Deaniac Paul Blank says Wal-Mart "Has officially declared war on the Democratic Party"

Paul Blank is the campaign director for Wake Up Wal-Mart. Before that, he was the national political director for the Howard Dean presidential campaign.

And it seems that some of the craziness his former boss is known for has rubbed of on Blank.

From CNS News:

Wal-Mart "has officially declared war on the Democratic Party" just three weeks before the Nov. 7 midterm elections, according to a group that wants to "change" the nation's biggest retail chain by unionizing its 1.3 million employees.

"Rather than embrace our positive vision for a better America, Wal-Mart has officially declared war on the Democratic Party, elected leaders and every American who believes we should pay workers a living wage, provide affordable health care to all, protect American jobs and keep America safe," Paul Blank, campaign director for WakeUpWalMart.com, said in a statement Friday.

"Even though an overwhelming majority of Americans, including Democrats, Republicans and Independents, now reject President Bush's right-wing agenda that has brought us a culture of corruption, repeated scandals, shipped American jobs overseas and even jeopardized our national security, Wal-Mart is launching a political campaign to help keep President Bush in power by trying to defeat Democrats who called on Wal-Mart to be a more responsible employer," Blank added.

Blank's comments came in response to an article in Thursday's Minneapolis Star Tribune, which stated: "The world's largest retailer is about to take the unusual step of distributing information about specific candidates to its 1.3 million employees nationwide, according to a company official.

Hey, it was the unions who first politicized Wal-Mart.

From the Minneapolis "free registration required" Star-Tribune:

The move signals a new willingness on the part of Wal-Mart to confront political opponents, primarily Democrats, who say the company is offering its employees substandard wages and health care benefits. In the past, Wal-Mart has engaged elected officials directly and through lobbyists, but it has rarely tried to influence elections by appealing directly to its workforce, Tovar said.

Last month the company announced that it would launch a voter registration drive, hoping to sign up all its employees, including nearly 18,000 in Minnesota at 66 stores.

But trying to sway political opinions takes a giant step forward. Some retail observers say the strategy could prove effective in small towns and cities where Wal-Mart is a large employer, and where local residents might oppose attacks against the Bentonville, Ark.-based company. "This puts elected officials across the country on notice that, if you attack Wal-Mart, then there's going to be retaliation," said Ken Bernhardt, a professor of marketing at Georgia State University. "It could make some [political leaders] think twice before attacking the company."

I'm sure if some Republcan politicians showed up at those anti Wal-Mart rallies, they'd be part of this new campaign.

And for those politicians who show up at these "anti" rallies, I have this advice: Learn how to take a punch.

And my advice to Paul Blank is this: Stop being a crybaby.

Oh, Wake Up Wal-Mart is funded by the United Food & Commercial Workers union.

Technorati tags: business big box Wal-Mart Business retail Minnesota Democrats Wake Up Wal-Mart Howard Dean