GEICO voice actor fired after insulting tea parties

[sabra]

Source: WP

Sometimes you have a headline that makes the rest of the story superfluous, but here's the background. Actor Lance Baxter, otherwise known as "D.C. Douglas," currently known as the man who informs you how much GEICO can save you on car insurance, left a message last month with FreedomWorks in which he asked the group how many "mentally retarded" people it had on staff and what it would do when a tea partyer "killed someone." On April 14, FreedomWorks put his voicemail online.

Today, Douglas reports he's been dropped from GEICO's campaign. His dramatic news release is here; he claims to have been motivated by "the recent gay and racial slurs slung by Tea Party members at Congressman Barney Frank and Representative John Lewis during the Health Care Reform Weekend," and says he's "open to any attorneys taking on this case pro bono."

Read more: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/right-now/2010/04/geico_voice_actor_fired_after.html

[Amerigo Vespucci]

1. GEICO voice actor fired after insulting tea parties

Source: Washington Post

Sometimes you have a headline that makes the rest of the story superfluous, but here's the background. Actor Lance Baxter, otherwise known as "D.C. Douglas," currently known as the man who informs you how much GEICO can save you on car insurance, left a message last month with FreedomWorks in which he asked the group how many "mentally retarded" people it had on staff and what it would do when a tea partyer "killed someone." On April 14, FreedomWorks put his voicemail online.

Today, Douglas reports he's been dropped from GEICO's campaign. His dramatic news release is here; he claims to have been motivated by "the recent gay and racial slurs slung by Tea Party members at Congressman Barney Frank and Representative John Lewis during the Health Care Reform Weekend," and says he's "open to any attorneys taking on this case pro bono."

Read more: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/right-now/2010/04/geico_voice_actor_fired_after.html

[Mz Pip]

2. He probably shouldn't

have insinuated that mentally retarded people worked at FreedomWorks, though he was probably just being sarcastic. Not cool.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Mz Pip]

19. Uh, no.

But thanks for asking. :eyes:

[Crowman1979]

9. IMO he was telling the truth!

And he told it directly to them. Definitely ballsy and Freedomworks definitely deserved it. I just hope he'll be able to find another gig after GEICO.

[texastoast]

53. Screwball, nutjob out-of-touch racist whackos would have been far more descriptive

That's much more descriptive and accurate.

[TheEuclideanOne]

80. I hope they don't fire the Gecko

Also, couldn't he just use the truth defense?

[PatrynXX]

127. Actually I miss the old Gecko :(

The new one is cheeky.

although he did say mentally retarded. not just retarded. It's not exactly a word if someone grew up with the word .. that one gets out of their vocab.


Although not words reminds me of the new method of coughing. Used to be cough into your hands. Now it's the crook of your arm. Uh I'm not meant to bend that way. :P It'll never happen.

There's also midgets. It's Dwarfs or little people (wonder of Hobbits would work??, rather call them Hobbits because Hobbits are cool. :)

I'd say the Gecko probably would quit... if it was the original Gecko. Definately the Cavemen would throw a rock at whoever fired the guy :P

[superconnected]

24. I agree. He should have left the mentally retarded out of it. I think he should have been given a

chance to make an apology about he mentally retarded quip, and not instantly fired though.

[Mz Pip]

26. Agree

Being opposed to FreedomWorks and all its teabaggery is certainly justified and he shouldn't have been fired. But there are plenty of people other than Sarah Palin who might find his choice of words unfortunate,

[totodeinhere]

37. Yes, when he compared the mentally retarded to Teabaggers he gave mentally retarded a bad name. n/t

[liberation]

81. I you guys are going to get all concernsinshippy about it, the actual term isn't "mentally retarded"

[RaleighNCDUer]

40. The only apology needed is an apology to the mentally handicapped

for his associating them with Freedomworks.

[superconnected]

83. My thoughts exactly.

[ArizonaLiberal]

50. Bad choice

of words, but got the point across.

