Once again we see the obnoxious effects of unbridled wealth. Tax these people so we the people can undo their damages.
202
Nice. I'm knocking myself out paying City, State, and Federal taxes on my income and 3-bedroom ranch on less than 1/4 acre while the Uhleins, who have more money than they can spend, get "tax incentives"on their business property and undue influence in the outcomes of local and national elections.
Their money might just buy the next electoral college vote too. We The People didn't elect the current president and, unless we abandon the electoral college, a bunch of rich, mean-spirited folks will see that we also don't get to pick the next president.
Ugh, the stench of this filthy money in politics is overwhelming. Vote blue!!
269
#grabyourwallet I'm burning my ULINE catalogs and buying from anyone else but them...
180
Just another donor whale swimming in all that dirty water...
85
Catalogs are in the trash. Thanks!
140
Let's boycott Soros too.
23
So these are the people who are trying to screw my life up from their comfortable little enclave of wealth.
Who do they think they are, and more importantly, WHY CAN'T THEY LIVE THEIR OWN LIVES AND LEAVE ME ALONE? What does my existence do to them?
Do they KNOW THEY HAVE MADE A LIFELONG FOE out of everyone they're constantly attacking?
102
Oh, we've heard of him. Trust me. He backed with an absurd amount of money 4 LOSING school board candidates. He was the single biggest donor (via his PAC) to Pedophile Roy Moore's campaign. He adores grifters and thieves if they'll enrich him. His wife is known as the Leona Helmsley of Illinois. She is rumored to have measured every single electrical outlet in their WI HQ facility to make sure it was exactly "centered" on each wall. If she deemed it less than perfect, it had to be redone. They don't care about their community. Not in the least. He moved his HQ to Wisconsin for a tax break, benefiting only himself; not his workers. No one trusts them. No one likes them. And quite frankly, it doesn't seem like the NYTimes even bothered to ask around the North Shore when writing this article.
165
Well, they quoted a few residents in the article. But past that, I don't know if the opinions of private individuals about other private individuals is really newsworthy.
23
So there we have it, along with the Mercers, Adelsons, Kochs we now are fully aware of the Uihleins, so there should be no complaints about George Soros, Tom Steyer and others who spend huge sums to support people and ideas left-of-center. As long as we all know were the money is coming from we can make a decision on which group we want to support with our votes.
46
Not sure what they think the problem is here. George Soro's and the left, including hard, alt-left characters have been doing this for years. The only difference is Main Stream Media has been giving them a free ride as far as exposure.
24
Thanks, time to find a new packaging supplier.
100
Boycott Schlitz and Ulein boxes.
104
My mother’s friend did not vote for Hillary Clinton because Chelsea Clinton is married to Marc Mezvinsky whose mother is Marjorie Margolis, the former PA congresswomen and the friend did not like Marjorie Margolis.
So no matter how much money the Uihlein’s spend, you still can’t fix stupid.
66
Well it just goes to show you that the POTUS is not the only ridiculously stupid person to have tons of money.
87
I find it interesting that the NYT will drag a conservative, wealthy donor through the mud but barely touches a liberal donor who has given millions to their causes.
23
@M. - Perhaps true, but you have to look at the big picture.. Liberals legitimately care about helping people while Conservatives think anyone who is financially or emotionally unstable is somehow at fault for not working or praying hard enough. So I'll side with the liberals 95% percent of the time- Even though I believe we need to enforce our existing laws and stop encouraging illegal immigration into our country. It's time for Central American countries to create livable and peaceful societies on their own. My patience and good nature has come to an end.
71
Informative and I will do the research to ensure that I wont be giving them any of my money. I get sick and tired of being sick and tired. Hard to realize how many Americans just want to be the King and Queen of America. Just give these old folks who are stuck in the past. The world and ideas change its not about white entitlement anymore. No matter how many little towns you buy the world is still moving . A whole slew of rich people who made there fortune off of the backs of the working people and the democracy of this country still hate citizens being able to think on there own . People have no rights except to do the bidding of rich people.
