Geico Insurance Voice Guy a Total Jackass
First, the background from WaPo:
Sometimes you have a headline that makes the rest of the story superfluous, but here’s the background. Actor Lance Baxter, otherwise known as “D.C. Douglas,” currently known as the man who informs you how much Geico can save you on car insurance, left a message last month with FreedomWorks in which he asked the group how many “mentally retarded” people it had on staff and what it would do when a tea partyer “killed someone.” On April 14, FreedomWorks put his voicemail online.
My sympathy level for this guy was low, but then it plummetted when I read his twaddle at his blog. When I first got my 12.3 minutes of internet fame, some asshole thought it would be appropriate to take my name, my actual name mind you, and get a yahoo account with that name, and then splash across the internet “my” search for underage boys to fornicate with. Then Media Matters put up some bio thing of me that contained so many inaccuracies that I sent them 4 emails to get them to correct it, they never did.
Now, bear in mind I never maligned a group of people, I never called anyone retarded, never suggested anyone would be killed etc. Actually, in watching the video again, I still think I was painfully polite. Nonetheless, I got hit from about 60 angles. Some folks where saying that I wasn’t even an Iraq vet. That should suprise no one, since I never once claimed to be.
My point is this, there is very little in the way of private/public distinction, and this knucklehead learned that the hard way. I do VERY little to hide my identity, but every now and again some punk comes along to “out” the real me, and some suggest contacting my employer. NEWSFLASH: This blog is *ME*, private me, not suit and tie at work me. The left seems incapable of that distinction.
Now, do I think the guy should have been fired? Honestly, don’t know, don’t care. I have Geico, and I am now torn between cancelling it to voice my disgust with this jackass, and keeping it since they fired him. Either way, that is the companies problem, not mine. Just as it is my employers’ decision, and your employers decision etc. I believe in the private/public distinction, and try to “do unto others” etc, even though no one has shown me the same respect. Luckily, I have a great employer.
But I am wondering what you guys think. If the tables were turned, what would you say. If it was Flo the Progressive Lady and she called MoveOn and asked how many ri-tards were injured coming up with the General Petreaus ad, should she be fired? And what, if any, is the responsibility of Freedom Works not to put the voicemail on line? I would argue none, but curious what you guys think.
Category: Politics
First off, Progressive IS ‘progressive’ and is a heavy funder of MoveOn and other such organizations. So I doubt she’ll be calling MoveOn other than to tell them their check is in the mail…
Second, why have GEICO? They are one of the LARGEST funders of radar/lidar detectors to police agencies in the US. Not a problem? Ok- say Ft Worth police get a LIDAR gun from Geico; they use it on X-amount of violators; of that X-amount, 14-18 percent will be GEICO insured. Those 14-18 percent under GEICO now will have their insurance raised for the violations they get. Geico spends $1400 bucks on a LIDAR gun, but reaps several thousands more over several years in jacked rates.
Think there is a conflict of interest?
Car and Driver had a report on this a few years back…
Wolf
And don’t get me started on USAA
Nice job with this. Had no idea what happened to you. That’s just not fair but I suppose that’s the way the left likes to play.
I don’t think his personal views have anything to do with his work so no, I don’t think in this case the firing was justified.
Having said that, he has just learned that actions have consequences. He has a right to his opinion, but he just got his ass stomped for his actions being hateful and stupid.
Don’t really care one way or the other but anytime a libtard gets fucked over for their dumbassedness, I am happier as a person.
USMC Steve,
I agree. Well said.
I’m a shareholder in Berkshire Hathaway, and even so, I switched over to USAA because it was $300 lower.
I refuse to use Progressive because of the massive amount of money they give to anti-gun groups and the founder is a huge anti-gunner. The guy from the commercials should have known better than to do something like this. I’m ambivalent about the first part but when he talked about tea partiers and death that was over the line and I have no problem with Geico wanting to maintain a public image and not piss off a large part of its customers.
