Another conservative Ford boycott?

March 14, 2006

Just three months ago, the far-right American Family Association announced it would boycott Ford Motor Co. Nervous, Ford backed down and told the AFA that it would cut back on advertising in gay-oriented publications. A week later, the company came to its senses, reversed course, and announced that it would actually increase its advertising in these publications.

End of story? Unfortunately not. As my friend Edward Copeland noted today, the AFA has rallied a few friends and is gearing up to boycott Ford all over again.

Ford Motor Co. is facing a boycott from a coalition of 19 conservative groups that have challenged the automaker’s decision to resume advertising in gay-themed publications after an initial decision not to advertise.

The boycott is being led by the American Family Association of Tupelo, Miss. The group said Ford reneged on an earlier agreement to stop advertising in the publications and end all charitable giving to groups that support gay issues. The group is calling for members to boycott all Ford-built models, including Ford’s European luxury brands — Volvo, Land Rover and Jaguar.

“It’s a culture war,” said Randy Sharp, director of special projects at the American Family Association. By spending its money with gay groups and in gay publications, Ford is helping proponents of gay marriage, Sharp said, which the association opposes.

“If Ford is going to use its profits to be active in the culture war regarding homosexuality, we are simply going to ask people not to support them through buying Ford products,” Sharp said.

The other “groups” include a motley assortment of far-right, vaguely theocratic fringe organizations, including the Center for Reclaiming America, Citizens for Community Values, and Vision America.

To its credit, Ford didn’t sound terribly concerned about the renewed campaign and a company spokesperson said the automaker’s position has not changed. “Ford is proud of its tradition of treating all with respect,” the spokesperson said.

I can only hope Ford has the good sense to stick to that line.

This sort of bullying by religious bigots will hurry the split of the republican party.

Ultimately, the corporate side of the party is going to have to go to war with the religious side of the party.

Ultimately… because ultimately you can’t pacify religious freaks.

After all… they speak with God’s authority.

Whereas… the corporate side of the party merely speaks with the authority of Mammon.

Ultimately, these two beasts simply can’t cohabit the same space.

  • Sigh. Why must everything be a “war”? I visit the US a lot, and I know that most people are reasonable, why is so much public discourse led by people such as this?

  • Reminds me of the HBO series Big Love-
    Wacko religious polygamist family is also corporate manager of two big box stores. ..ironies abound

  • This country is being split into many factions. In historical terms, to devide a country is to destroy it. The Bush Adm.has accelerated the sense of class separation and brought home the realization we no longer run our own country. They are plundering this country, we are very close to bankrupcy which will upset everyone. We have gangs everywhere pushing their irrelevant agendas down the throats of Americans.
    There is something very sick and cowardly about gang formation and we have an epidemic. At the rate we are going, we will face civil war in this country.

  • We’re going to fight the Irreoncilable Wing of the GOP over there (in Tupelo, South Dakota, Kansas and the rest of the Red States) so we don’t have to fight them over here (the Blue States). It’s the Looong War. Americans better dig in and get used to it.

  • “Ford is proud of its tradition of treating all with respect,” the spokesperson said.

    I presume this tradition started sometime after the demise of the racist, anti-semitic, Nazi-sympathizing founder of Ford Motor Company?

  • Damn, now I wish Ford would come out with a Hybrid vehicle so I can buy that as my next car (and not an SUV, damnit).

    I like Gridlock’s comment 😉

  • I support their right to boycott (I also believe that they’re bigoted wacko nutjobs and I have to scratch my head about taking cultural cues of any kind from the nether regions of the Great State of Mississippi) – compare and contrast to the Muslim riots over the cartoons. The correct thing to do, when their religious sensibilities get bruised by a business decision is to take their business elsewhere – not to riot and pillage. It would be hypocritical to lecture the religious nuts elsewhere on what their proper response should be and then turn around and condemn our own religous nuts for acting (relatively) responsibly.

  • “Given the newest Ford truck any of these morons own is the rusting hulk out in front of the double-wide, why should Ford care?” – Tom Cleaver

    Too true. I’m sure they sell more profitable Jaguers to Gay and Gay-accepting young professionals then they lose in sales to the Theocratic Reactionaries.

