Politicians spend millions of dollars on TV advertising, but imagine the money a candidate can save for other things if the company does it for you for free.
That’s the situation for Domino's Pizza CEO and possible Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate David Brandon. The company began running prime time TV ads starring the former South Lyon native and former University of Michigan Regent. Brandon has been mentioned as a possible GOP candidate for governor along with a big cast of character, such as Attorney General Mike Cox, Secretary of State Terry Lynn Land, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard.
However, Brandon doesn’t have the kind of statewide name recognition people like Cox, Land and Patterson have. These commercials will certainly change that. I wonder if you will give his opponents equal time.
The newest Brandon ad called "Pizza Big Taste Bailout” is rather offensive; given the rightwing causes Domino's has supported in the past and continues to push.
Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer called out Brandon’s hypocrisy for the company’s “Bailout” TV ad.
“CEO Brandon apparently thinks the country’s current economic crisis is funny and just another opportunity to sell pizzas,” Brewer said in a press release. “In fact, these ads are the height of hypocrisy because Brandon and Domino’s have long supported the policies and elected officials which allowed the reckless and greedy abuses by Wall Street CEO’s, banks and insurance companies which created the current economic crisis.”
Personally, I haven’t eaten much Domino’s pizza since former owner Tom Monaghan sold the Detroit Tigers. They are my second choice because they are headquartered in Michigan. My first choice is a true Michigan company that currently owns the Tigers as well as the Red Wings, Little Caesar's Pizza.
The company was founded and owned by Mike and Marian Ilitch. They are truly committed to Michigan and the community. In addition to their Veterans Program, they established the non-profit foundation called the Love Kitchen to feed the hungry and homeless in the U.S. and Canada, feeding more than 1.5 million people in need since 1985. The mobile kitchen's planned use is focused on special programs and disaster relief efforts, and in October of 2001 traveled to New York City to feed rescue workers at the World Trade Center site.
“Pizza, Pizza.”
20 comments:
Too bad you didn't have space to print all of Brewer's press release...the part where he urged people not to buy Domino's. Real nice. Hurt a Michigan company employing thousands of Michigan people because the guy is a Republican. Some parts of your party are truly wacko.
Brandon may not be your cup of tea but he's got a democratic right to choose his politics. Once again you show disdain for freedom and liberty.
By the way, when Brandon ran Vlassis the company was regularly selected as one of the NATION's top places to work because of the progressive employee policies he instituted there. Then he went to Domino's, which was financially hurting at the time, and turned the company around, thereby saving thousands of jobs for people who are not only employed but paying taxes.
A progressive employer and a smart businessman...no wonder the Democratic leadership has no use for him. They don't understand that type of person.
That’s a heck of a stretch, brett, to claim Mark is advocating a boycott. I had plenty of space, but I didn’t print it because it wasn’t important to the point of the post. Here’s the rest of the press release.
“TV viewers and Domino’s purchasers should know that purchasing from Domino’s enables CEO Brandon to continue to support elected officials like these who helped bring on the current economic crisis.”
If you get he is advocating a boycott, you are very creative. I’m going to buy my pizza from the real Michigan company; the one that’s the best bargain, quality and really supports the community. That would be Little Caesars. Dominos will be my second choice, if I can find one in Howell.
You missed the entire point of the post. Isn’t it strange that a guy who wants to run for governor suddenly starts starring in the company’s TV ads? It sure is.
It’s his views I have problems with. Tell you what, brett. You vote for him the GOP primary.
A heck of a stretch? Maybe for someone like you who continues to lie about my identity. I'm not Brett. I don't know who Brett is. I don't care who Brett is. You, though, seem to be obsessed by him.
He said Domino's purchases should know that pruchasing from Domino's enables Brandon to continue to support elected officials like those who helped bring on the current economic crisis.
So is he saying people should buy more pizza from Domino's? I don't think so. He doesn't use the word "boycott" but he is encouraging people to not buy from a Michigan company because he doesn't like the CEO's politics.
So should we also not buy from companies that donate to Democrats like Chris Dodd who wrote the legislation that allowed AIG to give out those huge bonuses? What a moron that guy is. First he denied he did it. Then, without explaining his initial denial, he said he did it but he was too stupid to know what he was doing. That's his explanation. Amazing. Of course, this is the guy who got sweetheart deals from Countryside Financial in exchange for favorable treatment from Dodd's Senate Committee. Oh, that's right, he didn't know what his rates are. His best defense is that he's stupid and uninformed. He's a crook who has become incredibly wealthy gaming the taxpayers while helping out the very corporations you criticize.