[Hekate]

54. Sadly, he is far too low on the food chain for an "apology" to work. Also he is the voice...

... of entities who ARE high on the food chain, and they want to pick their own battles, not defend his.

Sad to say, his courage was an unwise employment strategy with GEICO. I hope he will find favor in Hollywood, where he already seems to have quite a bit of experience. Best of luck to the guy.

Hekate

[Gman2]

135. I am going WAY out on a limb here, his gig was all but cancelled already, and he

Wanted a flashy, and possibly litigable exit. How much longer can that droll stack o cash run? It's tired. So, you jettison your gig, and call it political. Use the Geico noteriety, to make the story big. Then, troll for a pro bono lawyer, to handle the details. Get sympathy, likely a new gig, and you become a household name. Just a feeling.

[NoSheep]

118. What is "not cool"?

[AlbertCat]

124. He probably shouldn't have insinuated that mentally retarded people...

Why not? Rush can use mentally retarded people for his commentary! That didn't even upset La Sarah!

[WileEcoyote]

38. If he'd have substituted "Mentally ill" he'd have been OK

I've used versions of "tards" myself but always regretted it. Its no fair to the special needs types. Or whatever the appropriate, non offensive term we should refer to what were onve called "retarded" people as being.. The one that we'll all probably change tomorrow because it too becomes offensive...

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

68. IMO, not cool to make fun of the mentally ill, either.

Too many people who need mental health care don't get it because of the stigma attached (nothing to be ashamed of).

[WileEcoyote]

115. Got a point however

we could easily define tea baggers and Republicans as mentally ill too and not make fun of them for that reason.

Clearly Conservatives are suffering from diseased thinking. Christianity says to forgive and pray for these people.

However I still cling to my habit of insulting their stupid asses.

[Kookaburra]

3. Maybe he can get a job with Flo at Progressive

:shrug:

[dencol]

140. That'd be awesome.

I was seriously considering switching to Geico, but not now. This makes me appreciate Progressive - they might be the least evil.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

4. You know that Freedom Works does indeed have some sort of

plan on how to defend themselves when a teabagger does go off the deep end.

[NewJeffCT]

91. Of course

The violent teabagger was:
1) an undercover Democratic operative. (Or Democrat operative in their words)
2) angry at the liberal media and __________(Keith, Rachel, TDS, Colbert, etc)
3) One bad apple amongst a lot of good honest folk.

[No Elephants]

5. Taking what case pro bono?

[pinboy3niner]

11. I wondered the same thing

The writer is a columnist, not a WaPo reporter, and it shows.

The prospective case would be against FreedomWorks, not GEICO:

Mr. Douglas consulted with several Los Angeles attorneys and has been advised that FreedomWorks' actions were questionable. Though he's not planning on spending money to sue the organization, he's open to any attorneys taking on this case pro bono. "We can't let these kinds of tactics become the norm in our country. If we do, then anybody can lose their job just for voicing an opinion." And Mr. Douglas won't be silenced; he has posted his personal take on the events on his blog: www.DCDouglasBlog.com.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/freedomworks/geico/prweb3906104.htm

[No Elephants]

104. The blog liink does not seem to be operating--"Service Not Availalble."

I don't see what cause of action he has against the people who called his boss, either, or against those who urged them to call. Threatening a boycott is not illegal. Suggesting that others threaten a boycott is not illegal, either. If they were, we at DU, and people like Al Sharpton would be in jail.

And people lose jobs all the time for expressing an opinion. Let your boss hear you call a good customer a dumbass to the customer's face and see how long you last.

[pinboy3niner]

114. It's been down for hours

The words in my post were not mine; they are from the press release that was issued. I agree that his "case" against FreedomWorks looks tenuous, at best, but I'm not a lawyer. As for his firing, GEICO had ample justification based on his disparagement of the intellectually-challenged, alone. As you say, people get fired all the time for saying something that reflects poorly on the employer. They made a business decision, just as they did when they dropped their advertising from Glenn Beck's show. I'm certainly not defending or advocating for the guy--I don't see any issue here worth getting excited about.

