Who in Texas fights a new Wal-Mart on the freeway?
Would you believe ... Democrats?
Proving once again that some Texas Democrats might be completely out of touch with ordinary folks, a local party official activated the faithful Tuesday to storm Arlington City Hall and join a protest against a big discount store.
Since when do Democrats hate big discount stores?
Since at least Tuesday, when the Tarrant County Democratic Party e-mailed a dire warning about "another Big Box store being forced on a neighborhood."
. . . . .
What's so wrong about building "another Big Box store"?
You'd have to ask the Tarrant County Democratic Party.
As it turns out, the Democrats don't oppose big discount stores. That is, unless they're Wal-Marts. The county party should not have taken sides in a local zoning case either for or against a discount store, county Chairman Art Brender of Fort Worth said Wednesday.
He said the e-mail was unauthorized and that he's "a little upset" that it was sent and posted on the party Web site without permission.
But local Democrats oppose Wal-Mart -- predictably, over labor policies -- and will argue against new stores, he said.
"We oppose Wal-Mart's efforts to prevent unionization and the company's failure to provide insurance benefits for many employees," he said. "For those reasons, we oppose putting any more Wal-Marts anywhere."
The party e-mail criticized Wal-Mart for moving into the neighborhood "against citizens' desires."
I always thought American freedom included the liberty to move into any neighborhood, as long as we're orderly.
The e-mail also linked readers to a Web site, www.sprawl-busters.com, that opposes all big discount stores.
Let me ask my Democratic friends to think long and hard about this. Do Democrats really expect to win any votes in Texas by fighting big discount stores? Who do they think is shopping at SuperTarget? Country-club Republicans?
Brender said specifically that the local party has not taken an official stand for or against big discount stores. Such a message would "obscure the issue" of Wal-Mart's labor policies, he said.
That point was not clear at City Hall. From what our reporters tell me, one opponent wore a "[No] Wal-Mart" shirt and carried a sign advertising a Democratic Party meeting. Another wore a Democratic donkey pin.
Ironically, some of the most ardent critics of the Arlington City Council this week worry that homeowners might be denied their property rights if their homes are condemned for the Cowboys' new football stadium. Yet some of the same critics would deny Wal-Mart its property rights. Now, if only the Democrats were this worked up about Hooters. ...
What do the Wal-Mart haters here say in response to Kennedy's arguments? I predict some will say this is irrelevant because it's happening in Texas. But I think he has some good points. If we insist on a "pro-labor" stance, shouldn't the message be more clear? And more consistent?