Well, at least he isn't making pizza commerials.
Brandon isn't running for governor, by the way. His name has been mentioned and I always thought he was destined for a race for governor or U.S. Senate. But he's not going to do it. He's trying to sell pizza; he's trying to make his business more successful. That's something that Democrats like you can't understand, although you do want to live off the taxes they produce. The ads aren't free; they are paid for by the the company because they think it's a good idea. It's totally legal.
And you...and Brewer...hate it because, well because he is a Republican.
I'll respect Brewer's boycott call when he says Republicans don't have to pay taxes sought be Democrats. Until then, he's the hypocrit, claiming to be for the working man but encouraging practices that hurt a Michigan company.
And let's get real. First, no one is going to pay any attention to Brewer when it is time to buy a pizza. Second, even if they did, who do you think gets hurt: Brandon, who already has more money than any us of can dream of, or the working man and woman? The answer is obvious, but Brewer doesn't care...he made a political point so to hell with who suffers. Very typical of him.
So, go ahead, call me "Brett." And add still another mistake/lie to your long, long list. (I noticed how badly you got nailed on all your WALLY errors/misinformation. Still waiting for the addresses of the proposed two "downtown" Ann Arbor stops for WALLY. They don't exist. The only Ann Arbor stop is on Plymouth Road out on north campus. You were also wrong to say there was a downtown Brighton stop. You are either purposely lying or hopelessly misinformed. Again, with you I think it is probably both.)
Yes, brett, it’s a heck of a stretch. Remember, you are the one that used deceit to post as someone else, and you also said you weren’t going to post as kevins again; you did it just to show me how sneaky you were. If you’re not brett, don’t worry about it.
Yes, he certainly did say, “Domino's purchases should know that purchasing (sic) from Domino's enables Brandon to continue to support elected officials like those who helped bring on the current economic crisis.” He is 100 percent correct. I don’t see that as a boycott. If you do, fine.
You can buy from any company you want. You’re wrong about Chris Dodd, but that’s another issue.
http://www.factcheck.org/politics/blame_dodd_attacks_ignore_facts.html
I don’t believe Brandon has ruled out running for Governor, and he certainly had not when he started putting himself in the company’s commercials in January. Even if he isn’t, I’m sure a run is in his future somewhere. What a great way to get your name out there, don’t you think? You’re right; the ads are paid for by the company. I said that. It would cost a PAC a lot of money to run those. Oh yes, it’s legal brett, but ethical? No.
Mark is correct on the latest commercials. Using the bailout to sell pizzas and talking about “Wall Street fat cats” when he supports politicians who created the mess is disgusting. I wonder how much more money he is making in comparison to a typical manager of a store?
Respect anything you want, brett, but it’s not a boycott. I’m politically active and care about my community. I prefer to spend my money with corporations that are good corporate citizens, care about workers and car about the community. I’ll take Little Caesars over Dominos.
As for tax, that makes no sense. The people elected Democrats. If you don’t want to respect the law of the land and the will of the people, then go somewhere else, brett. If no one is “going to pay any attention to Brewer when it is time to buy a pizza” then why are you upset? I think you might be right, but he is really pointing out the hypocrisy of a man who supports the politicians who put in the place the polices that created the recession using the bailout to make money.
Once again, brett, you don’t see any lies. If you want to talk about WALLY go to that thread.
You wrote in response to Kevins:
"I wonder how much more money he is making in comparison to a typical manager of a store?"
You also said in the next paragraph:
"I prefer to spend my money with corporations that are good corporate citizens, care about workers and car about the community. I’ll take Little Caesars over Dominos. "
This is a very interesting comparison. You wonder about how much more money Brandon makes compared to his typical managers of his stores. Yet, you didn't ask the same question of Mike Illitch. A man in the same business, and strong competitor to Brandon. Little Ceasars vs. Dominoes.
The original owner of Dominoes, Tom Monaghan stared off his business with just $75.00 in his pocket, created Dominoes and made himself a millionaire. He bought the Tigers in 1984.
I believe that Mike Illitch is a self made millionaire as well, although I don't know his history as familiarly as I do Monaghans. Illitch wanted to buy the Tigers, but couldn't at the time that he wanted to, so he bought the Red Wings. Later he bought the Tigers from Monaghan.
Two similar companies. Two companies with the same product. Two men that became wealthy from their hard work in those businesses, and two men that eventually ended up owning the same pro sports team.
But you wonder about the new CEO's income compared to that of his store managers, but you don't wonder about the CEO's income compared to that of his store managers.
