What do you think of "Buy Blue?"

[Eric J in MN]

http://www.buyblue.org/

Do you try to buy from stores which donate more to Democrats than Republicans?

[Warren DeMontague]

1. Yep. Particularly COSTCO.

They Rock.

[texpatriot2004]

4. Yes, they do. nm

[Carolab]

2. Yes. n/t

[blonndee]

3. Yes...I hope it can become more comprehensive.

I asked the feed store where I buy my dogs' food the other day if they were "red or blue" and the woman didn't know what I was talking about. I explained it to her and she said, "well, my boss (the owner) is apolitical and I'm a yellow-dog democrat." So, considering my options here in OK, I decided to keep buying from there for now. I plan to ask the other stores but I *know* how they'll respond (one plays Faux and the other has hella stickers in their front window).

[Metta]

5. Yes, whenever we can.

We do fine with it, for the most part. Some things, like office supplies and hardware are harder. I don't feel comfortable walking into our local mom and pop shops and asking them how they're politically affiliated.

[Vektor]

6. Yes, I refer to it often.

I have stopped doing business with certain companies and started up with others, due to their political leanings. I'd like to see this site become more comprehensive also.

[BlueIris]

7. I go out of my way to support only progressive stores.

I do my own research into their lending habits, and I look at their staff structures/store climate.

[LeftyMom]

8. I try to steer my cash toward business with progessive values

Even if it weren't good political reasons they usually have better service. Republican cheapness shows in the sparse or low quality staffing every time.

[Laelth]

9. Yep. Lowes whenever possible.

Avoid the Orange Box. (And Lowes donates to R's, but not nearly as much.)

-Laelth


Edit:Laelth--clarity.

[lakeguy]

10. yes, all the time! nt

[stlsaxman]

11. Absolutely- it's important to me where my hard earned cash goes...

started with making a list of the companies that were running commercials on Rush's show, and NOT buying from them. Then someone told me about "buyblue.org" and I realized that not only could i know who NOT to support but which companies TO support.

in turn i tell my Friends and family to check them out as well.

[buyblue]

12. Hi folks...

Glad to see our site is being appreciated. Lots of volunteer time has gone into what we have so far. Scouring over FEC records is grueling work :)

However, in case anyone is unaware, we have opened the site up to more than just political contribution ratings. You can now help establish ratings for any company in our database on such business aspects as: environment friendliness, labor & human rights, employment equality, corporate and social responsibility, and industry practices.

Contributing is easy. It's like the wikipedia or other collaborative website.

1. You come across an article or piece of company news or information on the internet from a reputable source for one of the previously mentioned ratings
2. Go to our site, look up the company
3. Go to the "Ratings" section of the company's profile and use the "Submit an Article" link to submit the article you found that reports on the company in question
4. The article is placed either approved or denied. If it's approved, the article is then mentioned on the company's profile from now on and it directly affects the rating of the company.
5. Once 3 articles of any positiveness or negativeness are collected for a given rating, a icon is assigned to the company for that rating.

[meganmonkey]

13. Hey - glad to see you here!

I use you as a reference quite often.

Welcome to DU

:toast:

[I Have A Dream]

17. Thank you so much for your efforts!

I use it ALL the time. I have completely changed how I spend my money based upon your site. I've switched my home & auto insurance from State Farm based upon the information on your site; I needed to get a new computer, so I bought a Mac rather than a Dell, which I wouldn't have done in the past; I go to Barnes & Noble instead of other bookstores; I basically make all of my purchasing decisions taking your information into account. (I changed to Progressive Insurance for my car as part of your Progressive Insurance campaign.)

Again, thank you for everything that you do! I feel as though I'm in control now.

[prairierose]

14. yes, I have spent my money...

in this way for years. Now I actively try to research and once I know a company is red..I don't spend money there. I was standig in the grocery store the other day, looking at a shelf full of products, and ticking off the products that I will not buy because of the political leanings of the company. It isn't always because of political contributions that companies have made either, sometimes it is because the company doesn't treat employees well or because they want to pollute rather than take economic responsibility for their pollution. These days when it comes to food, any company that supports watering down organic standards is off my shopping list.

Being politically aware and trying to vote with your wallet does limit your choices but since I have done this all my life, I don't find it much of a hartdship. As I have tried to explain to my students for many years, everything is political, from the food you eat(large agcorps using toxic fertilizers and chemicals in the food you eat) to the clothes you buy (large corps that use sweatshop labor to produce the clothes you buy). And I do not support local businesses that I know are red. I paid attention last election to the ones that had republican signs on their property.

Never setting a foot in the door of the evil malwart, makes me feel good. Supporting local small business makes me feel good about contributing to a local sustainable economy rather than a globally distributed economy that will not survive the end of oil.

I live my beliefs and have for most of my life. It is a decision and a state of mind.

[JimmyJazz]

15. Yes. I try to "buy blue" - My dollars are my votes.

I can't control what happens to my vote, but I can control what happens to my dollars. And, by buying blue, I am voting for the democrats.

[waywest]

16. When money spent could mean a political donation...

I want to know where that percentage of my dollar will go. I buy gas at Costco 90% of the time, and I look into restaurants for their poitical activities.
Everyone should go out of their way, to Buy Blue.

[crispini]

18. Yep. It's worth taking a few minutes

to find out who you're supporting with your dollars.