My small part in the War on Terror: No More Republican Insurance Agent.

[IdaBriggs]

I have been using State Farm since I was a teenager, and was with the same agent for over twenty years. He was a Republican, but honestly, back then I didn't pay much attention to such things. I liked his office staff because they really worked with me when it came to getting into the habit of paying my bills on time (not easy for a teenager supporting herself, thank you), and when I had an automobile accident, I was treated extremely well fourteen years ago. I have never had a complaint with either the company on rates, or service, and since I periodically check, I am confident I am paying a fair price for the services I receive.

My agent retired last year, and the company bounced me to a new guy. He seemed okay. Then they bounced me to ANOTHER guy, and I started to get annoyed because the new guy wasn't as conveniently located as the previous guy. I had made up my mind to pick my own agent (since I have no loyalty to the latest incarnation) based on convenience, and today, I added "politics" to that mix.

I went to Yahoo yellow pages, put in my address, and started calling the agents in my area one by one. I started with the closest ones, and worked my way out. It took me six tries, but I found myself a Democrat. I am very pleased with myself.

For the record, I was very polite at all times. I explained that having been a loyal customer for over twenty years, I was making a decision as to who was getting my business for the next twenty years. My husband and I have two cars and a house insured through the company, as well as a small additional policy, and I was personally interviewing each person to make sure we were compatible.

I had two questions for each person: Who did you support for President in 2004? And who do you currently support for Governor? I explained that each person was free to support whoever they wanted, but I was also free to take my money where I wanted it to go, and I wasn't going to give any of it to Republicans. I laughed a little in a self deprecating way as I explained that I was very angry about the torture legislation, and did not believe OUR SENATE had actually DEBATED the merits of Secret Detentions, Secret Trials, Secret Arrests, and Secret Torture. I said furthermore that I didn't care if we had a Republican or Democratic President, the ability to designate anyone an "enemy combatant" was too much power to put into the Executive Branch of our Government.

Two people argued with me. One explained that he thought Clinton was a Pig (with a little more detail), and I explained to him that its thanks to Clinton I'm pregnant. I also explained that while he cared so much about Clinton's sex life, my concern was more about saving people's lives. He seemed very taken aback by that. The other said that her two sons were in the Marines in Iraq, and that's what we have to do because all the other countries are doing it. I asked her in a horrified tone if she was actually arguing in favor of say, "doing drugs as a teenager, because 'everyone else' is doing it?" And she said no, but they are beheading our guys, so its okay for us to torture them. I pointed out politely that it meant she and I could be designated as enemy combatants, and she didn't like that, but if it protected her sons, she was willing to do it. We agreed to disagree, and I hung up.

The guy I picked has an office full of Democrats. His staff got him on the cell phone to answer the questions, and when he gave the right answers, he got my business. He's closer than the last guy, and his staff seems to know what they are doing.

I'm pleased with myself. Its not a big thing, but every single one of the rejects knows exactly why they were rejected, and I also gave some of the folks a bit of an eye opening earful about the legislation that was passed yesterday.

Maybe it was a waste of time. Maybe it was an exercise in futility. But I'm still pleased with myself, and its going to make paying the bills a little easier.

:patriot:

[Straight Shooter]

1. I was just considering the same thing, myself.

My insurance will be up for renewal in February, and in the meantime I will attempt to ascertain the policies of my agent.

I'll also be looking at buyblue.org, see if I can get an agent that maybe isn't local, but yet has a good reputation. I think Progressive Insurance is the name of one company.

[grizmaster]

2. We have to win this one small battle at a time

and since the repubs will not allow any debate the kind of action you took is all that is left for recourse.

[niyad]

3. Nothing like what you did could ever be a waste of time. you did

beautifully, handled it all beautifully. we have every right to do business with people and companies with whom we are compatible.

MANY years ago, when we were boycotting coors because of their many anti-union, anti-woman, neo-nazi supporting policies, old joseph whined that it was his money and he could do whatever he wanted with it. I wrote to him and said, "yes indeed, it is your money, and you may spend it however you choose. we are simply telling you that you will not have any of OUR money with which to do it."

