Dear Member of Congress,
The campaign to change Wal-Mart is quickly becoming one of the most important political issues in America. Because, whether you are discussing affordable health care, living wages, economic security, port security, protecting U.S. jobs, child labor or gender discrimination, Wal-Mart is the poster child for corporate policies that have taken America in the wrong direction.
There is no doubt, the debate over Wal-Mart is critical to our nation’s future, and we expect it to be tough and hard fought. But, recently, Wal-Mart’s right wing war room, run by the public relations firm Edelman, has gotten out of control. Under Leslie Dach, a former Democratic operative, Edelman has slammed a Democratic gubernatorial candidate for promoting universal health care, attacked reporters at major newspapers for reporting the facts, personally smeared our campaign workers, and attacked the very unions that fight every day to help millions of working families negotiate a better life.
The sad truth is that Wal-Mart and Edelman’s ‘swift-boat’ style tactics are right out of Karl Rove’s playbook: don’t tell the truth, hire attack dogs, fund front groups to deceive the American people, and hide the facts. Wal-Mart and Edelman’s desire to play gutter-style politics, to ignore their responsibility to our citizens, and to disregard the hopes and dreams of millions of working Americans who deserve a better life is a tragic statement on how base American politics has become.
In fact, Wal-Mart’s public relations team resembles the vast right wing conspiracy Democrats have been searching for. The ‘Wal-Mart War Room’ includes: Bob McAdam, a former Tobacco Institute executive; Terry Nelson, the former national political director for Bush/Cheney 2004; Mike Krempasky, the founder of RedState.org; Lee Culpepper, a conservative lobbyist and well-known opponent of raising the minimum wage; Kevin Sheridan, a former RNC spokesperson; and Rick Berman, who runs an outside group but is working with Wal-Mart and has a long record of defending mercury poisoning, Big Tobacco, and even attacking Mothers Against Drunk Driving. As if that wasn’t enough, according to the FEC and IRS reports, Wal-Mart’s commitment to the Republican vision for America is so strong that the company gave 81% of its political contributions to Republicans over the last 7 years.
The truth is Wal-Mart, Edelman, and Leslie Dach ought to be ashamed and we call on them to apologize to every proud Democrat and the American people for their conduct.
Unlike Wal-Mart’s efforts, our campaign, WakeUpWalMart.com, is about positive change. We are a grassroots campaign of more than 245,000 Americans who are fighting for a better America where corporations like Wal-Mart reflect the best of American values. Just like every poll shows, an overwhelming majority of the American people want corporations like Wal-Mart to be held accountable, to provide better health care, to pay a living wage, to protect American jobs, to provide a fair and just workplace, and to help make America better for all of us.
Unfortunately, despite $11.2 billion in annual profit and a founding family whose net worth is $77 billion, Wal-Mart has failed to explain to you and the American people why it does not want to become a responsible and moral employer. Instead, Wal-Mart’s only answer is to unleash right-wing attack dogs against anyone who dares to question them. Well, America deserves better from Wal-Mart.
In the end, contrary to what Wal-Mart says, we do not want to destroy Wal-Mart. What we want is to work with Wal-Mart and take advantage of the enormous opportunity this company has to become a model corporate citizen. We know, by working with us, Wal-Mart will not only be a better and more profitable company, it will help us build a better America as well. Above all, we hope Wal-Mart will choose to exercise the power that it has to change for the better and to help lead this nation in a direction that is good for all Americans – no matter what party they are from.
I hope you will join with us in calling for Wal-Mart to change and I would welcome the opportunity to discuss our campaign with you at any time.
Sincerely,
Paul Blank
Campaign Director
WakeUpWalMart.com