[jberryhill]

7. Typically, the voice characterization is not his property

This all depends on his contract.

It is not unusual for voice actors to sign over the rights to the voice characterization to the employer, just like anything else you would make or produce in the course of your contract with someone else. For example, if you are making kid's cartoons, you don't want the voice actors going off and dubbing porn in that character's voice.

The woman that did Bart Simpson for years is constantly egged on during interviews to "do Bart", but declines. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dmisOmnF60

[SemiCharmedQuark]

10. She got in trouble for recording a Bart Simpson Scientology ad a few years ago.

[Taverner]

34. She only does Bart for $cientology

[JHB]

84. Did he make the call "in character"? (can't listen right now)

I have a friend who is a voice actor and talks about his work as a guest lecturer for a college film course. It's not simply pron the companies worry over (that's probably the last thing): they're protecting their rights to the character, and other contracts. For example, a licensee might have exclusive rights to produce audio greeting cards with the character's voice, and the VA doing their own on the side, would be a violation. The VA's won't do it if they don't want to get canned from a paying gig.

The big question here is if this VA used a character voice (the Gecko, I gather from the links), or if he used his own voice and someone thought "hmm, that sounds like the Gecko without the Aussie accent" and happened to be right. If the former, it probably violates his contract. If the latter, they dumped him because he became controversial and they don't want his situation associated with their product.

[jberryhill]

89. Apparently, he is not the "gecko" guy, but the "15 minutes could save you 15%" guy /nt

[ClarkUSA]

8. BOYCOTT THEM!

Geico doesn't have great rates, anyway.

[Javaman]

12. They raised our rates through the roof.

We got a notice from them that our rates are going up by a substantial amount.

We are middle aged, no accidents, no tickets, drive very small gas sipping cars.

They didn't give us a reason as to why. So we dumped them and went over to Progressive.

[ClarkUSA]

20. They have to pay for their mega-million ads, I guess.

I got a good rate with Liberty Mutual by getting my car insurance and home insurance in a package deal. I'll look into Progressive, though.

[Javaman]

28. yeah, that computer generated lizard doesn't make itself. LOL nt

[humbled_opinion]

123. They raised your rates because they found out you were

a Progressive Liberal.... LOL

[pinboy3niner]

15. The voiceover guy doesn't blame GEICO

"Mind you, I don’t blame GEICO. They shouldn’t have to take on an angry mob over an anonymous voice over guy. "

http://www.dcdouglasblog.com/

He also points out that GEICO is on FreedomWorks' boycott list because GEICO pulled its ads from the Glenn
Beck show.

[ClarkUSA]

22. Well, I do think GEICO should take a stand against "an angry mob"...

... instead of playing both sides of the rhetorical fence.

[AlbertCat]

125. ... instead of playing both sides of the rhetorical fence.

At least he didn't say Teabaggers were dumber than Cavemen!

[louis-t]

64. But I thought their rates were $400 cheaper than

State Farm, who's rates are $400 cheaper than Allstate, who's rates are $400 cheaper than Progressive, who's rates are $400 cheaper than Geico, who's rates are.......:crazy:

[ClarkUSA]

69. lol

;)

[MajorChode]

82. I wouldn't have Geico insurance if they paid me to take it

I series. Back in my early 20's they dropped me for absolutely no reason after I had insurance with them for only one month. I will never insure with Geico.

[cui bono]

112. Doesn't seem like you have a choice.

:P

[MajorChode]

136. After 25 years I'm sure they would take me again

At that time it could sometimes be difficult to get on with one of the major insurance companies if you were younger than 25. Out of the blue, Geico calls us up and offers a free rate quote. My wife and I had one ticket each which I fully disclosed. They gave me a quote that was cheaper than what I was paying. I asked them specifically if the two tickets were OK and they said yes. One month later they sent us a letter saying they were dropping us and we had X number of days to get a new policy. No reason was given. I called them up and they said it was because we had too many tickets (you know the same ones I told them about initially). I don't know if it's the same way now, but at that time if you were canceled by an insurance company, none of the other major carriers would touch you. Luckily I called up my old insurance agent and explained the situation and they agreed to take me back at my old rate. Had they not done so my rate would have doubled.