If you have to work so hard forcing your ideas down the throats of people, buy an island and leave. Take you money, your corporations and go. You are unAmerican
72
DON'T BUY UIHLEIN SUPPLIES--THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE SUPPORTING:
The Uihleins pour money into anything that advances their single-mindedly racist, me-first, anti-government, anti-education, anti-tax agenda.
As residents of northern IL, we've seen firsthand how much trouble they can cause. They fully fund Dan Proft and the Liberty Priniciples PAC (to support many local candidates), but also numerous online propaganda ( "news" ) websites. They back candidates with no experience and no interest in their local communities. They support full-time hecklers whose only job is to block the democratic function of local governmental boards and local initiatives. No cause is to trivial for them.
It's possible to fight back and win, because the Uihlein's rightwing campaigns are so ludicrous and the candidates so inexperienced, but the effort requires mountains of time from citizens who must take time out of actual jobs and actual community service.
In the end, the Uihleins win anyway, by forcing everyone to prove--over and over--that local governmental entities should even exist, and by smearing the reputation of the communities where they are active.
83
I just unsubscribed from all Uline catalogs and will no longer order from them. You should too:
https://www.uline.com/CustomerService/CustomizeMailing
76
So this is the "deep state" I've been reading about!
78
Too much money spent on vague ridiculous causes when so much poverty, and other ills of the global social fabric exist. These people could do much for the world at large but choose to support more of their class that harbours the desire for the acquisition of
personal wealth and excess. No conscious, they represent what is wrong with the world.
66
Nothing stinks as bad as fear and greed and this couple is quite ripe.
51
Just so we're all on the same page, it's OK for the liberal left to have George Soros, the Hollywood elite, and any other extreme left leaning liberals with money support their candidates but should anyone financially support the right, that's not acceptable in the eyes of the NYT and democratic liberals.
Let's not forget the assaults and destruction of private property, post Trump election, was brought to us by the liberal left. Perhaps you should police yourselves before critiquing others.
19
No more Uline products for me!
I will not knowingly do business with a company who is owned by a man using his profits to force his views down my throat by donating massive amounts of money to extremest right wing conservatives.
124
A former Marine and a billionaire; this Republican donor has certainly paid his dues, and he has earned his keep.
”Semptre Fi” from a Vietnam US Air Force veteran!
14
Being a veteran does not give one the right to be a jerk.
79
I have used Uline for my business in the past, never again.
52
Let's not get too MAGA about this little business this couple and their children started in their basement. The Uihlein family is one of the oldest, richest, most diversely invested families in Wisconsin and has been since the 19th century. They are Schlitz, they are banks, they are everything that money can buy. And they've bought a town the way others buy a dog.
62
I grew up in Milwaukee, and knew many of the Uihlein families. They pronounce it E-Line, not U-line.
17
Why are very rich people frequently so very mean?
68
Well, definitely not buying anything from Uline anymore!
43
Another Wisconsin company on the opposite side of the spectrum that also use their mailings to delve into politics is Penzey’s spices.
This is an unashamed plug for an amazing spice company with very progressive owners. I encourage you all to check them out!
57
Penzey's is amazing - as are its owners.
26
Political racketeering. Revolting.
49
Wealthy, white donors such as the Uihlein's are the America's version of those who are supporting fascists candidates in the US. Disguised as "nationalists" these wealthy white donors, such as the Koch brother's and other wealthy donors like them, are supporting candidates who are consistently compromising our democratic principles and disrespect those brave Americans who have fought and died to ensure freedom for our nation. If it walks like and duck and quacks like a duck then we know the intentions of these anti-democratic donors.
49
It’s a good thing to know when a company becomes politically active. In fact it would be nice to know more about the larger donations, and who they are coming from. I will,throw out my uline catalog today. Just as I have stopped buying from Home Depot. The conservatives now represented by their overwhelming endorsement of trump, have become the party of hate and backwardness. Joe McCarthy would fit right in with these people. Not one can say anything other than more guns, more military, imprison illegals no regulation and Obama, a Muslim, was the product of a black man and white woman. Sure they go to church just as the money lenders went to temple. Christian beliefs are warped for their own sensibilities. Trump in church. That’s one head scratcher.