I live in a very conservative area, and make a point of dealing primarily with local shop owners, none of whom are conservative (living in the small bastion of non-conservatives makes it a bit easier)

[seabeyond]

4. wow. i dont like. we are in all red all the time. hubby has a business

he works his ass of for his customers. and he voted for kerry. would mean he wouldnt be able to put food on our table for my children, per your standards.

i dont like this at all

though you certainly have the right

i am glad not many do this

[Democrat 4 Ever]

7. Well, your right to disagree. I have owned a small business for

15 years and I have routinely accepted or rejected clients based on my own personal views. I'm not combative or rude but I have standards that I will not lower for any reason. I have declined a very well paying customer who wanted me to do work for a strip club. I have daughters, thank you very much, and I will not be taking their money. I don't agree with their "product" but they are within the bounds of our Constitution so live and let live - just won't be taking their money. Could I have used the business, yes, certainly, but not at the cost of my beliefs.

I have also turned down business from extreme fundamentalist churches or candidates running on the Republican ticket, to name a couple - because of my own personal value system. (Although I do a healthy business for distilleries!) I do not preach or try to convert, I just very politely tell them I am too busy or price myself out of the job.

I cannot, will not, support people or businesses who I think harm my community. And, yes, I work my ass off for my clients, and yes, sometimes my values has taken food off of my table.

[seabeyond]

14. the more i think about this, the more sick it feels.

in the past we use to be able to recongize the difference of a major corporation effecting policy thru political bias and the individual person. hardly seems like the freedom of vote when a persons ability to survive rests on the area they work. whether it is red or blue. for joe schmoo to put food on his table should not be indicative of his vote. nor should he be pressured to share his vote if he choses not to. these beliefs use to be strong with us as a people. we use to respect it. i guess as hte republicans trash the constitution to keep us safe, taking away our freedoms better than bin laden ever could and justifying it,.... we are doing the same in another manner, with our own justifications

this looks a lot like not hiring someone because they are gay, or black or female, denying their right to feed their family. what should be an all given right.

if nothing else, your argument reinforced my own uncomfortableness with this practice.

[IdaBriggs]

15. Things have changed, seabeyond. It used to be that both sides

were looking out for the best for all of us. I don't think that's true anymore. If you had told me five years ago that Republicans would be proudly spouting off about how they are "Pro Torture" I would have laughed in your face and called you a nutjob.

I don't like what Reagan did (hate him at the moment, in fact), but at some level I *believed* he was trying to do what was right for the country (even if he was wrong). The same with Bush Senior.

The current batch are raping the public funds for their own personal riches, destroying the social safety net, and pissing on the Constitution -- the same document they will cling to when they face prison for their nefarious deeds.

We aren't playing with the old rules anymore. When your political views want me dead, I'm going to fight back. :shrug:

[seabeyond]

16. things have changed and hasnt. we are still all human beings with

the right to be able to provide and feed our children. we must be couragous enough to still be in honor of who we are as a people or this is as useless and wasteful as what the republicans are doing. you are wrong doing this to ordinary joes. as bushcos are wrong doing this to ordinary people in their cause. and the religious are wrong in doing it to orninary people for their cause

it cannot be justified.

love you dearly, but once we cross this line, willing to see a red (person in political opposition) to starve, we will not so easily be able to bring ourselves to be a compassionate person again. and that is what people on this thread advocates, i will never do

no better than the christian who provides food for the hungry to ask if they believe christ is the son of god, before being served

[rhiannon55]

18. Obviously, there are enough republican consumers around

to keep republican businesspeople from starving.

[seabeyond]

19. obviously? well, in this area there are NOT enough democratic

consumers to keep of from starving. and i guess this would be a tit for tat kinda thing. and if you have run a business,.... cometition and profit margin is fierce so i will disagree even further with the very basis of what you suggest.

people are working their ASS off to squeak out a living

this sounds like another justification without much thought to the morality of the practice.

[rhiannon55]

20. Refusing to give one's business to people who are undermining

our country with their mindless support of a dictatorial regime is NOT immoral. These people need to learn that their actions have consequences.

[IdaBriggs]

26. Perhaps (and I'm being a tad cynical here!) if they see themselves

in danger of "starving" then they might learn the value of the Social Safety Net? (joke!)

I understand your position, Seabeyond. Right now this is what I'm doing. When they start behaving like decent human beings, I'll go back to treating them like decent human beings. When politics stop being "life or death" every minute (with the cry of Patrick Henry ringing in in our ears), I am confident it will get better.

In the meantime, I don't mind if every single SOB who supports Junior ends up ... uncomfortable. I despise the ground the traitors walk on, and hope they all rot. If they want to get raptured away, I'm all for it -- the sooner they are gone, the sooner the rest of us can enjoy the ten thousand years of peace we've been promised!