After that, Geico would call me up every six months or so and offer a free rate quote. The person calling got an earful of 4 letter words before they hung up on me. The conversation would always start with, "I wouldn't take your fucking insurance if you fucking paid me." After that it was simply a game to see how long before they hung up.

[PSzymeczek]

101. My rates aren't bad with them.

Low $50s per month for full coverage and low deductible.

[ClarkUSA]

120. Geico's estimate for two cars is $300 more than what I pay now via Liberty Mutual.

We switched from All-State after Hurricane Katrina made me boycott them. I have a 100% clean driving record and am in lowest annual mileage category.

You, your location, and your car(s) must be in a rare category to have that low an insurance rate.

[quakerboy]

132. And I pay less with progressive

This makes me wish I could remember the webpage that listed companies by who and how much money they and their people had donated too. As I recall, progressive was the only one in the insurance category with any blue to its credit. Your other choices were neutral, or more likely off to the red side of the column.

[Lorien]

134. Should be doing that anyway. They advertise on the Palin Discovery show.

Switch to Progressive. It's, well, "Progressive".

[SoapBox]

13. Guess you know which side of the aisle GEICO stands on...

Gee...guess that GEICO stands with the TeaScreechBaggers and RushTurdLican'ts.

[pinboy3niner]

16. See #15

[Throd]

17. I think they stand on the side of profit.

People of all political persuasions need car insurance. Why would they needlessly want to alienate customers? Bad for business.

[joeglow3]

41. They are owned by Berkshire (and, thus Warren Buffet).

Thus, I don't think it is politics.

[No Elephants]

105. It's business, Solly, strictly business.

[No Elephants]

106. They probably did not call Warren Buffet before deciding whether to fire this guy.

If Warren Buffet owns Geico, though, I'm suprised Geico ever advertised on Glenn Beck. Then again, business is business.

[No Elephants]

102. Maybe GEICO stands on the side of being in business and not wanting to piss off either a whole

bunch of Democrats OR a whole bunch of Republicans? I mean, either one is about half the U.S. Population.

[AlbertCat]

126. I mean, either one is about half the U.S. Population.

Nope. Many of the Repugs are now indies (fewest identify with the GOP than ever).... and a few Dems too.

[jberryhill]

14. You know what I love about auto insurance commercials?

Is that they all say "X number of people saved money by switching to us."

Well, of course that is true.

What idiots decide to switch in order to pay more?

I'd be willing to bet that MOST people who switch to ANY insurance company do so for a lower rate.

It is true for ANY insurance company. Or else people are really, really stupid.

[fascisthunter]

18. "...how many "mentally retarded" people it had on staff..."

lol

[onehandle]

21. GEICO pulled their ads from Glenn Beck. I'll stick with them, but I hope he gets justice. nt

[booley]

23. Not sure he has a case

IF he phoned them and said that he represented Geico and said what he said, he wouldn't have a case.

Nor would he if he used Geico phones.

And technically most places have a right to work law (ironically named, allowing employers to fire at will.

And while I do find it distasteful, I think corporations can legally fire employees for things they do on their own time.

However, the tea baggers not only posted the message but his address as well, encouraging people to let Mr. Baxter know how they felt. So possibly others are right and he may have a case against Freedom Works. But that's what lawyers are for, to tell you these things. I am not a lawyer and just guessing.

anywho, here's what he said.

http://www.freedomworks.org/hosted/MSG02713.WAV

And yes it is freedom works. But if we are going to judge, we should get as original source as we can.

[AmandaRuth]

25. you see how things are, folks?

Hannity can praise Tim McVeigh with absolutely no reprucussion, absolutely none.....

[Freedom is not free]

62. Evidence

I've heard this said, but can't find a video or transcript. My apologies if I missed it posted here. Please supply links.

[AmandaRuth]

66. ok

http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0401/sean-hannity-call-audience-tim-mcveighwannabes/

around 7:57, calls audience McVeigh wannabes, and the audience CHEERS....

