When First Lady Michelle Obama held a press conference last January to announce a collaboration between Walmart’s new “Nutritional Charter” and her “Let’s Move” Campaign, she was heralding more than just an alliance with the world’s largest retailer and grocer.
Walmart’s Nutritional Charter pledges to reduce sodium, sugar and trans fats in products, create “healthier product” labels, and drop prices on healthier foods, fruits and vegetables –even though lower costs in the grocery department are likely to be balanced with increases elsewhere.
Although Walmart and conservatives used share principles and be friends, this event publicly confirmed the company’s leftward shift.
After experiencing shakedowns by liberal activists, Walmart believed concessions might silence the din. But instead of a few capitulations, the left now controls Walmart, leaving conservative support in its battles – including unionization – in shards on the floor.
Walmart’s lurch left was an orchestrated, strategic change led to a great extent by the man standing on the dais with Michelle Obama – long time Democrat strategist and liberal environmental operative Leslie Dach.
About a decade ago, a coordinated wave of attacks by organized labor and its liberal allies deeply wounded Walmart’s reputation.
Unions accused the company of poor working conditions. Feminists, gay rights activists and Jesse Jackson yelled “discrimination,” and environmental organizations accused Walmart of warming and polluting the planet.
Hit hard — but with conservatives defending Walmart’s economic and employment contributions — then-CEO Lee Scott reached out to liberal public affairs firm Edelman for help. There he found his new Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Government Relations, Mr. Dach.
Dach worked for Michael Dukakis and John Kerry, counseled President Clinton during impeachment and donated $28,500 to the 2008 Obama campaign. He has long been associated with far left environmental organizations like The Nature Conservancy and Environmental Defense.
Dach now runs the Walmart Foundation, radically shifting giving from organizations that support economic liberty and traditional values to leftwing causes, including race-baiting organizations like La Raza and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.
Generous grants are now given to World Resources International, an organization that believes capitalism is destroying the planet, to assist in “greening” Walmart’s supply chain and developing accounting tools to measure greenhouse gases. Dach sits on the WRI Board.
If Walmart thought it could reduce global warming by donating to radical environmental groups, it was sadly mistaken. No concession is ever enough – liberals always want more.
Walmart added sexual orientation to its anti-discrimination policy, acknowledged same sex partners, and established an internal organization for gay and transgender employees.
Yet it is still accused of being intolerant toward gays and hounded to allow same sex partners on employee health plans.
Despite diversity initiatives, quotas and appointing an African-American woman as Chief Diversity Officer, critics still howl about discrimination.
Bowing to food police, Walmart increased availability of organics. For supply to meet new demand, Walmart purchased some of its “healthier” products from large American and Chinese farms, bringing the wrath of “buy local” organic growers and consumer organizations upon its head.
Some environmental groups praised Walmart for its Michelle Obama-inspired Nutritional Charter; others call it a farce and PR gimmick.
Liberals are always willing to manipulate the capitalism they hate to achieve their goals. Mr. Dach’s actions since being hired by Walmart in August 2006 has legitimized the agenda of radical environmentalists and other leftist causes by manipulating their biggest enemy.
While Mrs. Obama and Mr. Dach were busy saluting the food branch of environmental activism, just down the road unions and liberal activists were protesting the building of a Walmart that would bring lower cost food, household items and jobs to an economically depressed, primarily African-American DC neighborhood.
Ironically, in addition to usual complaints, protesters are citing a university study that claims new Walmarts make people gain weight due to the availability of lower priced groceries.
Unions and liberals consistently disdain Walmart, but the Obama camp blows hot and cold.
In January 2008, an Obama volunteer wrote a blog on Organizing for America titled “Keep Walmart out of the White House!” One reason she supported Obama over Hillary Clinton was because Hillary was once on the Walmart Board.
In May of 2007, Presidential candidate Barack Obama told AFL-CIO members in New Jersey that he would never shop at Walmart because of its anti-union stance and employee practices.
A few days later Michelle Obama resigned from the Board of TreeHouse Foods, Inc., a large Walmart supplier, but after receiving over $51K of salary as well as stock benefits from the company.
Let’s hope Dach’s plan to use the money of Walmart shoppers, employees and stockholders to fund the liberal enemies of the company works out.
If not, Walmart may again come looking for help from conservatives, and find nobody home.
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