“I take accountability for my business. I’m not looking to blame the government.”
~Scott Van Duzer, Bearhug specialist and pizza shop owner
It was the bearhug heard around the world. Small business owner Scott Van Duzer – a Republican – has been experiencing a conservative backlash since President Obama came into his pizza shop and they traded pleasantries … Obama received the famous hug and Van Duzer said he was voting for Obama … for the 2nd time. Conservatives are now actively boycotting his pizza shop because he hugged the Prez. Conservatism is killing this country; they want to cut off America’s nose to spite our face.
The Daily Beast interviews him HERE; an excerpt:
What’s your reaction to the angry people who are flooding your restaurant’s Yelp page with bad reviews because you hugged the president?
You see the good and bad in people. That’s what’s wrong with our country. I tell people, whether you’re Republican or Democrat, he’s both of our president. He should be treated with respect, and that’s what’s wrong with our country right now. I don’t think it has to be that way. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, and you don’t have to be ugly with yours. You know what I’m trying to say? You have the right to do what you want to do. I’m all for free speech—don’t get me wrong there. But if you don’t have nothing good to say, then don’t say nothing. You know what I’m trying to say? You’re entitled to your opinion. Exercise your vote. That’s the bottom line.
You know – what the hell is wrong with these people? Scott Van Duzer is the kind of guy that makes America what it is. It has gotten so bad that most conservatives feel like treating the President with some modicum of respect is akin to stealing a man’s truck, sleeping with his wife and calling his kids ugly. Most conservatives don’t want negotiation or compromise … they want a fight.
Politico gets Van Duzer to explain how conservatives are now boycotting his pizza shop and talks about his foundation HERE:
“People are saying a lot of bad things and boycotting my restaurant,” Scott Van Duzer, 46, told POLITICO. “There’s no middle line anymore, and that’s exactly what’s wrong with our country right now.”
Van Duzer’s June bike-trek was part of his Van Duzer Foundation, and helped raise awareness for blood donation shortages. Founded in 2008 to support a local firefighter whose house burned down, the foundation has since raised more than $600,000, Van Duzer said. Van Duzer said he rode with a few kids from the Boys and Girls Club and met with U.S. Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin to discuss blood shortages.
Obama told The New York Times that Van Duzer’s effort in promoting blood donations was part of the reason the campaign decided to visit his pizza shop.
“One of the reasons that we wanted to stop by is that Scott has been doing unbelievable work out of this pizza shop in promoting the importance of donating blood,” Obama told the Times. “And so he has set some records here in Florida. He has received commendations from the White House, the surgeon general, he has galvanized and mobilized the local community and he’s educating kids and folks all across the country on this issue.”
You can see Van Duzer’s foundation HERE.
