For years, liberals have vilified Walmart. The Arkansas-based retailer's employment practices, its business practices, the quality of the merchandise it sells -- all have come under withering criticism from people who think the company should pay its employees more, sell its wares for higher prices so as not to undercut locally-owned businesses, and not import goods from China or other countries.
It's fair to say that many liberals hate Walmart. You'll frequently hear them proclaim they prefer Target over Walmart, or Costco over Sam's Club. Even though Sam Walton's empire is the quintessential American business success story, many see that as a bad thing.
Now, scores of conservatives have joined liberals as being boisterous critics of Walmart. "Wally World" has gradually been cutting back on the sales of firearms and ammunition in the face of leftist pressure in the wake of some well-publicized shootings. This past week, Walmart announced another cutback, and also said that it would ask customers not to openly carry weapons in its stores.
(You may have heard this practice referred to as "constitutional carry," given the Second Amendment's acknowledgement of the right to bear arms as one of the same God-given rights on par with freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Anytime you hear the term "constitutional carry," what's really being described is the right to carry a weapon in full view, as opposed to carrying a concealed weapon, which is illegal or allowable only under permit in many states.)
So, after years of alienating liberals, Walmart has now angered and offended conservatives who are unhappy with yet another assault on their rights.
What happens now? This certainly isn't going to appease the "living wage" and "union yes" and "no self-checkouts" and "support your local retailer" crowds. They're not going to magically love Walmart all of a sudden and start flocking there to spend money. They'll still prefer Target or Meijer or some other store. Pandering to those folks on this matter is not going to earn Walmart any goodwill whatsoever. But in the meantime, constitutional conservatives are now turned off as well and are looking for other options.
One business that stepped up is Rural King, which offers many of the same products as does Walmart and is rapidly expanding from its Illinois base. After Walmart's announcement, Rural King came out with a statement saying they respect America's history of firearms usage and its constitutional rights.
Walmart's decision prompted a bizarre rant from Fox News' Tucker Carlson the other night. The conservative commentator rightly criticized Walmart's decision as pandering to the left, but then he launched an odd rant against the company that repeated some of the classic liberal anti-Walmart talking points.
If liberals have shown us anything, it's that nothing is ever good enough for them. Walmart could completely cave on every issue its critics raise, and people with that mindset still wouldn't shop there. Now, Walmart's managed to tick off folks on the other side. If they keep going, they may end up at the point where everyone hates them.
Just this past week, the final nail may have been pounded into Kmart's coffin. Another round of store closures was announced, including a couple of the last remaining stores in Kentucky. Kmart was never able to compete with Walmart once Walmart gained prominence. Kmart was more expensive, had a smaller selection of products, and its stores weren't appealing. Once a leading national general merchandise retailer, it wasn't able to keep up with the changing times. There might be a lesson there for Walmart. If they continue to tick off various segments of the populace, Kmart's present might be Walmart's future.
