You gotta hand it to Nick Coleman. While his sympathies for the lumpen gray Minnesota left were almost too obvious to joke about, he at least went to the trouble of hilariously claimaing to be “nobody’s monkey”.
But when the DFL puts out a street organ, Jon Tevlin puts on a funny suit, grabs the handle and starts grinding:
Mark Dayton’s campaign ads tend to feature timeworn photos of his family’s department store downtown. For those old enough to remember, the pictures conjure memories of whimsical Christmas displays, fat old Santas and the smell of caramel corn wafting from the candy store.
Down the street, Target, the discount chain that Dayton’s launched, has carved a similarly feel-good atmosphere that makes us crave that lime green wastebasket or retro toaster, even if we don’t really need it.
Now that Target has jumped into the corporate political sweepstakes by donating $150,000 to an organization that supports Rep. Tom Emmer for governor, you have to wonder whether every American outing will eventually be tainted and influenced by the nasty politics that divide us.
You mean, like every child’s “outing” to school, every single day, is “tainted” now that the teachers’ union has donated at least twice as much to the anti-Emmer “Alliance for a Better Minnesota?”
By Tuesday, Target was on the defensive because of the immediate response of gays and lesbians, many of whom are no doubt valued “guests” of the Tar-zhay experience.
“We rarely endorse all advocated positions of the organizations or candidates we support, and we do not have a political or social agenda,” Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel said.
Target offers domestic partner benefits and was a sponsor of the recent pride parade. But some gay groups are now criticizing Target because Emmer is against gay marriage.
And right there is your proof positive that Tevlin is getting his writing marching orders directly from the DFL. Because while Emmer is no more a gay marriage supporter than most Minnesotans, he’s also correctly noted (in this Northern Alliance podcast from the State Fair) that the next governor of Minnesota has much, much bigger problems to deal with, and that it’s never really going to be an issue for that governor.
This is proof, by the way, that there is no way to appease the liberal special interest monster; as Tevlin notes, Target gives benefits to domestic partners, has aggressively led the way on “diversity in the workplace”, sponsors Minneapolis’ annual Pride rally, and among its 160-plus milllion in annual charitable giving are not a few bucks to gay-friendly non-profits.
But offend the gay political orthodoxy by supporting a candidate who supports business policies more palabable to Target’s board’s fiduciary duty, and you might as well be Andrew Dice Clay.
Like here:
OutFront asks that Target rescind the donation or give to one supporting candidates who fight for gay rights.
I have a better idea, Target; keep doing what you’re doing, and tell OutFront to go to WalMart.
I, on the other hand, like to think of our political system as a delicate product. So remember, Target, if you break it, you own it.
Does that mean Alida Messinger and the Minnesota Federation of Teachers are shoplifting?
Oh, by the way?
Thanks, Target.
Mitch;
You are my home boy!
I am going to Target at lunch time, just to buy something that I don’t really need, (but then doesn’t that always happen when one shops there?) then tell the Manager that I support what Target is doing to provide jobs, pay taxes and support their communities.
I wonder how many gay, lesbian or other Target employees will quit over the “outrage?”
This is what happens when you bend over (pun intended) for nut-cases that live in an alternate universe where you get to change your gender on a whim.
I’m not going to change my shopping habits one way or another. Target put their quarter in, let them play the game.
Our “political system (is) a delicate product”? Too freaking funny. Further evidence that liberal Democrats are historically illiterate. Although they can recite Zinn and Chomsky from memory.
I anticipate this will lead to an uptick in Target patronage.
Shut up, they explained.
This is why I oppose Gay marriage. The gay community wants to destroy anyone and anything that doesn’t comply 100% with their causes.
One problem we have (I think someone posted this here in relation to the Emmer tip thing)….we let the looney left control the debate. No one is talking about why Target gave to this group. The discussion should be about why the three DFL govenor candidates will be a disaster for Minnesota employers.
If gay marriage is going to become the litmus test for progressive endorsement, a lot of politicians are going to go on the outs with liberals. After all, the late Paul Wellstone voted against gay marriage in 1996. Has anyone removed him from the pantheon of progressive saints?
I don’t know how the whole gay issue got rolled into this Target thing. None of the Democratic candidates are going to champion gay rights if they win, and donations to either side aren’t going to change that.
hey look a liberal said something smart! Well I guess even a broken clock is right twice a day. Anyone noticed how much Obama has advanced the GLBT agenda after they march like zombies to the polls for him? Wait…
Apathyboy, my Governor (Linda Lingle) vetoed a widely defined “domestic partnership” state law this month. In part her rationalization for the veto was that some gay activist groups had said that if the bill became law, they would sue the state on equal protection grounds in an attempt to make the domestic partnership law a gay marriage law. Governors matter.
Governors matter.
So do domestic partnership laws.
And so do states full of people who oppose gay marriage!
At least, they matter in theory.
But this is a tangent at best. The DFL is deeply hypocritical for bagging on Target while the unions donate vastly more.