38
Unfortunately, we do not know what part of the genome makes people like this so inner-directed that they think they should control how other people live and that life is all about them and only them. Carbon copy of Mr. Trump. In my opinion this rapid effort by hyper-selfish white people to control the direction of the world is a leading indicator of the unavoidable meshing of global cultures as these folks spend their fortunes trying to maintain white privilege before they become minorities.
45
The reporters on this story are being intellectually dishonest with their one sided portrayal of the dynamic in Manitowish Waters. Yes, the Uihlein's have made very significant donations to the town. Yes, Liz is a strong willed person who likes and drives things her way. But to paint a picture that the town overwhelmingly resents her generosity is not accurate. Not mentioned in the story are the results of a recent town election which was, in part, a referendum on the Uihlein's donations. The slate of candidates who opposed Liz, including Barry Hopkins who was quoted in the article, was defeated. The majority of the town is grateful for the Uihlein's generosity, the town park, the boat landing, the coffee shop, the bike trails, and the soon to open fitness center. Is Liz a hard charger? You bet. You don't build a company like Uline by being a wallflower. Too bad the NYT is not apparently capable of a balanced or nuanced article on this topic.
21
I just finished reading the article. I didn’t think it said that people were overwhelmingly against the Uihleins. In fact, if the townspeople were, the Uihleins would not have been able to do as much as they did. The U’s are “world builders” for sure. He wants to control politics, in a number of states besides Wisconsin; she wants to make sure her community reflects the values (and decor) that she wants. Too bad for those who don’t fit into, or agree with, their plans for the world.
40
Seems balanced and nuanced to me.
30
You took from of this piece what your favorable view of the Uihleins needed, a Trumpian attitude of the so called dishonest N.Y. Times. I did not read anywhere in the article that the town overwhelmingly resents her generosity. The only indication given as to the feelings of the town was from Karen Dixon “The town is pretty much divided in half". You are angry because the story paints a negative picture of the Uihleins. I fact checked numerous statement in this article and they all were proven true. Please point out any given facts that are lies.
31
This couple's influence is insignificant compared to George Soros and his "hard left" contributors.
12
One can only hope.
31
Really? Give me some numbers, please, instead of trotting out the Soros Boogeyman. Is Soros funding his own ALEC? How many candidates is he backing. Until you give us the facts, quit the "whataboutism".
55
What is it with the old uberwealthy that, rather than engage in philanthropy a la Bill and Melinda Gates, or even to just lavishly spend on themselves, they stay perpetually angry and spend millions to try to force society to bend to their will? I guess money truly can't buy happiness because the Kochs, Mercers, Adelsons, Uihleins just seem like miserable people. This is what Citizens United has wrought, and I feel the same way about Steyer, Soros and those whose views I share. We need dark money out of politics entirely. How much good in the world could be funded with half of what these people spend on lobbyists and attack ads? Heck, a malaria bed net costs a dollar.
52
Boycott their boxes.
25
Feudalism.
60
My patriotic duty is to tell everyone I know, every business owner I know, to never ever purchase even a pencil from ULINE.
NEVER BUY ULINE PRODUCTS.
44
I will no longer give these people my business.
31
Rich people generally believe the fawning praise of their dependents. They are easily manipulated. Pathetic, really.
14
It always amazes me that the richest of the rich, those most capable of paying taxes, hate paying their fair share. I guess being rich comes with the added view that the rich deserve their wealth and should keep all of it. But of course the poor deserve to be poor because they are lazy and don't care. So they live in Lake Forest, the enclave for the rich but move their corporate headquarters to Wisconsin so they can save taxes. How is it that the rich want everyone to emulate them, that they are somehow the chosen ones. The rich have never paid their fair share. Unfortunately, too many of them emulate Jay Gatsby. They are shallow, selfish self serving and in the end they are all food for the worms and soon forgotten. The power of impermanence.
34
Is this a fairy tale of a beautiful rich couple or a corrupt story of a sinister pair? If this is accepted as a normal story, there must be something wrong systemically.
