Johnsonville Sausage Reheats Hot Topic

Yesterday's post regarding Johnsonville Sausage selling its brats at Madison's Memorial Day weekend Brat Fest did not sit well with some readers. And the complaints were not from vegetarians.

It appears that many have a nasty taste in their mouths leftover from the last election.

For those with a short memory, one of the most incredible hit jobs in recent history on an honorable and fair man, Supreme Court Justice Louis Butler, was approved, in part, by Johnsonville Sausage, LLC of Sheboygan Falls.

Wisconsin Manufactures and Commerce  (WMC) paid the bill, perhaps as much as $2 million dollars for a series of radio and television ads that besmirched Butler. When you got done listening to the trash put out by WMC and its comrades one had the impression that Butler, while a justice, was spending most of his time freeing rapists.

WMC is run by a board of directors who authorize the content and publication of its issues ads. Johnsonville Sausage, CEO William R. Morgan, sits on the board of directors.

This is the same organization that trashed Governor Jim Doyle in 2006, Kathleen Falk when she ran for Attorney General in November 0f 2006, and Linda Clifford in April, 2007. The ads against Clifford gave the impression that she was personally carrying illegal aliens across the Rio Grande on her back.

WMC ads were nasty, cruel, and also tragically misleading. They make no apologies for what they do.

Next spring they plan to go after Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, the "Queen Bee" as they call her. Meantime, we as consumers, buy the products of WMC members who use the profits to buy savage, false, ads that avoid the laws regarding political finance reporting.

(If anyone has knowledge about rumors that WMC met with Michael Gableman directly or though intermediates and made a commitment to raise a minimum amount of money to trash Louis Butler, please contact me.)

Comments

[grumps]

It's a shame. I really like Johnsonville's products but we all have choices to make. The CEO of Johnsonville has made his choices leaving us to make ours.

Companies commit dollars to sponsorships in hopes of changing consumers' behavior. Johnsonville spends corporate dollars on Bratfest in hopes that the goodwill it generates will translate into incremental sales for the company. They forget that the ads in support of the tragically unqualified Gableman are also a form of sponsorship that consumers will pass their own judgement upon.

The last time I was at the grocery store the products of Mr. Morgan's company were on sale and, from habit, I reached for a package. But then I remembered what we all had to put up with as a result of Johnsonville's sponsorship of bad government. I made my choice based on the decisions of Mr. Morgan.

This Summer I'll be grilling Klement's sausages and cooking up Farmland breakfast links. There's no sense in spending my money to support Johnsonville's bad habits.

[Steve Vokers]

Yep, we've stopped buying Johnsonville products as well. Good stuff, but they are hardly the only sausage maker in WI.

[Mark]

Paul:

I don't like the misleading ads from WEAC. So exactly how to do I boycott them?

[Dohnal]

One Justice is defeated in41 years and the libs have heart attack. there should have been more competition and more defeated. Let's have tougher elections and expose the philosophies of the libs and more will be defeated.

[Jeff]

Johnsonville boycott is effective only if people know about it. Anyone outside of Madison aware of the Morgan/WMC ties? Certainly not us up north, until now. Anyone else on the WMC board whose products/services we ought to be boycotting?

[Keith Schmitz]

Dohnal obviously has no problem with aggressive lying, distortions and ads on topics that have nothing to do with the Supreme Court, oh and putting someone on the bench who is a total mediocrity, just to salve his fantasy based ideology.

Though I love Johnsonville Brats and I have been to their plant which is very well run, I cannot in good conscience buy them following the pollution of our elections by the WMC. I will help get the word out on this connection.

[John Foust]

Dohnal, any news on your last-minute complaint about Butler? Whatever happened to that?

[Don Freix]

Just got the news flyer today that the Sturgeon Bay, WI Steel Bridge Songfest 08 with headliner Jackson Browne is in part being sponsored by Johnsonville. Getting letters to the editors out this evening to sing the songs but, hold the brats and buns.

