How to vote Wal-Mart

Back in November, Robert Litan warned Wal-Mart executives in an FP memo that the  company needed a foreign policy:

You have become the quintessential multinational corporation, and with an incredible $285 billion in sales last year, your revenues exceed the gross domestic product of Austria, Greece, and Switzerland. All of which raises the question: What is WalMart’s foreign policy?

A foreign policy has yet to materilize, but the company seems to be gearing up politically for something more local – the upcoming U.S. elections in November and the Democratic presidential primaries in 2008. Reports emerged today that the monster retailer has distributed a “voter guide” to its 18,000 employees in Iowa attacking Democratic congressmen and governors across the U.S. who have criticized the company. The “voter guide” targets four prominent potential Democratic presidential candidates: Evan Bayh, Joe Biden, Bill Richardson, and Tom Vilsack.

It’s more than coincidence that Wal-Mart chose to release its voter guide in Iowa – the first election stop in the Democratic presidential caucuses – where nominees are often made or broken. It’s also no surprise that many Democratic politicans have made a big show of their criticism of Wal-Mart, which has become a hot-button political issue in small towns and states across the Midwest, and yes, in Iowa.