Tuesday, September 18, 2012

A good old store gone BAD.




Another fond memory of the days when old time values were the norm is being taken from us again by autocratic usurpers taking over another one of our traditionally safe places where traditional Christian values were not trampled under unholy feet.  

J.C. Penney has lost its way--and in the process, its profits! "Is J.C. Penney trying to become GayC Penney?" ABC News is asking--and so are customers. In the last several months, the company once known for its Christian roots has undergone a radical transformation. It started last year, when J.C. Penney hired Ellen DeGeneres, a vocal proponent of same-sex "marriage," as its spokesperson.

The choice drew fire from several people who thought DeGeneres was a departure from the store's longstanding values. When organizations like American Family Association's One Million Moms complained, J.C. Penney's new president, Michael Francis, stubbornly dug in his heels. On Mothers' Day, the company shocked consumers with a blatant endorsement of homosexuality in an ad that featured two moms. The grassroots protested again. J.C. Penney responded with another same-sex ad for Father's Day. Underneath, the text read, "What makes Dad so cool? He's the swim coach, tent maker, best friend, bike fixer, and hug giver--all rolled into one. Or two."

As Ford Motors will tell you, siding with radical homosexuals has its price. And in J.C. Penney's case, the cost is about $163 million. According to the Wall Street Journal, J.C. Penney's stock "has lost more than a third of its value since a disastrous earnings report in mid-May, when Penney's posted a $163 million loss and said sales fell 20% in the first three months of its fiscal year." CEO Ron Johnson also admitted that Father's Day sales were a bust. "Penney's shares fell 8.8% Tuesday to their lowest level in a year, [and] store traffic was down 10%."

Obviously, the company's far-Left approach is driving away shoppers--and its executives. Michael Francis was fired after just eight months on the job. Whether J.C. Penney will learn from its mistakes is yet to be seen. But its freefall should serve as a warning to other companies who are itching to jump on the same-sex bandwagon. Catering to homosexuals may earn you a pat on the back from the Human Rights Campaign, but in the long term, it's bad business. Americans want corporate neutrality in the culture wars, and when they don't find it, they'll go elsewhere--like my family has done with J.C. Penney. Shoppers are shrewd enough to know that speaking up is important--but sometimes what speaks the loudest is their wallets.

Let this be a cautionary tale to General Mills, Starbucks, and other corporations on the wrong side of the marriage war. This is a political wager that companies will lose. Even Target is putting its bulls-eye on traditional families by introducing a new line of same-sex merchandise. One hundred percent of the proceeds are dedicated to putting Christian adoption agencies out of business. If you haven't signed our petition protesting the company's "love is love" campaign, click here. Then, print out the flyer of protest and take it to your local store!

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