The guy was an idiot. He got his freedom of speech, but obviously, taking it to that level was unprofessional it seems, to the company. Freedom works took the opportunity to show the extreme uninformed left really is unhinged, not us. No proof on that racist slur yet, and Breitbart offered 100k.
I mean, look at the poor SOB who left the Iphone prototype at a bar on his b-day…what should happen to him? Same kind of thing. Not very professional of him to “lose” the phone for some geeks to get at.
When you are the spokesperson for a company, expect that what you do and say in the public sphere can affect your employment. If you are in such a position, be aware of your employer’s feelings on you making public comments.
Good God, my niece and nephew don’t whine as much he does. Someone send the poor man some kleenex and coupons to buy more.
He’s an “at-will” employee, not much job security there. So, he got fired, boo-hoo. Maybe next time he’ll keep his pie hole shut about things in the public domain, or at least keep his employment separate from his asshattery.
He’s technically not even an employee, he’s a contractor. Even less slack. Problem is, actions DO have consequences, just as what I say and do on my own time can still have implications with my employer.
Or to quote a phrase, you take the king’s coin, you do the king’s bidding.
I see that he blames FreedomWorks for getting fired by Geico, insinuating that Geico was forced by the Tea Party to fire him with the implication that the Tea Party would use bully tactics against Geico and they’d have a big fight on their hands. That FreedomWorks got involved no doubt made it easier for Geico to remove him, but is it really the case that the fault lies primarily with FreedomWorks and not with him? He made it sound like he manned up to his errors, but in the end, he bitterly blamed the whole thing on the evil, evil bullies in the Tea Party movement. I don’t buy it. That said, I recognize there can be a fine line between one’s personal life and one’s work life; it is not always necessarily a bright line, like the bright line of that you DON’T wear your uniform to any kind of protest (unless, of course, it is your goal to get booted out). But not only can the line sometimes be thinner and fuzzier than that, the line can also be in different places for different people according to different variables. For example, in the military, if you’re a relatively low-ranking enlisted servicemember, you’re going to be able to get away with a lot more than a commissioned officer would because there is no “Conduct Unbecoming an Officer and a Gentleman” charge for the enlisted ranks (I guess it’s assumed you’re not a gentleman, heh). That was one of the charges that was slapped on 1LT Watada – 2 counts – for comments that he made about the war and about the Bush Administration. That’s why he faced a much stiffer prison sentence than any of the enlisted guys before him who were charged with missing movement and charges relating to that – it boiled down to the fact he was a commissioned officer, so ultimately the punishment would have been higher (had he been convicted and sentenced). In the current climate with Obama as the president and the spirited mood of conservatives and libertarians, it remains to be… Read more »
A lesson never learned by the leftists:
Actions have consequences.
I’m not in the public eye, so I don’t care what people think about what I say, but when I’m representing my company in public, politics and hate is not a part. And since I’m not in the public eye for my company often, it doesn’t affect me. This guy is just your typical left wing douchebag. Just the fact that his website says teabagger 472 times shows you what kind of guy he is.
Find a new job, asshat. You asked for attention and just happened to get it.
He should of thought before he lept is all I can add. Nothing like opening mouth, inserting foot and chew twice….
HEH!
The guy probably could have held on to his job if he stopped with the ritard comment, but when he crossed the line into hints of violence I think that was too much.
Look the gecko still has a job, and I am waiting for the cavemen to come back with some fresh material.
GEICO does have a public image to protect. I think you can draw parallels to the situation with Rothlesberger. No criminal activity but the NFL commissioner decided that the conduct was not in the best interest of the NFL.
Debra; just as Tiger lost a lot of sponsors for something he did in his private life, companies that use a person as a symbol of their company are kinda interested in what that person does in their private life that could show bad on the company. Someone who is a recognized spokesperson or voice for a certain company must be aware that what they do in their private life will be under scrutiny from the company that pays them to be their voice.
