Voting With Your Dollars

While I hope everyone who reads TPP makes sure to vote twice a year please remember you can vote with your dollars every day. Places like Buy Blue can help you insure you're doing business with progressive businesses. By being careful where you shop and who you do business with you can have a subtle, long term effect on the political process. For example don't buy or drink Coors beer (Coors family funds the Heritage Foundation). Don't bank with Mellon (Richard Mellon Scaife).

Other state and/or local businesses are also significant because your not doing business there can have more of an impact. While perusing Rick Santorum's donor lists I compiled an assortment of companies which supported him significantly. These were major contributors, company owners and/or CEO's, and/or high level management. Obviously there isn't much we as consumers can do for the major industrial companies backing him but places like Herr's Potato Chips, 84 Lumber, etc. might feel the pain.

What follows is a list of these companies.

Clemens Markets
Genuardi's Markets
Eat'n Park
Auntie Anne's Pretzels
The Tavern (State College)
Cracker Barrel
Devault Foods
Floors and More (Plymouth Meeting)
Wendy's (CEO gave)
Turkey Hill
Gabriel Brothers Stores (Uniontown)
Chip Ganassi Racing (boycott their sponsors)
Vanguard Mutual Funds
Giorgio Foods (mushrooms)
Food Depot (Newtown Square)
84 Lumber
ING Funds
Herr Foods (only distantly related to Lois and very GOP)
Fox/News Corporation television
Herbalife
Toyota of Runnemede (Michael Kardon dealerships)
Craftmatic Beds
Krapf Bus Company
Hoveround Corporation
H.H. Knoebel & Sons (Elysburg)
Armstrong World Inudtries
Farm & Home Oil (Telford)
Martin's Famous Pastry Shoppe (Chambersburg)
Zook Molasses Co.
Tom Masano Autos (Reading)
Pocono Raceway
Car Sense (Malvern)
Freemarkets Software (the odious Glen Meakem)
The Scooter Store
Comcast
Computer Aid (Allentown)
Preferred Real Estate
Shaner Hotel Group (State College)
Shields Motors (State College)
Force America (Harvey's Lake)
Save-A-Lot Food Stores
Krispy Kreme (CEO)
Toll Brothers (construction)

Most of Santorum's money comes from doctors, insurance companies, the health care industry, pharmaceuticals, the financial industry, contractors and developers, and the coal and mining industry. He got heavy donations from executives from Armstrong, U.S. Steel, etc. He even got cash from many lawyers.

For someone so associated with "moral and family values" I was surprised to see some gambling money find its way into his campaign coffers. After all the hullabaloo from Republicans like Lynn Swann about the slots coming this may be somewhat hypocritical of Tricky Ricky. Here are his gambling contributors:

James & Maureen Barrett of Henderson, Nevada $5,000
Lorenzo & Frank Fertitta of Las Vegas, Nevada $6,000 (Stations Casino)
Stanley Fulton of Las Vegas, Nevada $4200 (Anchor Gambling)

The Barrett's don't reveal a specific gambling connection but I'm assuming such based on their state of habitation (Nevada).