21 Jan 2003 National Center for Public Policy Research Responds to DaimlerChrysler

Amy Ridenour, president of the conservative National Center for Public Policy Research issued the following statement today in response to DaimlerChrysler’s refusal to apologize for a top official’s denigration of conservatives.

(Last Thursday, speaking to CNSNews reporter Marc Morano at Jesse Jackson’s Wall Street project event in New York City, DaimlerChrysler’s senior vice president for government affairs Frank Fountain dismissed conservative critics of Jesse Jackson, saying conservatives “have a rather myopic view of the world.”

Noting that that the “myopic” views conservatives have of the world oddly coincide with many of the views of DaimlerChrysler, the National Center for Public Policy Research asked for an apology Friday. Instead, Mr. Fountain told CNSNews: “I was referring to no specific organization or individual, so I don’t feel that there is any apology in order.)

Said Ridenour in a January 21 statement: “The notion that no apology is warranted because he meant to insult all conservatives instead of just some of us is preposterous. Mr. Fountain has it backwards. It is okay to constructively comment on the expressed views of individuals or small groups — what is not okay is to defame an entire group of people based on preconceived biases. There are tens of millions of conservatives in America, and Mr. Fountain’s alibi, amazingly, is that he meant to disparage us all.

Although DaimlerChrysler apparently has no interest in issuing an apology to conservatives, it did issue a press release today touting its financial support for a left-wing environmental group whose website contains one attack on conservatives after another. It also said the corporation is ‘again’ supporting activities of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, which opposes aid to Israel, supports aid to the Palestinian National Authority, and which says ‘the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land is the foremost obstacle to peace.’

DaimlerChrysler is a German company now. To steal a line from Oldsmobile, maybe it’s not our father’s Chrysler any more.

Some would say it is not worthwhile to call attention to slurs like this, but I’ve had it with prominent people who believe conservatives are the one group of people it is okay to denigrate. Just last month Tom Daschle all but said the expression of conservative points of view by Rush Limbaugh and other conservative talk show hosts is tantamount to encouraging political violence. Would he have even considered implying that it is morally wrong for any other people to express their opinions? I doubt it.

Just because people believe in free markets, traditional values and a strong national defense does not make them second-class citizens. Those who want to constrain all conservatives into our own little ghetto need to be called on it,” concluded Ridenour.

The National Center for Public Policy Research was established in 1982 and is located on Capitol Hill in Washington. For more information, please visit http://www.nationalcenter.org.