I don't know Illitch's politics, and I don't know for sure that either of you are right about Brandon's politics. I do know that Monaghan is a staunch Catholic, but I didn't know his politics either.
This is another example of you exhibiting class warfare and separating between Socialist Democrats and Republicans.
On the name thing. You have it all wrong (no surprise there). You're calling Kevins by the name of Brett. You've called me, Brett. You've accused Kevins of creating a name out of deceit but it wasn't him that created the other name, it was me. There was no deceit because I told you up front that I was Not Anonymous signed in another name. I don't remember the name, but I think it was guruisastalker.
So you accuse Kevins of being Brett and you accuse me of being Brett and you have it wrong on both counts. You admit it when in the same thread you addressed both us by the name of Brett. You accused me of creating a name out of deceit, and you accuse Kevins of creating a name out of deceit. There was no deceit. I created the name and told you I was "not anonymous" when in that other name to prove to you that a person can create as many names as they can think of. Kevins did not create the other name. He says he's not Brett. I created the other name, and I'm not Brett.
You really have some serious Identity crisis issues, but I'm not sure who's identity crisis it is you have. Kevins, mine, yours or Brett's.
The difference between Mike Illitch and Brandon is Little Caesars is a good corporate citizen and invests in the community. Plus, Illitch started his company; Brandon didn’t. Still, I think Illitch is making too much money.
There is no class warfare. There also is no such thing as a “socialist Democrat” in this country, and that’s just another fascist talking point you continue to parrot.
Wait, you can’t even remember the different names you have posted as? That’s just sad, brett. The deceit on your part is starting to trip you up. That’s why I don’t lie like you and try to deceive people like you because it’s too hard to remember who you were when you told the lie. You can’t even remember what names you have posted under, yet you’re giving me a hard time because I can’t either? Give me a break.
Yes, there is some serious “Identity crisis issues” here, but it’s not from me. I’m not trying to hide. I use my picture in my profile, and some of the stuff I post here is posted on Opinion Artillery under my real name. Check it out.
http://opinionartillery.org/index.html/frontPage.do
Plus, when you engage me in debate, you know it’s me you are taking to. I can’t say the same for you, brett.
I believe that Tom Monaghan retired and concentrates on his religion. I find it odd that you'd hold it against Brandon for not staring his company but rather taking over the leadership of another.
It's also not a surprise to me that you think Illitch makes too much money. It's typical of Socialist Democrats to determine for others how much they should and should not make. No class warfare? Sorry, that's exactly what it is.
As I said, I created that name to prove a point to you and you've proven it better than I ever could by your false claims. I did look back and saw the name. It was guruisastalker. You'll find it on January 16 when you started playing the games with names.
I know that you like to think that kevins is brett and that I am brett and anyone else that disagrees with you, I'm sure you'll call brett too. If that makes you feel better, so be it. I don't care who you think I am and I don't care who you are. I don't go looking to find out your personal details as you have done to others in the past and as you try to do with some here, including me.
I don't believe that's your picture, I don't believe what you say about yourself being a former military member, a former reporter. Your writing is not good enough to be one of the poor examples of journalism put on display by the mainstream socialist media and, you proved that you don't work in downtown Lansing when you said you attended the tea party. If I'm wrong, then you have proven that you don't know how to count by ones, and you have proven that you're completely dishonest. But then, reading what you write here has proven that to me ever since I started looking at this blog.
Finally, I have seen your writings on other blogs. You've been made to look an even bigger fool on those blogs than you have made yourself out to be here.
On the other blogs, you're looked at as the odd kid that everyone had in elementary class. The kind that didn't quite qualify as a dork. I pity you more than anything else. It must be awful to be the guy that everyone looks at out of the corner of their eye that you know is going to do or say something stupid, and the only question is what is it going to be this time.
You give yourself too much credit. You don't debate. You have no idea how to debate and I'm convinced you don't have the intelligence to debate. You've proven it here and most especially on the other sites that I've seen your posts.
It was you that brought up Tom Monaghan, not me. Illitch’s story is very similar to Monaghan’s, but he is a good corporate citizen that invests in the community. Brandon didn’t start the company, and I have no idea why he is the second highest paid CEO in the state.
I think all CEOs make more money in comparison to workers. In 1965 the average CEO was earning 24 times what the average worker was making. But in 2005, the average CEO was making 262 times what the average worker is making. Once again, there is no such thing as a “socialist Democrat” in this country, and that is just one more fascist Republican talking point.
Once again, you used deceit to post as someone else, brett, and that speaks volumes about you. I have never tried to hide who I am.
Gee, why am I surprised that you downgrade my military service. “Support the troops” is just a slogan with your kind. I don’t much care what some anonymous, deceitful person thinks of me.
