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Tuesday, October 31, 2006
The Politics of Low Price
This past summer, WakeUpWalmart.com, the union-backed group that criticizes Wal-Mart’s business practices, urged Democratic candidates to join their battle to change the world’s biggest retailer.
The organization sponsored a nationwide bus tour that rolled through Ohio, Iowa and other politically important states. It attracted support from several Democrats pondering 2008 presidential runs, including Sens. Joe Biden and Evan Bayh.
But in this final week of 2006 campaigning, the Wal-Mart issue has not figured prominently in debates or candidate ads.
On Tuesday, Working Families for Wal-Mart, a “grassroots” campaign launched in December with Wal-Mart funding, released a poll that shows most voters are not interested in Wal-Mart as a political issue.
When asked, “Do you approve or disapprove of political candidates making Wal-Mart an issue in the upcoming elections,” 68 percent disapproved, with 37 percent strongly disapproving. Only 21 percent of approved.
The nationwide poll was conducted Oct. 5-8 by RT Strategies Inc., a bipartisan polling organization. Working Families issued a press release quoting Thom Riehle, the Democratic partner at the polling firm, saying that anti-Wal-Mart campaigning “does far more to anger and annoy than it does to motivate.”
Chris Kofinis, spokesman for WakeUpWalmart.com., dismissed the poll. “I trust independent polls, not ones bought and paid for by Wal-Mart,” he said, pointing to a Wall Street Journal/NBC poll showing most Americans say Wal-Mart should be more regulated if it doesn’t boost wages and benefits.
“This is just the beginning” of making Wal-Mart a political issue, he predicted.
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Say Goodbye To The King Of Acronyms
STAPPA/ALAPCO, pronounced “Stappa/Alapco,” announced Tuesday that it has become NACAA, pronounced “Nacka.â€?
The 12-letter acronym stood for two different organizations, State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators and the Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officers, which functioned as a single Washington voice for officials who enforce air pollution laws of 54 states and territories and over 165 metropolitan areas.
In recent years, the organizations have often charged that Bush Administration actions on such issues as soot, mercury and power plant pollution failed to adequately protect the public’s health.
“Our message is too important to be distracted by a long name people couldn’t spell or pronounce,” said Bill Becker, who served as executive director of (This will be the last time) STAPPA/ALAPCO and now has the same job with the National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA).
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Give ‘Em Hell, Zell
Former Sen. Zell Miller, a Georgia Democrat, has signed on to head Democrats for Santorum, a group trying to help Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., keep his job next Tuesday.
In a Monday radio interview, Miller said, “I am not involved in any other race in the country. I am only doing this for Rick Santorum. I believe in Rick Santorum’s leadership that much. … Rick Santorum was more than just a good friend to me, he was someone I looked up to for guidance.”
Santorum faces a stiff challenge from Democrat Bob Casey.
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