CORPORATE CECESSION -- READ IN

[ciaobox]

O.K. Hopefully someone is already doing this. We need a website that is a consumer guide for Dems. And we would all have to discipline ourselves to ONLY buy Dem-friendly goods and services - including banks, credit cards, insurance companies, food, clothing, cars, everything. and boycott all else (except maybe some friendly European products). There are over 50 million of us. If only 10 million did this religiously and each spent $10K a year. that's $10 billion ANNUALLY that we will be taking out of right-wing pockets and putting into friendly pockets.

Thoughts? Anyone have a site like this?

[kikiek]

1. I agree! I told my husband we aren't buying anything for a long time.

[HuskiesHowls]

5. Who can AFFORD to buy anything??? n/t

[VoteJohn04_com]

13. Like it but...

I like the idea, but I agree... "Who can AFFORD to buy anything???"

I don't know about you, but I'm having a hard enough time
finding a decent job under this President, let alone having
MONEY to spend on stuff!

DU THIS POLL!!!
http://www.zyos.net/poll/index.php

[leftyandproud]

9. I think this is fruitless

don't get me wrong...it is a great idea, but it will backfire. Freepers will get a hold of the same list and do the opposite of what it says...boycotting dem friendly corps and buying exclusively from pub friendly corps. It would certainly be interesting, but in the end I think it would be a wash.

[kikiek]

12. Yes you have a good point.

[GreenPartyVoter]

16. Not if it isn't labelled as such. See the shopping directories on my site

"Hey those wacky lefties and hippies only buy natural stuff"

And hey, it also happens that they aren't putting $ in the bad guys' pockets any more.

-----------------------------------------------------------
FIGHT! Take this country back one town and state at a time!
http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/electionreform.htm

[George_S]

49. No they wouldn't

... as long as the Dem places weren't marrying gays or doing abortions.

They don't have the incentive. We do.

[henslee]

2. I am so into this.

[GDoyle]

3. Yes

And we're talking about it over at Kos too. We need to boycott not just corporations, but red states in general and corporations based there. The website needs to indicate what businesses based in red states to avoid. What corporations donate to conservatives, etc. No more traveling and supporting the economy of red states till the fuckers moderate their voting patterns. We can possibly fight them better on economic terms rather than political.

GDoyle

[truthseeker1]

7. Do you have a link for the map that shows red/blue states

I need to bookmark it for future reference.

[Hog lover]

27. You can start with Wal-Mart from Arkansas

Besides, I can't stand them. They are famous for discriminating against their employees. Notice the commercials supposedly featuring their happy employees? These are put out to combat their terrible reputation.

[BamaGirl]

29. Hey! Hold the Phone!

Boycott companies--I'm all for that. I already do that. But do not boycott our states! Some of us are going to continue to fight hard on local and state levels here for the Dems, and we'll do it again in two years for Congress, and again in 4 years for President. Boycotting us will not help the cause here. We have to bring the South back to the Dem Party, not alienate it more. Gawd, the battle is hard enough in Bama without complicating it more with this!

[nickinSTL]

44. It's kinda hard to boycott a red state

if you live in one.

[ORprogressive]

48. If the goal is to..

...demand our right to have our votes counted, then boycotting a company such as Walmart is not going to get us there. Walmart cannot get us auditable voting systems.

However, network news is also a big part of our problem.


I haven't turned on cable news since Tuesday night. I'm getting my news on Air America and by glancing at the headlines on my Yahoo home page. Now that I'm not screaming at the TV anymore, I feel much more relaxed.

Walmart, no. CNN, sure. Pick a network and pound the fuck out of their advertisers. "You betrayed us, now your advertisers don't get our money".

Just my 2 cents.

[NEOBuckeye]

4. I haven't been buying much of anything already for the past 3 years.

I can't find a decent job anywhere. Corporatia ain't getting anything out of me. I've got nothing to spend.

[Copperred]

6. Yep

AGREE FULLY....and we should start a campaign that identifies companies.....it should be national..... like Made in America

[ciaobox]

11. Great idea. Brand it.

Make it a hip thing. Get celeb endorsements, etc. Maybe we could get True Majority to help organize? They already have their own credit card. We should make MEDIA high on the list. I know there are satellite systems you can subscribe to on the grey market from Canada. We could encourage people to drop cable/sat here and join those.

