Bush campaign sell illegally imported clothing

Dback Jon · March 19th, 2004, 08:38 AM

Kinda funny - Bush last year banned the importation/sale of goods from Burma (Myanmar), but his official campaign store sells clothing made in Burma!

http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-b...-top-headlines

Chaz · March 19th, 2004, 08:47 AM

That is ironic but not really an inditment of the administration.
These items were brought in by a contractor of a contractor of the campain and they were brought in before the ban went into effect.

Quote:

Human rights watcher Charles Kernaghan, director of the National Labor Committee, said the slip-up showed a lack of conviction on the administration's part. "Given the debate about outsourcing, it's amazing that the campaign would be selling stuff made in the most brutal country on earth, known for things like child labor and sexual slavery," he said. "It shows a crude indifference to this issue."

The National Basketball Association recently vowed to stop selling Burmese-made sweatshirts after a campaign by the NLC.

Last week, Newsday ordered a hat, T-shirt and fleece pullover or jacket from both the Bush and Kerry campaign stores. The Bush merchandise - which totaled $81.85 - arrived this week. The Kerry products, worth $62, have yet to arrive because the fleece jacket was on back order, according to Financial Innovations, the company that licenses and sells Kerry merchandise on the Web site www.kerrygear.com.

I like how the guy rips him for selling the clothing that was imported legally but gives him no credit for instituting the ban.

Kerry stuff is on backorder probably because of the ban. The Bush plan is working perfectly.

Dback Jon · March 19th, 2004, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SirChaz
That is ironic but not really an inditment of the administration.
These items were brought in by a contractor of a contractor of the campain and they were brought in before the ban went into effect.

I like how the guy rips him for selling the clothing that was imported legally but gives him no credit for instituting the ban.

Kerry stuff is on backorder probably because of the ban. The Bush plan is working perfectly.

I saw that the company claims to have imported the goods before the ban.....and I do give Bush credit for implementing the Ban in the first place - hey, there IS one thing Bush has done correctly!! woo hoo!

WaywardFan · March 19th, 2004, 08:52 AM

Must be a slow Bush-bashing news day....

Dback Jon · March 19th, 2004, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by WaywardFan
Must be a slow Bush-bashing news day....

Yup - going easy on him today - he is actually visiting a few of the tens of thousands of wounded from his war.

WaywardFan · March 19th, 2004, 09:34 AM

Mr. Tom Josefiak
General Counsel
Bush Cheney '04 Inc.
2107 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22201

Dear Mr. Josefiak:

I am writing to apologize and accept responsibility for the recent distribution of foreign goods in our Bush Cheney '04 merchandise program. We take great pride in providing this service to your campaign, and at your request have worked with our vendors to distribute goods that have been made in America.

Unfortunately, in one of our recent shipments, a vendor inadvertently supplied us with foreign goods, and our own company did not discover this mistake before distribution to the public. The purchase orders for these items included a statement specifying "Made in USA products." (See attached document). We received an acknowledgement from our supplier substantiating that it was their factory mistake. (See attached document).

We have already reviewed our entire stock of items and have pulled from inventory all foreign products. Of the 60 fleece jackets in stock, only two were from Burma. According to best estimates by our supplier, less than a total of ten items from Burma were shipped to the public. We have taken corrective action to assure this will never happen again. We are a small company employing 40 workers and take pride in the professional services provided by our hard-working American families.

Please accept my sincere apologies for this error and let me assure you that all necessary steps have been taken to guarantee that all future shipments will contain only American made products.

Sincerely,

Ted Jackson
President, Spalding Group