Don't Shop At Scheels

I don’t know Steve Scheel, but I’ve given him a lot of my money over the years. Starting with my first pair of Gore-Tex pants I bought over at the old Scheels Hardware store in Arrowhead Plaza in Bismarck, I’ve spent many thousands of dollars at Scheels stores, on everything from kayaks to shotguns to wool socks and dog whistles. I even sent him a personal letter a couple years ago complimenting his stores on their great service and quality products. My wife and I even had a couple of those nice Scheels tee shirts you get when you make a four-figure purchase. Had. They are in the trash now (the proof is in the picture).

Well, I’ve spent my last penny at Scheels stores after that right-wing Tea Party pap he printed in Sunday’s Forum. It starts out like this: Our three North Dakota representatives in Congress have thrown fiscal responsibility out the window in favor of massive social programs and government bailouts the people of North Dakota did not want. The sad part is they know it, and yet they continue to vote against our wishes and you should be able to read the rest of it by clicking here). I guess I thought somebody who could build an empire selling outdoor gear must be a smart man. Boy was I wrong. His rant about the just-passed health care bill and everything else he believes is wrong with our country just sent me down the road to Cabela’s (which sells the same stuff, at a better price, and at least has the common grammatical sense to put an apostrophe in their name). Vote against OUR wishes, Mr. Scheel? Maybe YOUR wishes, but not mine, or a couple hundred thousand other North Dakotans, including most of the hospitals, churches, senior citizens organizations and people who will finally get the same access to health care you do.

See, I wouldn’t have minded, Mr. Scheel, if you had just written and expressed your opinion on the recently-passed health care bill. But you just grabbed a bunch of punch lines from Sarah Palin and Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh that bear absolutely no resemblance to the truth and regurgitated them, purporting to speak on behalf of North Dakotans. It was one of the most irresponsible acts by a seemingly intelligent and reasonable businessman I’ve ever seen. It was just plain stupid in places, especially the parts where you tell us what is going to happen next, as if you have the crystal ball that the best economists in the nation somehow misplaced. And it was not only stupid, it was mean and condescending.

You say the “Voters don’t understand.” Who are you to judge what the voters understand? I’m a voter, and I understand that our courageous House and Senate members, in their votes last week, just took the very first step toward making affordable health care for every one of our citizens, rich or poor, Scheels owners or Scheels customers, a basic human right. Just as almost every country in the developed world has done. We didn’t break any new ground here. We’re just catching up to the rest of the world.

And in the end, you ask us to recall North Dakota values. Mr. Scheel, the number one North Dakota value is that we don’t go around making stuff up and passing it off as fact. We tell the truth. You failed that one.

I’m not even going to start to try to clean up the mess of misinformation your letter contained. It would take too much of my time. I’m just posting that electronic link to your letter here, so my readers can go read it themselves, and then they can make their own choices about whether they want to continue to spend any money in your stores.

Oh, and I am going to post a link to this site too, which shows that you and your wife have given more than $50,000 over the last ten years to Republican U.S. House and Senate candidates and the Republican party. Must be nice to have that kind of money to throw around. Your biggest recipient this year: The always brilliant, relevant and entertaining, that favorite tea partier of yours, Michele Bachmann. Uffda.

So, Scheels shoppers, keep in mind that at least part of every dollar you spend at Scheels on fishing tackle, shotgun shells, camouflage shirts and bicycles goes to support the wacko policies of Michele Bachmann and her fellow tea partiers, who believe it is time get rid of the Farm Bill, Social Security and Medicare. And then think carefully about driving down the road to Cabela’s or Gander Mountain. That’s where my friends and I will be shopping from now on.