Welcome to DU, I think,,,,,

[and-justice-for-all]

27. Good for him and fuck geico...nt

[valerief]

29. Well, there's one good reason not to buy GEICO Insurance. They didn't have to fire

the guy. Then again, he's not a corporation. Only corporations have free speech.

[Kievan Rus]

30. KO should give him a job

F*** the TeaKlanners.

[happygoluckytoyou]

31. RELATED STORY... retarded people upset at being called TEABAGGERS... claim "we're not THAT retarded"

[nyy1998]

33. Hahaha, well played.

[florida08]

42. LOLOL

you're on a roll..

[Jade Fox]

79. lol

[W T F]

32. He should tell people ........

About how much money they could save by canceling their Geico insurance policy.

[Jade Fox]

35. Even amphibians know the Tea Party stinks! nt

[flamingdem]

59. +1000! nt

[LynneSin]

36. In defense of GEICO - calling someone "Mentally Retarded" is not a smart thing

Even if it is members of the Tea Party

[rfranklin]

43. Emotionally disturbed and morally bankrupt would apply however...

Yes, it is an insult to people who are as they are through no fault of their own.

[LynneSin]

44. If he had used those words I'd be supporting the guy

the fact that he used 'retarded' well, not exactly feeling sorry for him. It was a stupid move on his part.

[indimuse]

39. Boycott the Nazi's!

knr!

[LynneSin]

45. So it's ok to use the word 'retarded' like that?

Seriously, I suspect it has nothing to do with the Tea Party and more to do with the fact that he used a word like that in a very offensive way.

[JoeyT]

130. Maybe not yet, but eventually it will be.

Almost every single insult that attacks the target's intelligence was at one time used in the exact same manner as the word "retarded".
That's why retarded replaced them. It didn't carry the stigma of being used as an insult. Then it was used as an insult for a while and replaced by something else. Now it's pretty much pure insult. It replaced the range that included idiot, imbecile, and moron. No one feels bad about using any of those anymore.
Edited to add: Of course none of the people that were diagnosed as "idiot", "moron" or "imbecile" are still alive, which is probably why no one is offended.

[BakedAtAMileHigh]

87. sigh

1. They are not Nazis; that is a shameful comparison to make. When Geico is responsible for genocide, then you can open your cake hole. Until then, you insult those who perished in the Holocaust.

2. It should be "Nazis" and not "Nazi's". It is plural, not possessive.

That is all.

[florida08]

46. I guess free speech

is only protected if you work at Fox Noise

[h9socialist]

47. Hmm? The SCOTUS just allowed unlimited campaign spending for corporations . . .

. . . on the idea that corporations have a right to "free speech." Yet it seems that their employees don't have such a right! I know I'm an anti-business leftist with no regard for bourgeois propriety, BUT, am I wrong in seeing one huge hypocrisy about all this?

[Indydem]

51. Free Speech?

Did the government come in and fire this guy? Perhaps the congress inacted a law while I wasn't looking that said you couldn't call teabaggers retarded?

You DO NOT have a right to say whatever you want whenever you want without ramifications from your employer, your friends, or your family. You have the right to say whatever you want without the government interferring.

It is sad when I see members of this site I love so much failing to comprehend the basic fundamentals of the Constitution.

[florida08]

56. No.1

"WE" are the government. Not those in Washington. They are OUR representatives. It goes without saying that "WE" are to be following the constitution. When WE don't that is when you have a breakdown in society and why Fox News has the following it does.

No.2 Do you seriously believe that any intelligent person would use the word to refer to those who have been clinically diagnosed as developmentally disabled? I don't think so. That would is preserved for the Sarah Palins and Michele Bachmans of the world. Get a grip.

[hughee99]

107. "We" are the government?

Are you suggesting that because "WE" are the government, we are restricted by the same laws intended to restrict government?

The company has every right to fire an employee for doing something it considers harmful to the image of the company, and it has exactly zero to do with free speech.