[WestHoustonDem]

8. Great Idea!

I'm a web developer. We can do this if enough people want to get involved in the research aspect. I'm sure we could eventually support it with advertisements. Count me in!

[mindwalker_i]

10. Now you're talking!

DU has a lot of people on, with a lot of friends each. We have the power to make a big difference, put a real burdon on those who would silence us, if only we have the will to use that power.

-mwalker

[Liberal Gramma]

14. I'm in

[GreenPartyVoter]

15. I have a list of shopping directories on my site you ought to check out

If you have any more that fit the bill please let me know.

http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/

[Doohickie]

19. GPV...

I like your website, especially the Christian sites. I post to Ship of Fools as Doohickie (although I've posted here mostly lately). If you see Doohickie over at SOF, make sure you wave hello!

Also, a good addition to your denominations list would be Presbyterian Church (USA) at http://www.pcusa.org. As a church, we condemned the Iraq War.

Peace,

Paul H.

[GreenPartyVoter]

22. Thanks Paul! I think I have only posted at SOF once, on acct

of the fact that I can never dig myself out of here. *l*

PCUSA is great and they are on the list. :)

-----------------------------------------------------------
FIGHT! Take this country back one town and state at a time!
http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/electionreform.htm

[Doohickie]

37. You should stop by more often... especially

if they get the online church up and running again. It uses gaming technology and they actually held church services there daily for several months. They said it was just an experiment and that they need money for upgrades... currently looking for a sponsor to shell out some bucks.

But the message boards are full of (mostly) wonderful folks.

[ciaobox]

21. good start. keep it coming!

[GreenPartyVoter]

23. Thanks! Let me know if there is anything else I ought to add.

-----------------------------------------------------------
FIGHT! Take this country back one town and state at a time!
http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/electionreform.htm

[zeemike]

17. I am for it

But not so much as a boycott, but rather as just not consuming.
And this is beneficial in more than one way.
Learn to live without buying a lot of shit can be good for your health and wealth.
You know if you drink beer you could make your own and save so much and not have to deal with aluminum cans.
You could shop as much as possible form farmers markets and by direct from co ops and the like and have a healthier food supply.
And do you really need a new Microwave oven?
Do you really need a new car because the new ones talk to you and keep track of everything you do? By a use car from an individual and keep using it as long as it will run. Some of the older ones are cheaper to operate anyway.
There are many ways you can keep form spending money, and a penny saved is a penny earned.

[Cronus Protagonist]

18. Great! Buy My Buttons!!

Thanks :)


We ship same or next day by first class mail - Show your support for the president, wear a FUCK BUSH button!

http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13

[Riverman]

20. Start with Wal Mart

[Hog lover]

28. Oops - see my post, too

I am from Arkansas (hence the love of hogs) and I hear a lot about Wal-Mart.

[Digit]

24. I'm in, although it is difficult to afford anything anyway. eom

[Cinletharwi]

25. HAVE A LOOK AT THIS THREAD:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2589912

Talking about similar thoughts there.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

26. I say TARGETTED boycotts

I say rather than boycott a whole SLEW of companies, pick a handful of companies that are the worst.

For instance, it would KILL AMWAY in America for Dems to not purchase any products associated with Amway. It would LOSE 50 million potential customers for them. AMWAY is also worldwide. With the internet, Europeans and others who resent our current administration would gladly join the boycott.

Pick ONE oil company and make them pay for ALL oil companies.

BOYCOTT WALMART even if you have to drive a bit farther once a month to get the items you would get at WALMART elsewhere.

IT's difficult to boycott lots of companies, it's easy to punish one on behalf of the many. In this regard Walmart is the easy mark.

[ciaobox]

31. Yes, maybe in the beginning -- but look --

look at all the energy we have put into the last 5 count 'em five years fighting off Bushco (starting with Gore). If we took a fraction of that energy and CHANGED OUR LIFESTYLES around this concept, we could have real power...not just symbolic power. This is the only way it could work.

We could also get our brothers and sisters around the world and in Europe to support us. I am sure they would be more than happy to help.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

32. Right but you have to prove it works first..then PUNISH

Get a handful of strategic products and punish them for their politics. Pepsi and coke would be two great starts. Funny thing is the minute you ask liberals to sacrifice anything, they start whining.