I guess when you aren’t capable of real debate, this is what you’re left with. Perhaps you’re right; and I am not a very good writer. But I’m certainly better than you.
The “mainstream socialist media?” Are you serious? The media is rightwing and has been for some time.
I wasn’t at the “tea party,” but I was at the event some rightwing tools were calling a tea party on the Capitol steps on Feb. 27. I was wrong on my estimation of the numbers, but I corrected that. I’m still waiting for the rightwing tools to correct their inflated numbers. If I’m so dishonest then why can’t you prove anything I write is dishonest? The only tine I was proved wrong I corrected it.
Funny, some guy who uses deceit and dishonesty to post as multiple people is accusing me of being dishonest.
Your claim about my writing and how I am viewed on other blogs is just your biased opinion based on sour grapes because I continue to kick your ass in debate. I was kicked off the official GOP blog because I kept punching holes in their arguments.
Hey, brett, if you ever have some facts and really want to try your hand at debate, I’ll be here.
You should make up your mind. In this latest post of yours, you call me brett and anonymous.
Here's a definition for you: Socialism:a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
Now I refer to to Barney Franks comments as well as the comments of many others in Congress talking about the bonuses of AIG saying that "we own 80% of AIG". In other words, Socialism.
Notice that it was all Democrats in the House and zero Republicans that voted for the bailout. Notice it was all Democrats in the Senate that voted for the bailout and only three Republicans.
You may whine that you're not Socialist Democrats all you like, but the facts prove that the liberals have gone socialist.
The media right wing? That's outrageously funny. Even the media admits it's liberal, which makes them socialist these days.
No, I think you should make up your mind who you are. Once again, I am who I say I am, and I have never used deceit to post as someone else.
I appreciate that definition of socialism, but it doesn’t apply here.
You’re surprised that Republicans are obstructionists? Not a problem for me. The American voters rejected the Republican plan in November.
Once again, brett, there is no such thing as a “socialist Democrat” in this country, and that’s simply a fascist Republican talking point.
That is correct, the media is conservative, and it has been for years. The “liberal media” myth is simply a political strategy. A good one, but still a political strategy.
---yawn--- Same old lines, same old lies from you.
Too bad you can’t prove one.
I've proved countless lies and so has Not Anonymous....you just ignore it. Which is fine; it's your site.
your biggest credibility problem is that you know you once posted under a false name on another site and repeatedly denied you weren't Kevin..."I'm not Kevin," you said repeatedly. "Kevin has been banned from this site." You see..some of us have memories.
So you accuse Not Anonymous of deceit when he clearly spelled out what he was doing...and all the while you know you were guilty of intentional deceit, something you ultimately admitted to on that site.
You made countless errors about WALLY, which I specifically spelled out...I'm still waiting for the addresses of the two downtown Ann Arbor sites that you wrongly wrote were proposed for WALLY. You were wrong about that. It was a mistake. But you are such an ass that you can't concede you made an error and move on. (It is a critical error, though, since it further reduces the viability of the WALLY proposal, which is probably why you won't admit to it. You really don't care if WALLY is a good idea or not...you just want some tax dollars spent on it. That produces more government-funded jobs, which is basically your goal.)
Perhaps in your dreams, brett, but not in reality. You will never catch me a lie because I simply don’t lie.
A person who uses deceit to post as multiple people is accusing me of having a credibility problem? What a piece of work you are.
I have never posted under a false name. The blog you are talking about is “republican Michigander.” I posted there under my real first name and last initial, kevins. I was the only one using my real name. In order to stop me, he made people register with a screen name. I didn’t like being kicked off and singled out. I chose the screen name Communications Guru and started my own blog. But you know all of that, brett, so stop your lying. But after seeing what I have to go through with cowards like you, I don’t hold it against Dan Wholihan. He did the right thing, but I didn’t think so at the time. I was angry about being kicked off.
You are 100 percent wrong on WALLY, as usual. I made one mistake, which I corrected. If you want to continue that debate, be my guest. You know where to find the thread.
You made more mistakes than you can count...and I don't recall you admitting one, much less correcting it. A few of your mistakes:
1. You said WALLY had a proposed stop in downtown Brighton. That is false.
2. You said WALLY had 2 proposed stops in downtown Ann Arbor. That is false. There are actually zero.
3. You said the WALLY route would go through Brighton City and then through Green Oak Township. That would require using the OTHER railroad tracks in Livingston County. And that is false. WALLY proposed using the tracks that run through the center of the county and they don't go to Brighton and barely touch Green Oak Township.
