Matt Campbell really shouldn’t desire a debate against Congressman Steve King in the Iowa’s 5th Congressional District… need further evidence?
Consider Campbell’s interview with Jan Mickelson of WHO Radio last week. In this interview he said that Gateway should be a model for businesses here in Iowa – “we need to be replicating that, having more business incubation.”
Really? I suppose just looking at how Ted Waitt started it in 1985 in his farmhouse outside Sioux City with a loan from his grandma is inspiring. It did take off quickly to be a PC Direct Sales leader, but if Campbell actually stayed in Iowa instead of just moving back last December he perhaps would have kept better tabs.
Should the replication be seeing other businesses leave Western Iowa to South Dakota?
Perhaps the replication he seeks is businesses having businesses leave the area where Iowans can’t even benefit from the jobs? Like when Gateway left South Dakota for La Jolla, CA in 1998. Perhaps we want to see the emulation of seeing businesses close all of their stores like Gateway did in 2004, or see the value of their stock plunge like what was seen in 2007 when Gateway was sold to the Taiwanese computer manufacturer Acer going from $84/share down to $1.90/share. Wow, that’s awesome… let’s replicate that. CNET staff writer, Erica Ogg, writing of Gateway’s downfall said:
When Acer agreed on Monday to purchase the American PC maker, it wasn’t shocking, since more than a few pundits would say Gateway’s acquisition has been several years overdue. But at a $710 million purchase price, it’s a comedown for a company that in 1997 was offered $7 billion to become part of Compaq Computer (which was eventually acquired by Hewlett-Packard).
A string of bad quarters, a revolving door into the chief executive’s office and a schizophrenic business strategy have all led to Gateway’s end as an independent company after 22 years in business…
…To people who’ve watched Gateway’s aimless adventures of the last few years, the new and focused management that will be at the helm is probably a good thing, and a long time coming. "Gateway’s basically been up on eBay for the last couple years," said Samir Bhavnani, analyst at Current Analysis.
Wow from PC Direct Sale powerhouse (which it doesn’t even do anymore) to outsourcing American jobs to Taiwan. Awesome plan! Perhaps if they hung on long enough they could have gotten a bailout from the Obama Administration.
If you are going to lift up a company as a model, at least pick one that hasn’t been a failure.
Then Campbell has touted himself as a “fiscal conservative” who approves of the stimulus, criticizing Congressman King for not bringing in enough stimulus money or enough earmarks. He also told Mickelson he would have voted for the stimulus package and Obamacare. Huh?
I guess fiscal conservatism has been redefined.
Mr. Campbell I do hope you do get your debate. It would be fun to watch you self-destruct.
Update: Linked at TheBeanWalker.com, thanks!
Shane Vander Hart
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