NO CANCELED ORDERS
Cabela’s and Cooper Firearms
By Bill Schneider, 11-06-08
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My special Wild Bill column on Monday covered the statements and campaign contributions made Dan Cooper, president and co-founder of Cooper Firearms in support of President-elect Barack Obama. As his statements caused a firestorm of criticism from his customers on gun websites and blogs, Cooper resigned from the company and said he was worried about the future of his company because two of his biggest retail accounts, Cabela’s and Sportsman’s Warehouse, had canceled their orders.
Which turned out to not be true.
Two days ago, I posted an article quoting Sportsman’s Warehouse CEO Stu Utgaard saying his company had not canceled orders, and today, I heard from Joe Arterburn, corporate communications manager for Cabela’s, who also said the allegations of canceled orders were “untrue.”
Arterburn gave me the following statement:
“Cabela’s did not cancel any orders with Cooper Firearms of Montana in response to company president Dan Cooper’s reported contribution of money to the senatorial and presidential campaigns of Barack Obama.
“All Cabela’s decisions with regards to Cooper Firearms were based on economic factors, including a decline in customer demand for high-end custom rifles, and were made before the Cooper contributions were reported on the U.S.A. Today Web site in late October.
“Cabela’s continues to sell Cooper rifles in current inventory at its retail stores, and, in the future, will treat Cooper Firearms with the same respect it reserves for all its valued vendors.”
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Comments
That is it?! That's all you have to say? I just reread your column and I would think you would have checked with Cabela before writing your Monday column. I feel I am detecting an eagerness on your part to "get the story out" regardless of the "facts".
Although I would never use the kind of anger and language found in other postings, I do believe in the right to "vote" with my wallet. If I feel strongly about enuff about an issue, I will go out of my way to spend or not spend my money at a business based on that issue......I am assuming Don Cooper has enuff business sense to expect some reaction to his statements. Since he was representing Cooper Firearms when he spoke to the media, it would be assumed the reaction would be toward Cooper Firearms........I am curious tho, why the falsehoods told by Cooper about the "canceled" orders? What was the point? "A good name is to be prized above all things". Dan Cooper has,of his own accord, lost his "good name".....Mary Irwin P.S. You may want to take a moment and examine your own level of intergrity as a media writer..
It's nearly impossible to research every product, business, etc that you give your money to, but if you have knowledge and belief on any specific product, business, etc...one would be remiss not to act on those beliefs. Your intolerance of another's belief is disturbing in the least, and to respond with name calling...well..nuff said.