A Word of Warning for Wal-Mart Bashing Democrat's

Thomas Riehle has a warning for Democrat candidates.

For the Democratic candidate who has the idea of making Wal-Mart the issue, ding! No Sale!!

You see they did a poll and found

results from a recent RT Strategies poll indicate such a campaign strategy would be counterproductive. By a 3-to-1 margin, 62% disapprove and only 21% approve of "Democratic candidates making Wal-Mart an issue in November's elections," in the RT Strategies poll conducted June 1-5 with a representative sample of 1,209 adults nationwide. !

Thomas is really warning those Democrats who are not in tune with Middle America. These Democrats more than likely don't shop at Wal-Mart and frankly shudder at the idea of doing so. They believe that those who shop at Wal-Mart are those red-necked, gun toting, God fearing, trailer trash hicks. Thomas cautions these Democrats,

By staying out of the stores themselves, anti- Wal-Mart Democrats might have missed the fact that:

· 84% of Americans shopped at Wal-Mart in the past year, probably because 81% say it is a good place to shop, according to a December 2005 Pew Research Center poll; · It is not uncommon for thousands to apply when a few hundred new jobs open up at a Wal-Mart, provoking comparisons that Wal-Mart's hiring team can be more selective than Harvard undergraduate admissions or the high-IQ organization MENSA in choosing which candidates to hire. · For the average family of a Wal-Mart employee, the company represents opportunity: The vast majority of Wal-Mart store managers rose to that post from hourly jobs on the floor. · For the average family of shoppers, the savings at Wal-Mart are over $2,000 per year.

Have there been a number of Democrat candidates attacking Wal-Mart? I know of Hillary Clinton's attempt to erase it from her past.

But in recent months, as the company has become a target for Democratic activists, she has largely steered clear of any mention of Wal-Mart. And late last year, Clinton's re-election campaign returned a $5,000 contribution from Wal-Mart, citing "serious differences with current company practices."

Then there is Maryland's Wal-Mart bill.

Hmmmm, I need to remember. If it's good for the American people, the Democrats are against it.

UPDATE:
RCP reports that

Thomas Riehle's recent article failed to properly disclose a business relationship between his polling firm, RT Strategies, and the pro-Wal-Mart group, Working Families for Wal-Mart. The data cited in Riehle's article on Wal-Mart is derived from questions Working Families for Wal-Mart paid to have added to RT Strategies' monthly omnibus poll

Thomas Riehle has acknowledged the mistake of not disclosing the relationship and has apologized.