I think there are two kinds of Republicans -- Ignorant Democrats (who don't know their value systems are actually those of the Democratic Party), and Evil Smarmy Scum. If I can buy blue in the meantime, that's what I'm going to do.

And if that means the Republican Insurance Agents in my area have less money to donate to their favorite pet charities (taking money away from the public schools via vouchers, interfering in women's medical decisions via anti-choice legislation, and telling gay people they have no legal rights via discriminatory legislation), then so be it. Michigan Republicans are SCUMMY!

[RB TexLa]

17. Same here, I sell to Dems, pubs, socialists, you name it

I actually sold a policy once to a guy who listed his occupation as a "Sargent at arms" with "The Republic of Texas." He asked me my political affiliation and we discussed politics and history a bit, he was way on the right but didn't have a problem buying from me. He had three problems with George Bush as he saw it. 1) as governor he was part of an illegal government in Texas. 2) as president he is part of the illegal US occupation of Texas and 3) to quote "the son of a bitch is from Connecticut."

I'm same as your husband, I take care of all my clients regardless of their political affliation or anything else for that matter. I have always been of the don't mix politics and business school of thought.

[davekriss]

5. IdaBriggs I join you in this

I will cease to do business with any company where I know the prinicple (owner, manager, sales agent) I deal with is a Republican.

Thank you for the idea!

[democrat_patriot]

6. My exterminator had Bush sticker on car - cancelled.

Was looking at getting some work done on house. I ask them if they are Repug or Democratic. It's war now. And I don't support the enemy.

[stanwyck]

8. I let our general contractor know

when we renovated that if any of his subcontractors drove up to our house with Confederate flags on their vehicles (I live in Atlanta) or rightwing bumper stickers, they wouldn't be welcome and he'd need to find another contractor.
So. It was either send a rational contractor or ask your current one to scrape off the offensive bumper stickers if you're going to be parked in front of my house all day.
Money talks.
I've let guys who knock on my door with tree services or firewood know that I'm not buying from them because of the hate I see blaring from their trucks. And that includes "W" stickers.
Move along.

[Schema Thing]

9. I happen to know a completely rancid republican State Farm

agent, in NOLA.

Perhaps the worst human being I've ever met. No, not perhaps, the.

[sakabatou]

24. Details?

[Gregorian]

10. Beautiful.

That gets a thumbs up from me. And a chuckle. :)

You could say it's divisive, but I think we have to do what we feel is responsible.

[progressoid]

11. Damn, I like that! I switched Dentists when I saw mine gloating to his

staff after the 2004 election.

I think it's time to do some more of this kind of thing. They're just going to give our money to RW ass-wipes if we continue to patronize them.

[burythehatchet]

12. every business decision I make is based on politics

everyone should take this approach. Failure to do so means you are supporting the neo-fascists.

[ms liberty]

13. Good for you! Not a waste of time at all, IMHO n/t

[OnionPatch]

21. I think this is a really good thing

One of the reasons the right wing came into power is because they have so many businesses and their money on their side. We, the consumers, need to let them all know that we won't be giving our business to those who support the trampling of our rights and the exploitation of workers and taxpayers. I won't support anyone who shits on America and the constitution that our forefathers died for by supporting torture and the suspension of habeus corpus.

I won't even put my recycling in the recycling box at work because I know the proceeds all go to a local "Christian" school that preaches right-wing ideology. Put your money where your mouth is.

Oh, and in case someone has not posted it or anyone doesn't know about this site:
http://www.buyblue.org/

:patriot:

[cassiepriam]

22. Any one who supports murder, rape, torture of innocent men,

women and children will not be getting my business either.
Keep on going Ida. And ignore the flames you are getting,
you are on the side of the angels.

Every one has the right to their political beliefs,
but I will not support the Repug Nazis, now or ever.
Murder, rape and torture are wrong. Period.

[sandyd921]

23. Excellent idea

I am going to do the same. I do not discriminate against anyone no matter their race, religion, ethnicity, etc. However this is different. Some in our country are out to destroy the very foundations of our democracy. They need to understand that what they are doing is wrong and that at least some in our nation will hold them accountable for the inestimable damage they are doing. It's as simple as that.

[file83]

25. The reason I think this is "okay" is because it is now PERSONAL.

The Repugs have gone after the very foundations of our nation - since they won't listen to our arguments, they have no choice but to listen to our dollar (or lack there of).

:thumbsup: