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- Budweiser Pays for Davis and Bustamante!
Monday, Oct. 6, 2003
Budweiser Pays for Davis and Bustamante
Anheuser-Busch is shilling for California's corruption-plagued Democrat establishment, according to Slate.
After launching into a lengthy attack on Arnold Schwarzenegger, Slate columnist Mickey Kaus today wrote that Sunday night he got a "strange" phone call taped by sore loserman Al Gore urging people to vote against the recall and (wishy-washy as ever) for Cruz Bustamante just in case those awful "right-wing Republicans" oust the greedy guv.
At the end of the message, according to Kaus, a woman's voice says: "Paid for by Progressive Democrats and Independents against the recall. Major funding by Anheuser-Busch."
He writes:
What's America's largest brewer doing going to bat for Gray Davis and Cruz Bustamante? Is that legal? Maybe so – perhaps the cost is somehow apportioned between the "recall" message and the "Bustamante" message in a way that gets around whatever campaign limits apply. But is it smart? Anheuser-Busch has put its name and it's [sic] precious brands, nurtured at a cost of billions of dollars, behind two of the most unpopular politicians in the nation's largest state. How does that make business sense? Aren't opponents of Davis and Bustamante – probably a majority of the population – going to think twice about ordering up a Bud? Even if they're only 40 percent of the population, does Anheuser-Busch want to alienate 40 percent of the market? And what about proud "right-wing Republicans"? Don't they drink beer?
Possible explanation #1: Maybe Anheuser-Busch executives don't know their company's name is being used in the phone calls. But shouldn't they?
Possible Explanation #2: Or maybe they figure that in heavily Democratic Venice, where I live, most recipients of the call will think more highly of them because of the Gore/Democrat association. (Perhaps they're sponsoring similar phone messages from Tom Selleck targeted at Republicans in Simi Valley.) But that sort of stealth-targeting strategy would depend on nobody writing a story revealing Anheuser-Busch's actions to a larger audience.
Early this afternoon we called Anheuser-Busch to ask for an explanation. A Paula Reppell said someone would respond by our 4 p.m. deadline. We're still waiting.
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