[Fred]

Where's the scorn against WEAC and the lies told by the left in this race?

Selective outrage is an ugly thing.

[Paul]

Soon we will have more on the companies that rely on Wisconsin consumers and then use the profits from us to air these horrid ads. Stay tuned.

[Tim]

Specifics would be good, Fred. But you have none, alas for you.

[Carl]

Charlie Murphy's cooking Johnsonville brats! Johnsonville rocks; live with it.

[Chuck]

Johnsonville just won a Presidential exporting award! Whatever they are doing, they are doing in right!!!

http://www.sheboyganpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080529/SHE0101/80529020/1973

[Andrea]

George Soros ponied up hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money to unfairly trash Gableman, and HE DOESN'T EVEN LIVE HERE! You're sounding like a sore loser Paul, you hypocrite.

[Paul]

Andrea: where is your proof that Soros put money into the campaign? No one made accusations that Johsonville put money into the anti-Butler ads. But the proof is right out there for the whole world to see that the companies that make up the WMC board made the decision to produce, buy, and air the anti-Butler ads.

Where does Soros come into this? We give you free space and thousands of readers to make your case. Well?

[Doubter]

So, besides the fact that no one from Johnsonville is shown to be on the board of WMC (by your own link above) and that Willam R. Morgan is not the CEO of Johnsonville, is there any truth at all to your stuff?

[paul]

Doubter- you are a little late. This post was written over a year ago. WMC changes its board. Why not contact them and they can confirm that Morgan was on the WMC board.

[Leslie Bruner, Naples FL]

To answer the question does anyone outside of Madison know about Johnsonville Foods political supports is yes. In FL at the deli counter I informed 3 people who put back their selected Johnsonville sausage patties and purchased another brand.

[Zaanga]

I can't believe you would support putting wisconsin workers out of a job. Then what?, we pay them unemployment? WOW great mayoral candidate. Really a people person.

[Shari]

It's amazing to me that so many people will spout off without any proof of what they are posting...get a life people...we're supposed to leave something for the next generations, not destroy everything. So, if you have a job, get to it and stop your stupid whining. A lot of us are totally sick of it.

[Elle]

We are in LaValle, WI and are boycotting Johnsonville products--so are most people we know.

[AllSeasonRadial]

@ Carl: your link is broken, clicking on it returns only the message, "Unfortunately, that page could not be found."

[Gramma]

I will not buy Johnsonville products again and have sent them an email telling them why.

[Cory]

Besides being a huge supporter of wack job Republicans like Walker, Johnsonville brats also makes an inferior Bratwurst and Italian Sausage to any you can purchase from a local vendor. You live in Wisconsin, you don't have to eat this filth.

[Morris]

That's right Johnsonville Brats taste good but what's in them and where does the meat come from. I chose to eat sausage from small local businesses that make delicious brats too. Sometimes businesses think they are doing us a favor by serving us, well were the ones doing them a favor by buying from them. Buy local where you know the Butcher.

[Ani]

I will not buy Johnsonville products anymore, and will tell others about it, too (Safeway and Fred Meyer carry their prods locally). I live in WA State

[Aimee]

Johnsonville Brats donates a large amount or product to the Bratfest which helps support the MAMA's. This in turns helps provide musical instruments to young people in schools. So now if we boycott them then the kids will suffer again. Is there someway all the small business meat markets and other companies like Klementz could all donate so we don't have to ask Johnsonville brats to really make our point about not supporting Walker?

[Eric Grandstaff]

Looks like most of the Sayer family (chief stockholders) are spending these days in Naples, Florida. Hmmmm, me being from Michigan, eh?, I would say you cheeseheads (in all affection to ye's) should decide if they're even citizens of the State of Wisconsin, or if they're invested/interfering in Wisconsin politics from afar. Hey, what does "carpet bagger" mean in Wisconsin-speak?

Love them brats, tho'

[digben]

Keep in mind that Smithfield foods bought out Farmland foods when they were going down the Tubes.