Iowa deli co-owner caters for Obama visit, but his t-shirt tells another story

[alp227]

DAVENPORT, Iowa —Ross Murty likes business, but he doesn’t like President Obama.

And so the co-owner of the Village Corner Deli here agreed to cater Obama’s visit Wednesday —but not before donning a t-shirt blaring the message: “Government didn’t build my business. I did.”

It was a reference to a remark Obama made several weeks ago that his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, has seized upon to portray Obama as anti-business. Obama, referring to the help government provides to businesses by building roads and providing education and other services, said, “If you’ve got a business —you didn’t build that."

“No one from the government was there when we were sweating it, when we were building this business,” Murty said. Before him was a bank of chafing dishes filled with smoked beef brisket, pulled pork, vegetable parmesan bake and cheesy hash brown casserole provided to the White House press corps covering the president’s three-day swing across Iowa this week.

Murty, 45, a registered Republican, didn’t really have a choice with the catering job. His partner, Bret Dalton (a registered Democrat), accepted the work on Saturday while Murty was away in Chicago watching a Cubs game. Dalton volunteered for Vice President Biden’s presidential campaign in 1988, when he was a student at Iowa State University.

Full: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/iowa-deli-co-owner-caters-for-obama-visit-but-his-t-shirt-tells-another-story/2012/08/15/abde5208-e71e-11e1-936a-b801f1abab19_story.html

Does he not know that Romney has made similar assertions, both in the 2002 olympics closing ceremony speech and this year on the campaign trail?

[Politicalboi]

1. Obama should have pointed to him

While talking to a secret service guy and laughed. It's amazing how that phrase took off when it was obvious what Obama really said. Scary is what it is.

[abelenkpe]

2. Funny how republicans claim every success

A labor of their own and their every failure as the fault of the government.

[Floyd_Gondolli]

3. Logic is lost on these people

Id love to see him try and run his business without roads, water or power. Imbeciles every one of them.

[RC]

5. Or computers and the Internet.

[progressivebydesign]

4. What a dumbshit, disrespectful, idiot. Someone should wear a shirt with the WHOLE quote.

Does that moran have no one around him that can explain the entire paragraph to him? ass.

[otohara]

6. Everybody Has To make A statement

Even if its total bullshit

[orwell]

7. I assume he will tear up the check...

...because it came from a campaign for a GOVERNMENT JOB...

Yeah, like that's going to happen...

[Kalidurga]

8. I would fire him...

That was completely unprofessional. What an ingrate. I don't think any political message would have been appropriate. Though a pro-Obama one would have been more understandable since this was a Democratic event.

[milwaukeelib33]

9. Sounds like this unfolded quickly

I would've cancelled the order, but on such short notice it might have been difficult to set new catering arrangements. Sounds like he was spotted with the t-shirt on as he was in the process of preparing their order.

Doubt anyone will be fired seeing as...

"And so the co-owner of the Village Corner Deli here agreed to cater Obama’s visit Wednesday —but not before donning a t-shirt blaring the message: “Government didn’t build my business. I did.”

[Kalidurga]

10. I guess we won't ever know the after math...

It would be interesting to know if business drops off. I for one even if I agreed with the message would be put off by it. I don't like businesses to be overtly political, unless that is their business. Such as places that sell political stuff and they just slant one way or the other. But, I don't want to walk into say the neighborhood grocery and see anti-anyone ads in the store. I am not there to get my groceries not be subjected to political ads. And yes I have gone into places that do similar things to this and some have been left leaning. It is a turn off.