Target targeted over pro-Emmer ad

If these people boycott Target, where will they buy their brown shirts?

It is strange that such a public and community minded company decided to back such a divisive candidate.

Dennis, the “liberals are fascists” theme is as tiresome as it is offensive. Give it a rest.

You are also conveniently forgetting the Nazi persecution and attempted extermination of gays.

This is nothing new. Much of the public is duped by Target Corp’s marketing, PR and charitible giving.

Target Corp’s PAC give 90-some % of it’s money to right wing candidates. And they solicit donations to this PAC from their employees. They supported Norm Coleman. Their former CEO personally gave $10,000 to the right wing group from Texas that was working to defeat Mike Hatch. That group is responsible for the ugly anti-Hatch ads just before the election.

Target is a leader in fighting against the Employee Free Choice Act. They are anti-union. Their corporate giving and the marketing of it is used to get the public to feel good about them while they advocate public policy that makes their charity necessary. I will post links later if I have time.

Also, CEO Steinhafel fought against the allowing the Emily Program to put an eating disorders clinic in his Orono neighborhood.

Don’t be duped by Target – a lot of what they preach is IMAGE ONLY.

Ginny

Here’s the link and an excerpt. There are links in the report that are worth looking at.

“A new special interest group goes negative on Hatch

A group known as “A Strong America-Minnesota” started running this ad last night. The group is based in Alexandria, VA. The group’s latest Campaign Finance report shows that Stanley Hubbard, the owner of KSTP-TV and Hubbard Broadcasting, Target Corporation Chairman and CEO Robert Ulrich and the Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association Committee of Automobile Retailers (not MADA) gave to
the PAC so far.”

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/polinaut/archive/2006/10/a_new_special_i.shtml

Target solicits (or at least has in the past) it’s employees for donations to its PAC, telling them they can even do it through payroll deduction.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/polinaut/archive/2006/08/target_asks_emp.shtml

I had an earlier post that looks like it was not posted, so the two comments of mine above may seem out of context. Moderator, would you please post my first comment under my name? I put a headline in the name field and my guess that is why you did not post it.

Target leading the effort to kill Employee Free Choice Act:

http://www.startribune.com/business/37370954.html

Target CEO Steinhafel pressures Orono to block eating disorders program:

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/86773117.html

Bottom line: Target does not practice what it preaches. Its community involvement primary IMAGE.

Plus, all (200-300+) comments on the strib website for every story about the eating disorder clinic situation were deleted within a couple of days. And they weren’t even close in harshness to what is said in their comment section about Barack Obama or Tim Pawlenty on a regular basis. But I guess Target gets what it wants in this town.

Why don’t you people just accept and recognize that in a free society, people and organizations are free to support anyone they please in a political campaign. That’s what makes this a free country.

And not to defend Target (cuz I’m a Costco man, myself), but it seems to me that they spread around their support to virtually everyone on the political spectrum.

Dennis… Dude….. Why do you equate “Free Markets” and “Freedom”??? Both are antithetical to each other.. Economic “Freedom” works really good for ‘Mega Church Corporations’ like Wall*Mart, Target, and (Mr. Blood Diamonds “Pat Robertson” ).. The ‘real people’ that serve these BEASTS are beaten, slashed, kicked in the face and Murdered.. What the F*ck is the matter with a livable wage ?? If we 86 the Pro-Communist , Pro death wage suppression tactics that the last 4 Presidents have waged on “Real Americans”.. We wouldn’t even be talking about this.. We would be working and MAKING Sh!t in this Fu*king country agian!!! But that’s OK Dennis keep drawing that SOCIAL SECURITY CHECK!!! Go ahead and let Glen Beck’s toilet bowl flush into your mouth so that the WHOLE WORLD can eat up YOUR SH!T!!!

The news that Target publicly donated money to Republican Emmer hit me emotional. A recent supreme court decisions allows corporations to donate UNLIMITED amount of money to political campaigns. There is already way too much money in politics. This money leads to distortion, sound bite politics, and perhaps worse of all, a media system which seeks to agitate people instead of creating calm discourse.

I shopped at Target because I thought they were the good corporate citizen – supporting schools, gay rights, environmental issues and strong families. Women who favor strong schools, libraries, fair taxation are Target’s key customers. More than half of these women vote for democratic candidates. So why would Target publicly support the republican candidate and risk aliening more than half their customer base?

I struggle to find a way to write this in the calm rational voice. But basically, I think the CEO of Target must be so blinded by his power that he does not see customers like myself.

Target may argue the $150,000 they gave to support Emmer advertising is only about spending money to create a good business climate. We all want better days. Too many of us are employed and more scare than we have ever been. We are worried about our children and their future.

If someone reading this has the time. I like to know what the CEO of Target makes. How much money did the Bush tax cuts save him? What percentage of his income would he pay in taxes in the 1950s, the 1980s, the and today. I know he benefitted greatly from the Bush tax cuts. Tax cuts for the super rich simply means MORE TAXES for us.

