by Eric Dondero
Libertarian Republican
Friday, August 14, 2009
A major controversy is brewing on the cultural left. John Mackey, Founder & CEO of Whole Foods Grocery Store chain, a darling of cultural liberals from Vermont to Seattle to the Bay Area, has come out strongly against Obama Care. In and editorial today in the Wall Street Journal Mackey wrote, in “The Whole Foods Alternative to Obama Care”:
With a projected $1.8 trillion deficit for 2009, several trillions more in deficits projected over the next decade, and with both Medicare and Social Security entitlement spending about to ratchet up several notches over the next 15 years as Baby Boomers become eligible for both, we are rapidly running out of other people’s money. These deficits are simply not sustainable. They are either going to result in unprecedented new taxes and inflation, or they will bankrupt us.
Mackey even had the audacity to quote one of the most hated figures among liberals:
“The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out
of other people’s money.” — Lady Margaret Thatcher
ABC News reports that Mackey’s pro-free market comments have sparked a boycott:
“I will never shop there again,” vowed Joshua, a 45-year-old blogger, who asked that his last name not be published.
“I’m boycotting [Whole Foods] because all Americans need health care,” said Lent, 33, who used to visit his local Whole Foods “several times a week.”
One promiment Left blogger – Culture Lobster – even wrote:
I already knew that Whole Foods CEO John Mackey was an anti-union, libertarian dick… thanks to his op-ed in the Wall Street Journal (The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare) everyone else knows too!
Whole Foods was always too expensive for me anyway.
Mackey has referred to himself as a “libertarian,” on many occasions in interviews in the past.
The proposed boycott may have already spawned a counter-boycott among his libertarian supporters. What Progressives have not figured, is that not everybody who is culturally left, is similarly economically left. Beyond the counter-boycott, the Leftist sponsored boycott could contribute to a more permanent split with cultural libertarians.
A prominent leader of the libertarian movement, Doug Bandow is now calling for an Anti-Boycott of Whole Foods.
The entire article is at Whole Foods boycott causing backlash
babalu blog adds commentary:
…In this particular situation I say to these yahoos go ahead and boycott Whole Foods. Never again even cast a shadow on the entry to the store. And for good measure, stay at least 5 miles away from any Whole Foods location. Not only would you be expressing your disgust over the blasphemy committed by Mackey, but you will liberate me from having to deal with you every time I go to the Whole Foods market in my neighborhood…
…I am hopeful that once this boycott is in full swing, the parking experience at Whole Foods will cease to be a test of my patience.
I am looking forward to this boycott and I sincerely hope it begins soon and lasts for a very long time. If I never have to stand in line behind another scruffily dressed, dread-locked, protein deficient skinny hippie chick with hairy armpits and a distinctive odor, it would be too soon.