13
The old movie, “Sullivan’s Travels” comes to mind. These two might, for kicks, don old clothes, buy an old car, and travel America. Stay in cheap motels, eat at ....franchises. And listen. To real people. Camp in a tent at state/nat’l parks, not in a giant RV. Visit large cities that are multicultural centers, the very melting pots that created the land of opportunity they now take advantage of. Consider giving money, not to candidates, not to individual businesses, but to city governments. Let their democratic reps decide about bandstands, walking trails, etc.
They’ve lost their faith in democracy. Maybe they can find the real America and celebrate it - maybe.
12
Thanks for this article. My company of 1700 employees will not be using Uline any longer.
39
Coming soon to a new tax reform bill near you: The filthy rich will be able to deduct their political deductions, billions a year in total, directly from income and won't have to bother with it as a newly approved "itemized deduction."
16
I cancelled their catalog. I’m not even a business, but they still send it. It’s printed on slick plastic like paper that I’m not sure is recyclable. They’re entitled bigots and people should boycott their businesses. Northern Wisconsin is beautiful with plenty of places to visit that they don’t own, come see ‘em!
25
I wish the NY Times would create a file with all the top Republican donors, their companies/products and substitutes. Then do the same exercise for Democratic Party donors. Then the Greens, Libertarians and others.
If my dollar is my only vote, I want to know which policies my hard earned income goes to support.
30
NYT, please keep exposing these companies, their owners and their politics so people can vote with their wallets since money seems to be the only thing that matters these days.
27
No more 3-inch catalogs of junk made in China for me!
36
Me too!
20
I cannot believe that a good person with decent values could believe what this couple does.
14
America, the best democracy money can buy.
Now the richest banana republic money can buy.
SAD.
40
The couple are also major donors at the Out Of Door Academy in Sarasota and Lakewood Ranch where a campus is named after them.
6
Apart from anything else, their catalogs are an environmental disaster. Like the phone books of old they are such a waste of unsolicited paper along with all the gasoline and back breaking work to deliver them. Boycott ULINE.
24
I will NEVER buy these products again for my businesses. NEVER
27
Another old, rich, white couple who thinks the world is theirs to control and rule. This is why Citizens United needs to be banned by a constitutional amendment. I had never heard of these two, so thank you for putting their names, faces and company name out there. No business to Uline from me or any of my friends.
31
If there were ever an example of why big private money must be removed from our election process - this is it.
The Uihleins are entitled to their twisted views. But they should not have such power to influence and manipulate our democracy. Some would call them "believers" in America. I would call them arrogant haters - dangerously influential. They are essentially traitors to everything this country has stood for.
Remove all big private money from elections. No PACs. Candidates could accept individual contributions up to $100 per voting age individual (corporations aren't people in this case).
Taxpayer funded debates and interviews by journalists would provide a forum for any aspirant. Will you miss those negative ads? They are almost always lies - I think we could live without them, eh?
If you think my proposal violates the 1st Amendment, perhaps you should consider what the media landscape was like in September of 1787.
The Oligarchs have taken over this country much in the way the "Blob" globbed through the world in the film.
58
Good to know. i will be sending back their big, fat, anti-ecological catalog - with postage due - each time i get it.
19
If I could find a complete accounting of ALL major contributors ($1,000,000 and up) I think it would be shocking to see exactly how much our politics are controlled by the moneyed class. I expect most of us would be horrified to see how MANY people on both sides of the political fence are out to make America run their way.
We have seen our country's floodgates open and I just don't see how this can be remedied. But I sure would like it to be.
15
Oh, I've heard of them. That's why their latest catalogue went straight into the recycling. However, since I now know there are screeds within, I'll pull it out and check out just how nasty they might be. And then I'll recycle it permanently, perhaps saving a tree or two, and place my order with a company propelled by beliefs at least somewhat closer to mine. My bank account may not be as big as theirs, but if they can operate using the power of the purse, so can I. And so can you.
44
From the article one can conclude, the couple is a self-centered, and selfish social menace. They can save the ultra-right wing white nationalist thinking for now but their grandchildren will see a different color of America. they will not be able to save them from the change that is inevitable. Money has amny purposes except buying happiness like Anthony Bourdain who committed suicide. Election campaign funding means wastage of money because policies developed state wide or nationally is a concensus thing among diverse views. Supporting super conservative leaders will not always bring that concensus. None of those leaders like Mr. Trump will bring dignity, civility and self respect and respect to others. It will further polarize the society. The couplec could have spent money to support education, cancer research and world's hunger.