[av8rdave]

94. "enacted," not "inacted"

[h9socialist]

145. What's your problem?

All I did was point out the irony that campaign money is free speech, and free speech can be squelched by corporations. I couldn't give a crap about Constitutional nuances. If the government can't take away your right to free speech, but corporations can intimidate you not to exercise it, what's the difference???

Don't get sappy about the Constitution. It was written 223 years ago by a convention of which 70% of the participants were major creditors, and they wanted to make sure they'd get repaid for the colonies' war debt! Even Madison in the 10th Federalist explains that the US Constitution was designed to frustrate democratic majorities for fear that most people were either poor or indebted. And I got news for you, that stuff of framing a Constitution with language like "Congress shall enact no law" doing such and such, is for the birds. If the Constitution was as free as we like to brag about, it would read like European constitutions "Everyone has the right to free speech" -- not just prohibitions against Congress!

The Constitution is not a holy document. It was made to be changed. The fact that it's almost impossible to change it shows how old and brittle it's getting. The fact that the Constitution doesn't protect your free speech from employer reprisals is not an argument that the individual needs to tone it down to an acceptable polity, rather it's a statement of how inadequate the document itself has become.

[Arkana]

48. Funny but unnecessarily incendiary.

Seriously, what was he trying to accomplish?

[ArizonaLiberal]

49. What!!!!!!!

That;s just nuts.

[dhood8083]

52. GEICO voice actor fired

This is the new KKK with just a different title and more apparent "mainstream" appeal...

[WilliamPitt]

55. Where does the gecko stand on all this?

[pinboy3niner]

71. LOL!

Unfortunately, we may never know (see # 65).

[Green_Lantern]

57. two things he did are pretty dumb...

For one he used the word retard as an insult which is pretty cruel because mentally retardation is already stigmatized. It's a serious mistake for us to let right-wingers be the defenders of respect for the disabled against some insensitive attack.

Secondly he accused Freedomworks of conspiracy to commit murder on a freaking recording. How dumb is that? That can be seen as slander. That's why Geico doesn't want to be linked to that.

[LynneSin]

67. Thank you!

If this guy made the same type of phone call to any other organization without a major political slant we'd be calling for his head on a platter.

Just because it was to the Tea Party folks doesn't make it ok.

[flamingdem]

58. BOYCOTT!! That Gecko voice was great! nt

[flamingdem]

61. Is Lance the voice actor Australian for real? Then no wonder he can't control his mouth! nt

[brendan120678]

70. He wasn't the voice of the Gecko...

he just did the "Voice Over" work at the end of the commercial...
("A fifteen minute phone call can save you 15% or more on your car insurance.")

[flamingdem]

76. We need the Gecko voice guy to turn on the teabaggers! nt

[pinboy3niner]

85. Actually, that's a good idea

Somebody with video skills could have some fun with this (a la "FunnyorDie").

[No Elephants]

108. He's not the voice of the gecko.

[old mark]

60. GEICO is a terrible insurer, lies and cheats on customers insurance ratings if you

leave them for another company. I am not surprised they would fire someone who spoke out against racism and bigotry.

mark

[lies and propaganda]

63. Govenment Employee Insurance Company

WTH else would you expect?

I get smashed by one of their pos drivers, drunk as hell at noon and they fought me tooth and nail. Absolute shit company.

[Botany]

65. But the lizard is cute

[budkin]

72. From what I remember GEICO is a huge contributer to Republicans in general

I'm sure they wouldn't stand for someone insulting their teabagging brethrens.

[PSzymeczek]

103. Their campaign contribution are relatively balanced.

They give to both Democrats and Republicans. They gave $1,000 to Creigh Deeds' campaign.

[No Elephants]

109. Are you sure? Someone posted upthread that Warren Buffet owns Geico.

[frustrated_lefty]

73. I'm surprised by the lack of outrage over this.

I'm not even going to comment on the words "mentally retarded," because that's tangential and a diversion. If a teabagger were to collect your posts criticizing the tea party and send them to your employer and you were to be fired as a result, would the reaction be equally milque-toast?

