I’m not surprised to learn that small business owners favor John McCain by a 43-40 margin (with Bob Barr getting nine percent). I’m surprised it is that close. The Republican rhetoric is aimed squarely at criticizing ‘government regulation’, and has been for a very long time. Over the years, Democrats have been guilty of imposing ‘unfunded mandates’ and poorly thought out requirements that adversely impact small businesses. Imagine having to pay for a handicap-accessible ramp when you can’t remember that last time you had a customer in a wheelchair. It’s not the sentiment behind the regulation that causes frustration, it’s the cost. There are dozens of little examples like this that any small business owner can rattle off at will.
But that is small stuff compared to the corporate welfare that both parties dole out on a regular basis. How is a local hardware store supposed to compete with a new Home Depot that has a five-year tax abatement? Yes, many of the problems are created on a local level. The mayor of Pittsburgh, for example, wants to create jobs and so he offers the tax abatement to Home Depot. As a result, several local hardware stores are driven out of business. Is Pittsburgh better off? They have more jobs and can buy a cheaper shovel. It’s no wonder that small business owners disproportionately support the Libertarian Party. The Libertarian Party opposes corporate welfare.
When you look at Barack Obama’s policies you’ll see a mish-mash of stuff. Some, like universal health care, will help small businesses that provide health benefits. Others, like raising the highest marginal tax rates while cutting some corporate taxes, will increase the gap between very successful small businesses and corporations. What’s clear, though, is that the Republicans are much more successful in targeting small businesspeople and speaking to their issues.
My advice is to make use of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. The committee is chaired by John Kerry. To get an idea of what they do, tomorrow they will hold a hearing on “Opportunities and Challenges for Women Entrepreneurs on the 20th Anniversary of the Women’s Business Ownership Act.” They should take that show on the road. The membership of the committee is regionally diverse.
From the East: Chairman Kerry (D-MA) and Sen. Cardin (D-MD)
From the South: Sens. Pryor (D-AR) and Landrieu (D-LA).
From the Midwest: Sens. Bayh (D-IN), Levin (D-MI), Harkin (D-IA)
From the Northwest: Sens. Tester (D-MT) and Cantwell (D-WA)
My advice is to set up some Small Business roundtables in the battleground states. Have Joe Biden appear in Michigan or Indiana with Bayh, Levin, and Harkin. Have Obama appear in Mississippi and Georgia with Pryor and Landrieu. Have someone go to Montana and North Dakota with Tester and Cantwell. Kerry and Cardin can appear in the Philly suburbs and Northern Virginia. Talk to small business owners and make sure they understand the benefits in the Obama-Biden economic plan. Make sure they know that you are seeking feedback and that you want their vote.
Whatever benefits McCain’s plans might have for small businesses in the short-term are far-outstripped by the cost of money that will be imposed by his record borrowing and fiscal irresponsibility. Entrepreneurs need to know that.
Some examples:
Office Depot in Houston
Hope Depot in Butte
Hope Depot in Austin
Wal-Mart in Clearfield, PA
Remember that ADA was Bush Senior! And as a widow of a man in a wheelchair, I can tell you of lots of stores and restaurants we didn’t patronize because we couldn’t.
And I’m also an entrepreneur/small businesswoman. I perpetual problem with my listmates in publishing services is lack of access to health insurance, sometimes by price and sometimes by a family member’s preexisting medical condition. Trumpeting Obama’s health insurance plans would help.
In my online sales hobby-business, I hear uproar from eBay people about changes there to make it like a big box mall by installing chain stores and manufacturers on the eBay website (I don’t sell there myself); an outfit called buy.com was the first, and unknown others are coming in October, just in time to screw up those important Christmas sales for small sellers. Lots of commenters on the blogs are saying they despise McCain because of his close association with Meg Whitman (former CEO, who worked with Romney at Bain). (Vast quantities of commodity goods from the big boxes will make the small business’s offering invisible among the clutter, they say.) Hype about Republican big business trying to eliminate the Democratic small businesses, the backbone of America, would help here.