I didn’t go to his website, so I don’t know if he referenced himself to Gieco, or not, but if he did, then he’s a complete moron for tying his professional life in with his private life.
Right, that was my point — but he ultimately blamed it on FreedomWorks.
I might have been more sympathetic to his view if there hadn’t been so much other crap in there that is just plain insulting to anyone who is not a leftist.The more he wrote, explaining his little sob story, the more offensive the whole story became — not because of what FreedomWorks did (IMO), but because of what his handling of the matter says about him. Obviously he didn’t need the job with Geico, otherwise he might have kept up a more professional image. He did say that he didn’t need the job and that he has plenty of other work. I guess it never occurred to him that he may find himself losing other work as well. Because you’re right – who wants to hire somebody who might bring discredit to their business?
Also, FYI to TSO: You should strongly re-consider USAA, not only in car insurance, but in all their services. I’ve been a member for over two decades and have never been dissatisfied with any of their services. Car insurance is tops, not only THE cheapest anywhere, but the most outstanding customer service ever. They completely covered it when my oldest daughter at age 16 totalled my car and the SUV she ran into, plus I do all my banking with them now, too, including investments; they do roll-overs, everything. Very stable and reliable company. Can’t beat it.
Debra, you said, “For example, in the military, if you’re a relatively low-ranking enlisted servicemember, you’re going to be able to get away with a lot more than a commissioned officer would because there is no “Conduct Unbecoming an Officer and a Gentleman” charge for the enlisted ranks”
Article 134 is a pretty broad “we’ll fuck you if we want to” brush that has been used quite effectively in my experience. People get away with what their chain of command LETS them get away with.
True. You do have some rights in the military, but for the most part, it’s probably safest to assume you signed most of them away…
Debra,
One of my co-workers is retired Navy and uses USAA for banking, insurance and EVERYTHING. He just turned me onto them and I’m in the process of getting quotes now…..can’t wait to see what they come back with, especially since my life insurance term just came up and they doubled my premiums…I’m in perfect health and not on any meds either!
I got an unusual email from USAA yesterday (unusual for them) requesting that their members contact their senators about some legislation (S.3217) that USAA thinks should be changed as it would adversely impact a company like USAA if it passes as it is currently written. I don’t really understand much about that kind of stuff, but I sent the message anyway as I definitely would not want any legislation to adversely affect a company that is important to my life. Here is the USAA link to it if anyone would like more info:
https://www.usaa-advocacy.com/default.aspx
USAA insurance is not all its cracked up to be- at all. I had it 15 years ago and dropped it (for serious reasons I won’t go into here) until, and not before, I get a personal apology from the CEO.
To wit:
1. USAA will not insure ‘collector cars’. And, if you own one, and want to insure it with say, Haggerty (where its MUUUUUCHHH cheaper and better for such) they will not insure your other cars. Per USAA guidelines- ”we insure all your vehicles, or none of them”. One of the reasons I dropped. If you have 3 cars, and one would be cheaper under say, State Farm, they won’t carry your other 2.
2. USAA tracks your children. Once they turn 15, you start getting dinged for insuring them. EVEN IF THEY DON”T DRIVE. Your rates WILL GO UP once those children hit 15- whether or not they get a license. Another ‘specialty’ of USAA.
3. There is no recourse for poor customer service. And they have plenty of it. Ask my parents. Cost them 500 bucks, and USAA would not refund it even after admitting the mistake. All because of one stupid C.Svc person…
Yeah, gotta love them insurance companies…
Wolf
They’re still better than most businesses, in my observation.
I wasn’t aware of the thing about when your children turn 15. I guess I never noticed because my first daughter, after she totalled one of my cars at age 16, was put under another insurance plan by USAA (not on mine), since we got her a car of her own and put the title and the registration in her name anyway. My second daughter’s insurance was paid by her father, but her title and registration was always in her name, too. Hmm, if it ever increased my own rates, I never noticed. (Now I’m wondering…)