The issue is complicated by the fact that this man has a famous voice, but he asked what they would do when a tea partyer killed someone.

We are fundamentally diminished as a people when we so quietly accept the punishment of a man for objecting to violent rhetoric and morally base appeals to the least common denominator.

[Green_Lantern]

86. actually what he did could be considered slanderous...

He accused Freedomworks of endorsing the violent rhetoric you speak of. I don't blame Geico for trying to save itself from a slander lawsuit.

[No Elephants]

111. Imagine you own a company and your employee threatens your livelihood

by pissing off customers and potential customers.

[Ozymanithrax]

74. 15 minutes and "I hate homos" can save you 15% on your car insurance.

I've always thought that damn gecco was gay. I wonder when he will get kicked out?

[flamingdem]

77. Join Gecko's against Teabaggers! nt

[smoogatz]

75. He didn't insult the teabaggers with that comparison.

He insulted mentally retarded people. That being the case, he probably deserved to get canned.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

78. He should apologize for the remark about "mentally retarded people"

It is insulting to suggest that those who are developmentally challenged would align themselves with the nazi deviant scum at FreedomWorks.

Douglas should apologize.

Then Dems should sign him on to do voice overs for campaign ads that are modeled after GEICO commercials.

[PinkFloyd]

88. I hope the Democratic party offers him work doing voices for their campaigns

[LynneSin]

98. So we should rewards a guy who uses an extremely insensitive insult

Kinda makes us look stupid.

Ask yourself this - if the Geico guy left that same exact message on the voice mail of a left-wing group - how would DUers react? Would we want to encourage people to use Geico? Would we celebrate him as a hero? Would we make him the poster-boy of the left wing?

No - we'd be calling for him to be fired and we'd be starting boycotts of Geico if they didn't fire him.

Let's not be hypocrites here.

[Wizard777]

90. So the tea partiers didn't hurt the Lizard?

[condoleeza]

92. Yet another example of why people need to be anonymous - and that's sad

Obviously Lance Baxter would love to retract his identity being attached to this, it doesn't appear he was using his "power as a voice actor to influence society" in his comments, he was just pissed off and who of us haven't been?

FreedomWorks has reached a major low by publishing his personal information, but what else would you expect from these weasels? My daughter had the same experience with a major food product she was the voice for - until she got "mouthy" while she was campaigning for Obama.

[Joanne98]

93. Boycott GEICO!

[jillan]

95. Nice - he can get mad about people using the N word or the F word, then goes and uses the R word....

Yes - I am sensitive to that word.

I appreciate his efforts, but they could've gone farther if without using a slur against another group of citizens.

[LynneSin]

97. THANK YOU - [phone]

This man should not be celebrated as a hero nor is it a good enough reason for me to boycott Geico. Hell, I would have boycotted him if they kept the guy around and didn't reprehend him in some way for using that word in such a derogatory way.

If a right-winger called and left that same exact message with a left-wing organization we would be spitting nails right now.

BTW I don't use Geico so the boycott is moot. However I refuse to be a hypocrite when it comes to using that phrase and how I respond.

[Geek_Girl]

96. Freedomworks are a bunch of pathetic bullies

He just left a voice message on their answering machine, voicing his opinion and they get the guy fired for it. They are nothing but a bunch of rabid freaks.

[LynneSin]

100. So what if he left that message with Move-On or any other liberal group?

The phrase was very insultive, it doesn't matter who he uses it with.

[LynneSin]

99. Ask yourself this - what would be your response if this guy left the message with a Liberal group?

What if this guy left the same exact message calling a liberal group 'Mentally Retarded'

Would we celebrate him as a hero?
Would we encourage people to use Geico for hiring such an amazing person?
Would we make him the poster boy of DU?


No, we would be insisting that Geico fire him for using such an insultive phrase or suggesting a boycott if he wasn't fired.

Folks, we are looking like hypocrites in a big way by treating this guy as a hero simply because the offensive insult he used was against a group we do not like. If that group was anyone else other than a right-wing organization we'd be spitting nails at the person who left that message.