[sarahlee]

38. CoOp America has most of your research done

http://www.coopamerica.org/

[ciaobox]

40. PERFECT

Great start.

[ciaobox]

30. Another thing we could do is target a "Scumco of the Month"

What this would entail is a vocal and visible strategy targetting a single repuke company a month and giving them the "Sinclair" treatment. Crash their stock share, bad press, the whole deal.

[tandem5]

33. Yes, my thoughts exactly...

Especially the part about stocks... We buy up stocks of a target company and then sell all at once - like a not-so-random flash mob. If we do it enough times and keep the sell date public other stock holders will have to sell too in order to avoid loss.

[ciaobox]

35. Loooove it!

SEC might not though...

[ciaobox]

36. So maybe I will volunteer to do this...

PM me if you are interested in volunteering. I am going to pick up a domain in the next few days. I will need a PHP/mySQL developer, a designer and some volunteers to do research and make lists. Once we are up and running, I will contact True Majority to see if they want to help us get started.

[L84TEA]

45. now THIS could work!!

:kick:

[Blaq Dem]

34. Global Boycott!!!

You were just reading my mind!!!

It's a "numbers game". In a 'free market' society, we don't have to buy stuff unless we want to. We need to hit 'em where it hurts them the most - in their pocket books. The whole entire world needs to boycott American products.

[bhikkhu]

39. Absolutely - BUY NOTHING

During the Iraq invasion, watching the bombs fall on Baghdad, I lost a good paying job. I have to confess I was almost glad, as one way or another my "production" was contributing to the government coffers, building cluster bombs, concentration camps, etc.

But now even more so - buy nothing. The machines of commerce and war in this country are inextricably linked, now moreso than ever. With a new mandate to the PNAC agenda, I would almost guarantee more war this term. If we continue to fuel the machine with our dollars we are as guilty as triggermen. At the moment I feel strongly this is the only voice left.

I recall Schindler (Liam Neeson) in his shell factory toward the end, screwing up the machines calibrations so none of his product would ever fire from a German gun. I am as strongly committed...as long as Guantanamo and the other camps are full...

[CelticWinter]

41. Im in....

I try not support them now but I can work on not giving as much I have...I fill my car twice a month now maybe I can change that to twice every 6 weeks.
Can look at other exspenses and see what I can change :)
~~Blessings
Celtic

[Copperred]

42. MAKE IT WORK: SOME ADVISE TO THE BOYCOTT LEADERS

MAKE IT WORK: SOME ADVISE TO THE BOYCOTT LEADERS



This is a great idea...

1. It needs a BRANDED NATIONAL SLOGAN similiar to MADE IN AMERICA.... This can easily be put on front store signs...and stickers on cars etc.. It is essential this be a BRANDED LONG TERM MESSAGE for it to succeed and GAIN MOMENTUM>.>>THINK WE NEED TO COME TO THAT PERFECT SOUND BITE THAT IS NEED....

2. Should be marketed to the the rest of the world once figured out, and we should tell foreign companies they will also be boycotted and risk being targetted too.

3. I definiately think with 50% of the electorate basically in disgust of Bush this could be a widely successfull campaign. We also need to get major corporations with Democratic tendincies to play this at the corporate level with their suppliers.

4. CONTACT Peter Fenn, the MAJOR PROGRESSIVE PR PRO, Telephone [phone] Fax [phone], 2715 M St. NW Suite 150 Washington, DC 20007 Democratic Political PR Firm. I THINK THIS WILL RESONATE VERY STRONGLY WITH HIM..... If you don't know Peter...you should.

......................ur lead.....

[KCS72000]

43. Totally agree

I have thought about a publication like the 1970's "Last Whole Earth Catalog" that features only responsible, environmently friendly, liberal companies and organizations etc.

[genius]

46. I AGREE. And lets start a campaign to turn off the right wing media.

[Dora]

47. I absolutely agree, and have suggested similar action

I haven't read the thread yet, so maybe someone has already posted this,

but I recently (in the last week) saw a web page that listed corporations and subsidiaries (I think brands & trademark names too), and which party they gave the most money to.

Of course, Wal Mart gave it all to the GOP, and COSTCO to the Dems.

I don't remember the website, or where I linked to it from. I am kicking myself now. If anyone knows of such a site, please link it here!

[evilqueen]

50. OpenSecrets.org

http://www.opensecrets.org/