4. You said WALLY route followed heavily traveled US-23 in Livingston County. False. It doesn't come near US-23 in Livingston County until barely before the county line.
5. You dimissed as untrue the fact that the leader of WALLY claimed a non-existent entity (Genoa DDA) pledged money to WALLY. You again were wrong. He did it at a public meeting of the county board of commissioners and it was reported in the media.
6. You claimed that ridership surveys support the need for WALLY. That is false. There are no reliable surveys; there are a couple of very casual questionnaires in which people were asked if they might consider a commuter train. Even the county-funded study -- done by a pro-train company -- said that the ridership "studies" were unreliable and said more reliable surveys were needed.
7. You said Bill Rogers flip-flopped by being against mass transit (WALLY) and then be in favor of it (MagLev). That is false. Rogers voted in favor of the county paying part of a $150,000 feasibility study for WALLY. When it was done, he joined the rest of the board who thought it was not a good use of tax dollars. As a state rep, he has endorsed the study of the MagLev proposal. He is consistently seeking facts and information before making a decision. Why do you have a problem with facts?
8. You continue to accuse me and Not Anonymous of being Brett, when both of us deny it and you have offered no proof to the contrary. Because there isn't any. Another falsehood.
9. You charge Not Anonymous with deceit for falsely posting under a different name when he clearly explained...both at the time and later...what he was doing. You are clearly lying on this one.
10. You said you didn't like people posting as "anonymous" because you couldn't follow a person's line of argument. You said you were fine if they switched to a screen name. That's what Not Anonymous and I did...yet you still claim we are the same people...or that we are Brett..or whatever. So you again lied. In the meantime, you've offered no proof that communication
guru and ka dargo are not the same person.
11. You called people trolls merely because you didn't agree with them..and because they contested your falsehoods. A "troll" is a thread-stealer. I...and Not Anonymous...were responding to your posts. Yet you called us Trolls. You didn't do that when ka Dargo hijacked a thread with profanity-laced insults. (You may say I'm hijacking this thread. Go ahead. As long as you call me "brett", I feel no obligation to follow your "rules," which are lies anyway.
If you want to have the WALLY debate then go to the right thread, brett. Plus, I debunked you there, and I never heard back from you.
That is correct; you used deceit to post as different people.
That is correct; I did say I “didn't like people posting as "anonymous" because you couldn't follow a person's line of argument.” Like I said when you posted as multiple people and choose to rub my face in the fact you were deceitful enough to find a way to post as multiple people, it never occurred to me that you could be as dishonest as to post as multiple people. I guess if there is a will there is a way, but I guess you have to have the basic dishonest mind set that you do to find the way. If you’re not brett, brett, then don’t worry about it.
Here’s the huge difference between me and ka dargo and you. I also post the information under my real name and here with my photo. I’m not hiding, brett. Dargo has his profile filled out as well. But in the end, if you want to believe the lie that we are the same people, then fine; who cares.
Yes, you a troll. I haven’t called you that since you chose a screen name, brett. Dargo never hijacked a thread, and even if he did, he’s a friend of mine so it’s OK with me. You will also notice we don’t always agree on things; like with Tiger Stadium. My blog, my rules. You are free to have any rules you want on your blog. That’s the great thing about blogging.
You “feel no obligation to follow your "rules, which are lies anyway?” What exactly does that mean?
Your rules are lies. You don't follow them. You didn't debunk anything about WALLY. That's just your strategy: Lie about "debunking" rather than address the facts.
You keep lying about who I am. I'm not Brett. I'm not Not Anonymous. That's what I mean about your rules being lies. I am listed by a specific name and you still accuse me of being someone else.
So dargo is your friend. It's nice that you have imaginary friends.
That makes no sense, brett. Too bad you don’t know that.
As for WALLY; I’m still waiting for your comments. You know, I don’t care who you are, brett. Yes, Dargo is my friend, and I don’t give a dam what some dishonest person who uses deceit to post as someone else thinks.
One correction.
Kevins (the real one, Mr. Shopshire) was never kicked off my blog. He can post there under his screename. I banned anonymous posts because of a couple of posts that went too far without a screename. One I found out later was Kevins (not posting as Kevins or Guru). Another was from someone who was conservative that went too far the other way. The last reason was spambots.
I don't know who the other "Kevins" is, although I think he should pick another screenname. While I know it's not obviously Kevin, it still looks bad.
Sorry, but that’s not correct. I was punching too many holes in your thin positions, and I was kicked off. Using my real first name and last initial certainly was a cut above a screen name. I also never went “too far,” unless you consider kicking your butt going too far.
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