  • Nah, I’m sure these people are real middle-class types. They probably buy cars pretty often. If they’ve got the time to spend doing this, they’re probably on the internet and everything.

    The question is whether there are enough of them to dent sells,and on that, my guess would be, probably not.

  • The illusion of success? Ford’s tanking big time, and so is GM. So the opportunists at AFA attach a boycott to their downward slide and claim victory when the company finally hits bottom. How much effort do you need for that kind of victory?

  • I suggest Ford be pro-active and design a car to appease these religio-fascists. Perhaps the “Ford Focus on the Family” sedan.

  • The hilarious thing about all of this AFA “Theo-Babble” rubbish is the fact that “ALL” of the automobile manufacturers advertise in these particular publications. They “ALL” contribute to the same foundations, trusts, support groups, and charities. So do the airlines. So does Greyhound. So do all of the shoe companies.

    So—if the Theo-Babble crowd can’t drive anywhere…and can’t fly anywhere…and can’t get on the local GreyDog…and are forced to hoof it barefoot from one protest to the next…they’ll pretty much go the way of the Dodo, won’t they?

    It’s time for America to realize that, in the end, these fanatics have about as much “oomph” as those Project Exodus types who are threatening to take over South Carolina—with the twenty-some-odd people who have moved there to-date. The Theo-Babblers have lost the “imagined” credibility once thought to exist in their bite—and even their bark is sounding rather “meow-ish” these days….

  • I admire Ford Motor Co. for not being bigoted, maybe for even directing some advertizing in actual support of gays (I wouldn’t know – I don’t own cars and so seldom notice ads for them).

    But I also agree with Andy. So far, it’s still a relatively free country; if AFA wants to broadcast it’s hillbilly bigotry, it’s their right to do so. I don’t think it’ll work, anymore than their other boycotts have, but they have a right to show their true colors.

  • A really interesting thing to do would be to find out what companies _support_ the fundamonkeys, and then boycott them… Do you buy Domino’s pizza? I don’t.

    And I resent the use of the term “hillbilly.” If you’re gonna be descriptive, I think the proper term is “inbred redneck snake-handlin’ cracker.” As I happen to _like_ “hillbilly” music, I really hate to see the term maligned… (listening to Parsons, McGuinn and Hillman at the moment… anyone care to have a guess at the band/cd?)

  • “The illusion of success? Ford’s tanking big time, and so is GM. So the opportunists at AFA attach a boycott to their downward slide and claim victory when the company finally hits bottom. How much effort do you need for that kind of victory?” – Hey

    That is very insightful. Thanks

  • (I wouldn’t know – I don’t own cars and so seldom notice ads for them).

    Jesus Christ….
    I thought I was the only human being in America.

  • Don’t you just love their “Jesus Loves You” and “Support Our Troops”
    bumper sticker on their Toyota’s.

  • Guys – just don’t be a consumer. Be a customer – big difference.

    I probably drive 25,000 miles/year… About 10K of it in a van that came off an impound lot. Fixed two bullet holes and cleaned up a lot of fingerprint powder. It had 44,000 on it, and cost me $1,000, plus new rubber. It has a tow package, a 350, and doesn’t use oil. Now, I coulda bought a new truck to tow with, and dropped $30,000…

    Downside is that I’d _really_ like a diesel, so that I’d have the option of using biodiesel. Maybe next year… That truck will probably be German.

    Welcome to the global economy. Our auto industry just has a few “minor” problems – they try to make everything for everyone. That is never a recipe for success – too much dispersal of effort. They’ve had problems, in that they built the majority of their infrastructure in a single geographic area. That may have worked 50 years ago, but today, it’s more of a burden. Union leadership has taken what their members thought of a as a golden goose, and had it for dinner. Now the union leaders will retire to the islands, and the membership will collect unemployment as Detroit joins the rest of the rust belt.

    Go to a US dealership and to a Honda (oh, heck… A Hyundai…) dealership. Look at just the fit and finish. See how they drive. It’s a night and day thing. The American cars are larger, and “softer.” If I’m doing an interstate road trip, I’ll rent a Malibu or an Impala. If I’m going to be driving hills, I want something from another country that actually has a decent suspension and steering. This can be blamed on designers, who “thought” they knew what the American people wanted.

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