17
There's something you can do about this. Small businesses routinely order their packaging--boxes, etc--from U-line. Ask the small business owners you know to switch to a different supplier.
30
What is ultimately shocking here is not that the Uihleins hold ultra-conservative reviews, but the extent to which our country's political future is now determined by the ultra-wealthy.
38
If we don't know about these people it is because they manage to keep out of the news. Thank you for reporting on the donors. We need to know more about the people who are undermining democracy.
30
Apparently more than one family that owned/owns breweries and other big biz execs took a hard right turn and "sells" their version of "democracy" for "free".
Force everyone else to buy their philosophy or be destroyed, is their new version of how their version of how "democracy" should work...their way or the highway.
Except their power of wealth is the new drug for dictatorship, not democracy.
It looks like their race to the bottom of the third world, to see who can destroy our democracy first...Uihlein, Kochs, Mercers, Ricketts, or Trump et al..
40
Coming around the bend, it looks like Trump is winning for the moment, which does not give me peace. But neither would any of the rest of them.
3
Oh great! More old white people deciding how the rest of us should live. Must be nice to have so much cash you can model the world in your own image.
51
Lovely aren't they? Today's Republican party. An abomination.
53
Here is an excellent example of why the US had an income tax rate of 90% in the 1950's. Instead of taking care to raise wages and take care of employees these two meddle in politics with the hard earned work of their employees.
54
And the estate tax to stop the creation these dynasties.
22
Whatever money can buy. And whether conservative or liberal. Pocketbook politics on both sides of the aisle. Very American.
11
I 'll never understand why folks who have more money than they will ever know what to do with are so singularly obsessed with supporting causes that allow then to acquire more.
42
Agreed. It's a mystery. Perhaps acquiring money is the only real skill they have? Like robots, they have to keep doing the same thing over and over again. It's all they know.
8
Agree. It's obscene.
10
Well, that order to Uline that’s in the shopping basket just waiting for me to hit the “pay” button isn’t going to happen...and I’ll be cancelling the Uline catalogue that arrives in the mail every year. As an office supply junkie, I always enjoyed perusing it, but no more. I could never in good conscience spend a penny enriching these people. Their beliefs are odious. Thank you (not) to Republican appointees of the Supreme Court, for giving such extremely rich and politically extreme Americans so much power in our increasingly fragile democracy.
69
Nobody can argue that Republicans buy Government. One can easily turn cynical, discouraged and avoid to participate in civil duties, such as voting and push to be heard. The destruction of the Nation as we know, Trump and irresponsible billionaires buying their ways to dictatorship.
30
Oh please. This isn't about citizens lacking enthusiasm for carrying out their "civic duties." If you haven't come to understand by now the power of negative social media and propaganda television and radio networks now controlled by these people who blast the same corrupted message of lies and garbage in a never ending spew, you haven't been paying attention. What they do is no different than what the Russians did during the 2016 Presidential election, and are in the process of doing once again during primaries and will be in full force during the 2018 mid-terms.
12
It occurs to me that the same sentiments described here about the Uihleins may equally apply to American influence in many parts of the world. Something to think about.
15
Limits on campaign financing need to be re-established and the Supreme Court needs to reconsider.
37
This article shows the impact of the pernicious Citizens United case. It may eventually require a constitutional amendment to overturn it, but while we wait for that to happen more can be done.
Under the current law, the government can't prevent wealthy donors from buying political ads. So why not take the advice of free speech advocates who say the way to really ensure free speech is to have more of it?
Almost every community in the country is served by some form of public TV or radio. Why not shift campaign debates, town halls and political interviews to those systems?
We might also require the privately owned TV and radio stations to provide a certain amount of free time to election debates. After all, the airwaves belong to us. We've given them a license to use them, but that license is not without conditions.
One of those conditions should be to balance the political playing field with "free time" immediately on all public stations and as the cable and over the air license renewals come up, require that media grant equal time to candidates during an election cycle.
Those who can buy more time can do so. But at least wealth won't completely dominate what the public will hear.