Why would Target risk aliening half of their customers base? I now know why I had such a strong emotional reaction. I am dependent on Target and the other large chain stores. There is no local place to buy school supplies or underwear. Target can go public that they support a candidate who favors reducing the minimum wage because I have no where else to shop.

One of the reason our economy is in trouble right now is that we have lost our local economy. Where are the local drugs stores? The small clothes boutiques? When we shop local more money stays in our economy. In many ways, I am very grateful this situation came up because I have been doing the easy thing marching to Target. I try to buy my food directly from local farmer. Anybody know where I can buy local underwear and school supplies? Also go to Meetup – boycott Target

“in a free society, people and organizations are free to support anyone they please”

They are also free to be criticized, protested, boycotted, ridiculed, mocked.

And if you’re a conservative, slander and just plain making S**t up are obligatory.

More and more, businesses are pitting themselves against their own and each other’s customer base. This is capitalism at it’s most dysfunctional, and why free-market capitalism is a failing experiment.

I wonder if the greater community should consider boycotting a corporation that supports a candidate that believes cutting 30% of the budget will solve our communities dyer needs. I hope so

My objection to corporate and organizational support of political candidates stems from the corrupting effect of money causing successful candidates thus supported to feel obligated to the corporate masters at the expense of their constituents who voted them into office.

“In a free society, people and organizations are free to support anyone they please . . .”

True. It is also true that they have the right not to support anyone who displeases them. Free speech works both ways, no matter what Sarah Palin says. I don’t hear anyone saying that Target should not be allowed to support the Emmer campaign (a.k.a. “Dumb and Dumber–The One-Man Show”). The question is, are those of use who oppose Emmer under some kind of obligation to suck it up and shop at a company that goes against what we believe?

If Target is not going to be mindful about it’s campaign contributions then it obviously does not care about the LGBT community as much as it would like to profess.

It’s not just funding Pride parties and parades, it’s about standing up for our rights and standing against those who would take them away. It’s about standing against people like Emmer and educating the public that there is nothing wrong with being gay.

Target takes Manhatten

http://www.startribune.com/business/99135759.html

Is anyone organizing a Target boycott where I can sign up? I’ve already written to Target that I’m boycotting them.

You’ll all love Walmart.
Save Money. Live Better.

Target thinks the public are dupes. One of their spokesters is claiming that MN Forward is “bi-partisan.”

“Jen Doll speaks to Target spokesperson Jessica Carlson, and gets a little bit further with Target’s side of this debate:
So, why donate to someone who’s anti gay marriage if you call yourself a supporter of the gay comunity?

Carlson: At this point what we’re sharing is what was in Gregg’s email. To be clear, we donated to a political action committee, the MN Forward, which is a bi-partisan group, and not directly to Emmer’s campaign.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/28/tom-emmer-anti-gay-pol-ge_n_662535.html

How dumb do they think we are?

[...] GLBT groups, among others, are pretty miffed at both retailers’ support for Emmer. Target defended itself, saying it made the decision based on the Republican’s pro-business stances, and that its “support of the GLBT community is unwavering.” But that hasn’t stopped groups from springing up to boycott Target especially. [...]

It’s not unusual at all that Target is publicly backing Emmer. This country has taken a significant turn for the worst under the DFL run Gov! Corporations that create the jobs realize this and are boldly making a statement they’ve had enough!

For every disgruntled customer Target has lost, they have been replaced by people like me! I have never been a fan of Target. I feel they have less a selection, but will happily spend my money were people are willing to stand up for what’s right!

I feel sorry for Target and Best Buy employees who have good hearts and don’t approve of bigotry. You deserve better than being associated with Tom Emmer. However, I still won’t shop at Target or Best Buy until both companies admit that what they did was wrong and will not be repeated. This isn’t just about Republican versus Democrat. This is about three dead kids, now.

Tom Emmer has blood on his hands and so do your CEOs. Emmer is a very bad man and he is responsible for creating an environment where recently three (count them … three) Minnesota teens would rather take their own lives than be bullied anymore in school. Aren’t you proud of what you have helped create.

When Target and Best Buy gave money to this bigot, they promoted a social environment where children are dying and Christ was quite clear on how he views people who hurt his children. Connect the dots Mr. Steinhafel you let your own disturbing beliefs threaten the jobs of people who trusted you. You can’t expect anyone to think you didn’t know what a beast Emmer is when you two share the same values. This is the man you funded – Mr. Emmer, who openly admits contributing to a hate group that advocates the murder of gay people. Connect the dots… you and people like you have encouraged the persecution of these innocent kids. I am sure that those teens who tortured these gay kids to death felt justified even righteous. They probably go to church on Sunday to be filled up once again with hate and fear, and to feel they are doing God’s will. So don’t imagine that the kids who died were the only one’s damaged by you. Entire families will never be the same.

You, Mr. Steinhafel, have blood on your hands. And so do Target and Best Buy.

Kathleen M. Lake, MA