And I like your ideas about traveling round tables and fact-finding tours. Try to hit congressional districts where a Democratic challenger is getting close. Call Kerry today.
A lot of the problem is perception. The Right-Wing message is tailored for small businesses even if their record is no better and often worse. But they hit those messages over and over again.
If we want to win that vote we have to fight for it.
As for schedules and locations, here’s a hypothetical that uses local and statewide (and regional) officers:
Midwest: Evansville, Indiana
With: Sen. Evan Bayh, Rep. Brad Ellsworth, Gov-candidate Jill Long Thompson, and Biden, Levin, and Harkin.
East: Media, PA
With: Sen. Bob Casey, Gov. Ed Rendell, Rep. Joe Sestak, Rep-candidate Bob Roggio, and Biden, Kerry, and Cardin.
South: Manassas, Virgina
With: Gov-candidate Mark Warner, Rep-candidate Judy Feder, Rep-candidate Gerry Connelly, and Barack Obama, Kerry, and Cardin.
South: Shelby, North Carolina
With: Gov-candidate Beverly Purdue, Sen-candidate Kay Hagan, Rep. Heath Shuler, Rep-candidate Dan Johnson, and Barack Obama, Mark Pryor, Jim Webb, and Mary Landrieu.
South: Southaven, Mississippi
With: Sen-candidate Ronnie Musgrave, Sen-candidate Erik Fleming, Rep. Travis Childers, and Barack Obama, Mark Pryor, and Mary Landrieu.
West: Billings, Montana
With: Sen. Max Baucus, Sen. Jon Tester, and with Sen. Joe Biden, Sen. Maria Cantwell, and Rep. Rick Larson (D-WA).
If the Democrats were capable of playing hardball politics they would be criticizing the government bailout of Freddie and Fannie for all its worth. I don’t care if the Democrats would have proposed a similar bailout. They need to wake the heck up and start playing for keeps.
They should be railing against Republican socialism for Bush and McCain’s pals on Walll Street. The only time Republicans believe in helping out their fellow man is when it comes to bailing out Wall Street. Then they’re more than happy to lend a hand to reckless firms and the executives that took the risks that have led to severe financial damage. CEOs under Republican bailouts walk away with millions in golden parachutes as is happening with the CEOs of Freddi and Fannie walking with tens of millions. The average person gets $600 stimulus check, is told to quit whining and to go out and buy some more consumer crap from China. Sounds like one party does have an actual elitism problem, no?
The Democrats should be mocking the Republicans for their cheap prattling about free markets, the private sector, and claims to fiscal responsibility. The 9% voting for Barr already mock the Republican for this very reason.
Amen!
Someone get this message to Obama: populism will WIN this election.
Rinse and repeat.
Populism will win this election.
Bonus question: why has Palin ignited so much excitement?
She’s the only candidate who appeals the populist streak waiting to be tapped.
When (or, if) Obama shifts to a populist message, he’ll win going away.
Nouriel Roubini gets it:
http://www.rgemonitor.com/roubini-monitor/253529/comrades-bush-paulson-and-bernanke-welcome-you-to-t
he-ussra-united-socialist-state-republic-of-america/
Booman, you are spot-on-target!
The subtext behind this outreach should be that Democrats favor the “little guy” businessperson while the R’s favor corporate welfare.
For too long the R’s have monopolized not only the specific demographic of entrepeneurs but, also, the ethic and persona that many non-entrepeneurs aspire to.
The Dems ceded the all-American Horatio Alger story to the R’s just like they gave up the flag and patriotism. It’s past time to start fighting to reclaim ownership of the great American meme: entrepeneurship.
The R’s have convinced small business people that government and Dems are their enemy. Time to pull back the curtain and show how the corporate wizards tilt the playing field against workers AND small businesses.