Just because we don't like the Tea Party group doesn't make what he said politically correct.

Perhaps Geico should have forced an apology or reprehended him instead of firing. But I don't think Geico was that far out of line with what they did. That was wrong for him to leave a message like that and it's wrong for us to think this guy was somehow a cause for celebration.

[hughee99]

110. I recall not that long ago,

one of the co-founders of a gay matchmaking website based out of Cambridge, MA donated $2500 to McCain. When it came out, public pressure from customers and other advocacy groups forced him out (I think his partner "fired" him for PR purposes, but it was really a resignation). At the time, I don't recall any DUers concerned with his rights, and he didn't even call anyone derogatory names.

I recall another instance in which Playboy fired a female senior staffer because of her repuke politics (that was her claim, anyway) and DUers jumped to defend Playboy saying that even IF they did fire her because of her politics, they had every right to do so because her political slant MAY hurt sales.

[LynneSin]

129. Did the matching making service use offensive words?

Or just donate.

I understand that the politics suck but I'm trying to remove that from the picture and point out that the comments made were not very nice.

[hughee99]

137. As far as I know, he just donated.

I completely agree that calling any group of people "mentally retarded" even in a non-political context, is not appropriate.

[pengillian101]

113. Well said! n/t

[Political Heretic]

116. Um, I would hope they would not use it to get him fired.

That's not how I roll.

[PinkFloyd]

119. You're right, I wouldn't like him. But I wouldn't call in or do things to get him fired.

Also, Freedomworks themselves didn't have to make this much of a big deal over it. I bet they get several negative messages everyday, yet they pick his. They didn't have to make it public, give his home phone number and his employer's number telling them to fire him over this. He shouldn't have done it but they shouldn't have done all this either. If he were a teabagger and called a liberal group and the liberal group did all this, you just know they'd scream about how the left wants to take away everybody's freedom of speech.

[JVS]

121. Like Rahm?

[proud2BlibKansan]

117. I know the Geiko caveman and he is a great liberal Democrat

There are actually 3 or 4 cavemen. The one I know is the first one. He still makes a couple ads a year for Geiko. His mom is a good friend of mine.

I know he would disapprove of this teabagger in the ranks.

[CLANG]

122. LEGGO MY GECKO!

[Indenturedebtor]

128. I dropped GEICO when I found out how invasive they are to applicants

They check your entire credit history, drug screen (HAIR FOLLICLE TEST!), call every single reference, criminal background check, etc, etc.

That said... it is a shame that this guy had to denigrate mentally challenged folks, though I of course support his general statement about the nutsacks.

[jmowreader]

131. "Work in THAT place? FreedomWorks? Are you NUTS?"

"God, you'd really have to be desperate to work there!"

Signed, The Mentally Differently Abled Citizens of America

[madrchsod]

133. mentally retarded is still an accepted description

over the years the definition has changed for various reasons. where my wife works they are "clients" without description.
personally i find the use of "clients" offensive. to me they are just people who have different levels of functioning in the world.

i`m not going to break bad on him because i`m giving him the benefit of doubt. i doubt he has interacted with those who he thinks are mentally retarded because if he did he`d realize they are more human than most of the teabaggers i`ve seen and heard. yes it is an insult to compare them to teabaggers.

[Redemption Seeker]

138. Thank God it wasn't the Gekko!

I mean, we have to keep our priorities in order!

[pundaint]

139. Nothing I can do about it I already don't do business with them for their high rates.

[DailyGrind51]

141. So, it's okay to insult President Obama, but NOT okay to insult teabaggers?

[boycottfaux]

142. GEICO's firing may be their right - or not??

And cancelling my GEICO policy today and advising them why I
cancelled was my right and my pleasure!!

[chill_wind]

143. They also pulled their advertising from Glenn Beck,

some time back, as`someone pointed out. I give them points for that much.

[Ticonderoga]

144. Cool

I've been looking for an incentive to move my policy to Progressive for quite some time now. Thanks GEICO. See ya.