Shades of Mediocrity

Would you like freedom fries with that?

A group of Republicans, concerned about indirectly supporting the Kerry campaign by buying Heinz ketchup, have begun selling W Ketchup. A mildly amusing idea, but really a pretty futile exercise, since Teresa Heinz Kerry is not directly involved in the management of Heinz. In fact, her only real connection to Heinz is her position as chairwoman of The Heinz Endowments, which holds only about 4 percent of Heinz stock. So even if you and your family eat a whole lot of ketchup, the most the Kerry campaign might possibly receive must be an infinitesimally small amount.

The irony in this is that partisans of any stripe probably indirectly contribute far more to the campaigns of those they oppose through everyday spending. Most people don't have the time or energy to verify that businesses at which they spend money give money only to causes they support. And in the cases of businesses owned by multiple individuals, or companies whose stock is publicly traded, it becomes even more difficult to restrict your spending to whatever you consider "politically correct."

And what about the lowly employees of any company? They are, of course, free to give their hard-earned cash to whichever candidates or causes they choose. So Republicans should go ahead and buy that Heinz Ketchup. John Kerry isn't going to get squat from that. What you should really be worried about is the supermarket cashier donating her $50 to liberal causes.