, and the Democratic Party's relative failure in the political equivalent, Dean could learn from Wal-Mart shoppers.
Here's a hint, Howard:
They believe that Wal-Mart is good for them. Otherwise, they'd shop elsewhere.
The anti-Wal-Mart coalition has blocked the firm's expansion in some states carried by Kerry New York, California and Illinois. But the interest groups that helped do so are the same ones whose views and values have caused millions of voters to leave the Democratic Party, especially in red America.
It is no accident most of the tens of millions who patronize the chain are also members of the white-working and middle classes, which have been deserting Dean's party. If these voters see the war on Wal-Mart as an attack on them, their values and their way of life, it will make the Democrats' already challenging task more difficult.
Don't laugh.
Democrats continue to pay a steep price with military families for a similar transgression.
Democratic opposition to the Vietnam War led to decades of party lawmakers and candidates trying to cut the Pentagon and limit its activities overseas. The result has been a strong aversion to Democratic candidates among military families, both active and retired, that has convinced millions of voters the party is anti-military.
After going to Wal-Mart, Dean ought to talk with Bill Clinton's former labor secretary, with whom he often shares common cause. Robert Reich will tell Dean that those who demagogue the giant retailer don't understand Americans.
As Reich noted in a recent New York Times column, Wal-Mart shoppers are following the same instinct as the computer-savvy yuppie who buys airplane tickets online. But the Democrats would never suggest that the technologically savvy were being unfair to travel agents by trying to save a buck online.
Telling Americans they should not patronize Wal-Mart is "paternalistic tripe. No one is a better judge of what people want than themselves," rightly argues Reich.
Yet Democrats who demonize Wal-Mart do exactly that.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Peter A. Brown is an editorial page columnist for the Orlando Sentinel. Comment by clicking here.
Archives
© 2005, Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Tony Blankley
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Alan Douglas
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
Marybeth Hicks
David Horowitz
Jeff Jacoby
Renee James
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ed Koch
Ch. Krauthammer
Michael Ledeen
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Pat Sajak
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Ben Wattenberg
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
Lisa Benson
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Jimmy Margulies
Rick McKee
Michael Ramirez
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Ed Stein
Danna Summers
John Trever
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters

Mr. Know-It-All
Dr. Peter Gott
GET A JOB! by Marty Nemko
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
Tech Maven
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|