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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.
Scott Elliott is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He writes about education, city and suburban issues, politics, business, workforce and consumer issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2010 > August > 25 > Entry
Martin Gottlieb: ‘Buy Tea Party’ a sign of times, even if it failed
The Tea Party fellow who tried to encourage Tea Party members to do business with Tea Party members found that some businesses backed out when they came upon a down side: Some consumers will go out of their way not to spend money in a way that helps the Tea Party.
Whether that problem puts a long-term kibosh on the whole idea remains to be seen. Things happened awfully fast in this go-round.
Some merchants who withdrew might have been under wrong impressions. Maybe some of the people they heard from weren’t really customers, but were atypically political people who had seen the list of merchants someplace and were calling all of them.
Meanwhile, there were other problems with the specific project. For now, the identity of Dayton as the place where this bad idea died quickly is comforting, even if this is also the place where the idea arose. Somehow, so far, the death seems to say more about the state of the society than the birth. We’ll see.
Even the death isn’t all that comforting. The opposition to the idea seemed to have come from the left, from Democrats and liberals who didn’t want to be subsidizing conservative causes. Better if it had come from the center or the apolitical. Better if it had been a rejection of the whole idea of mixing business and politics. How political, after all, do we want things to get?
The whole episode is of a piece with the ongoing story about General Motors and the Volt and Rush Limbaugh and his like. He is trashing the Volt, the car that will run for 40 miles using no gasoline, then switch to an internal-combustion engine. He complains that it is subsidized by a tax credit of $7,500 (for gas-efficient cars). He says the reason for the subsidy is that nobody wants the car. He says he turned down sponsorship by GM — Government Motors, as he says — because he saw the Volt issue coming.
One might get the impression that Limbaugh worries that if the Volt is a success and/or GM goes on to live happily ever after, he and his ideology are undermined, because the government role has been so central.
At any rate, some people have an interest in politicizing everything, whether it’s what kind of car you buy, who does your dry cleaning or where you get your news and “information.” That’s partly because they take politics too seriously themselves, and partly because if politics is inflated, they are inflated, being political people. Things are moving their way.
The “Buy Tea Party” effort, as it might be called, certainly wasn’t the first of its kind. Some years ago the idea surfaced of business phone directories that list only companies committed to the goals of the religious right. Such notions pop up from time to time.
It’s easy to imagine that, next time around, some businesses might try to stick with the “Buy Tea Party” idea despite any backlash. It’s also easy to imagine some similar effort — perhaps run by an organization less strident than the Tea Party — gaining a foothold in, for example, places where there aren’t many Democrats or liberals. And the principle could stretch, in reverse form, to liberal places. Then, who knows.
Lots of liberals already like to frequent business they see as “socially responsible,” whether on environmental issues or food issues or even charity issues. That’s not far from choosing businesses according to their politics.
The spread — or further spread — of politics into everyday life is the prospect worth pondering here, not the prospect that your money might go where you don’t want it to. You’re already supporting business owners who have different political agendas than your own. You just don’t always know exactly when.
Contrary to those who want to put politics front and center all the time, you’re better off not knowing. And this diverse society — so dependent on tolerance for the survival of social peace — is better off not being confronted at absolutely every turn by all the things that divide us.
Permalink | Comments (9) | Post your comment | Categories: Columns, Martin Gottlieb, Miami Valley Politics
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By Bob540
August 25, 2010 12:29 PM | Link to this
Mr. Gottleib: The fact is that EVERYTHING gets politicized these days, not just this one example. And the result often is that free speech is more of a concept than a reality. A celebrity voices an opinion and some horde descends to try to destroy that person for speaking their mind. Or, in this case, a business owner decides to “put their money where their mouth is” and support something, only to have a horde descend upon them intent on their destruction — not just disagree with them but hope to put them out of business! As much as you think poorly of the Tea Party, there are MANY people out here who are disillusioned with both major parties and want a change. The sad part is that even daring to say that publicly is tempting their demise. Question: What ever happened to “free speech”? You know, that thing Americans keep bragging about but which in reality no sane person dare attempt today.
By joe_mamma
August 25, 2010 1:19 PM | Link to this
What a surprise. Free markets have a way of weeding out bad ideas and poor products. The Tea Party Exchange is a fine example of the former and the declining subscription base of the DDN a fine example of the latter. Weird how that happens. The irony of course is that Martin makes the case that the Tea Party Exchange popping up and then dissolving on its own merit somehow reflects negatively on society, but seems to have no issue with the government having to fund GM and the Volt to make them competitive.
By Bob540
August 25, 2010 2:23 PM | Link to this
Obviously, DDN had a big part in the demise of the Tea Party Exchange, by their publishing the list and keeping the “controversy” theme going. Who would know, or care, about this if it were not for the prominent publicity that broadcast it?
By lastmanstanding
August 25, 2010 2:31 PM | Link to this
Sorry to disappoint Lynn Hulsey, but the Dayton founded Tea Party Exchange has been picked up by Unite In Action, a national non-profit corporation comprised of some 40 member conservative organizations. Reminds me of a great line in “It’s a Wonderful Life” when Uncle Billy says…you just can’t keep those Baily boys down!
By Mike R
August 25, 2010 10:10 PM | Link to this
Marty is smart enough, hence his concern, to know when a business is picketed or boycotted because of the political leaning by the opposition it’s not good for a host of reasons. That’s why he wanted the TPX to die of “natural causes” and not put to death by liberals. The Miami Valley is Center-Right, the DDN continuously veers left. He should be worried. What if the people in the Miami Valley become motivated and passionate with their disgust of advertisers to the DDN. Should Joseph Airport Toyota be boycotted for adverting on a Liberal site?
By Mike R
August 25, 2010 10:26 PM | Link to this
By the way, Marty, Rush doesn’t need to worry about the Volt. Last month (July) 62% of all GM’s sales were light trucks, up 19.9% from July ‘09. Car sales were down 10.6%. Y-T-D truck sales are up 20.1%. Until Obama outlaws trucks the American consumer will vote with their wallet—And it won’t be at Airport Toyota.
By null
August 26, 2010 10:23 AM | Link to this
What company really thinks it’s a good idea to mix politics & business? Remember the old adage, never discuss politics or religion.
By null
August 26, 2010 10:27 AM | Link to this
What company really thinks it’s a good idea to mix politics & business? Remember the old adage, never discuss politics or religion.
By Raoul
August 26, 2010 3:47 PM | Link to this
Martin, your commentary regarding the Volt reveals an elitist, don’t these conservatives know what’s good for them attitude that is exactly what is mis-guided about our government taking over GM, Chrylser, etc. The government should not be in the business of telling us what is best for us and forcing us to accept it. I think that is the whole big political argument in a nutshell, and is why the Tea Party has come so far. We the people; not we the government. Free markets, inhabited by free people, exercising freedom of choice is what America is all about. It’s a bumpy ride, but it’s well worth the price of admission. By the way, what is the price tag for a brand new Volt?