49
So what can we do? I already support the End Citizens United campaign but how do we get actual movement? Where’s the legal challenge going to come from? Help!
11
Clearly you have never been up against one of their campaigns, in which you must oppose a seemingly endless flow of cash support for the opposition, and endless eruption of false claims pushed not only to their own propaganda sites, but also picked up by the local media.
The Uihleins and their paid agents can make up 10 falsehoods in less time than it takes to type this reply (and definitely in much less time than it would take to research responses and get the verified facts accepted by the public).
13
There are a large number of comments here saying people should or will boycott or already do boycott uline.
The problem with this idea is that there are about a hundred of these scoundrel families to boycott, and progressives dilute their efforts when they attack them one by one. Its a game of whack-a-mole. What is needed is a clearinghouse of actions, perhaps organized on the web, where people can vote to agree to a focused boycott of a limited number of targets, no more than five, say, with the announced intention of bringing said targets to their knees. The boycott would continue until they agree to (i) distribute some large fraction of their wealth to some progressive cause -- like say the per-capita-poorest 5000 school districts in the country (ii) agree never to contribute another penny to a political party, PAC, or "charity" (iii) pay every worker a living wage with humane benefits on health, sick leave etc.
Once the five worst offenders have dealt with, the boycotts could move on to the next on the list. Progressives need to divide and conquer just like these regressives do.
72
I was born in Milwaukee in 1936 and did not leave Wisconsin permanently until 1966. There was no such entity as YOU-line during my years in Milwaukee. It was E-line. Perhaps that changed when Schlitz went under ignominiously years ago.
13
Campaign advertising -- Wikipedia:
"Many countries restrict the use of media to broadcast political messaging. In the European Union, many countries do not permit paid-for TV or radio advertising for fear that wealthy groups will gain control of airtime, making fair play impossible and distorting the political debate in the process."
Wealthy groups, distorting the political debate! Just imagine, they don't want this!
In other democracies they use free media time to let voters know what their candidates propose. In the US, politics distorted by big money is actually normalized and legalized per the Supreme Court in Citizens United. Media ads are the biggest expense, and require financing by our political billionaires and corporations.
But it's reached such a point that most voters and even some politicians want to get big money out of our politics. Some Democrats are now calling for reversal of Citizens United. I saw it on Cspan coverge. We never see this discussed on the usual news media.
How about it, NY Times, plz add to the discussion in a democracy with a free press.
49
Not sure how accurate this info is:
https://www.opensecrets.org/overview/topindivs.php
Among the top-10 this couple is #2. However, equally disturbing is ranks 1,3,4, 5,7,8, 9 are all Democrat contributors with only 2, 6 and 10 being Republicans. So the liberals here should be worried how much of Democrat policies are hijacked by Special Interest groups as we have seen in the recent cheating of Bernie Sanders.
20
You mean how Bernie runs as a democrat in Vermont then when he gets the nomination rejects it thereby blocking others from running on the Democratic ticket? Get over the Bernie loss or you'll sink another election.
15
The top 14 political donors give more than twice as much to liberal/Democratic candidates than to conservative ones.
https://www.opensecrets.org/overview/topindivs.php
So I wouldn’t fret too much over the U-Lines. Just don’t buy from them. They abuse paper with their gigantically heavy mailed catalogues anyway. I always threw them away immediately, but felt guilty having to do it.
14
I don’t see how one effectively boycotts a company like this when they make packaging supplies. I can not control who the distributors use as a packaging material company.
2
You beat me to the punch. I get so annoyed with those big catalogs as I also find it to be a waste of paper and feel bad that now I am contributing to the waste problem. Never signed up for it either which also infuriates me!
4
My business used to get this Uline Catalog, until we found a page of stilted propaganda buried deep inside and realized we could never order anything from people promoting such revolting ideas. Nor did we want the item on our premises for our customers and employees to be exposed to it. It took quite awhile for Uline to accept that we were having none of it. They kept sending their catalog and we kept asking to be removed from their mailing list. I did feel it particularly interesting that she buried her garbage commentary so well somewhere between page 383 and 4... Like, if you believe so strongly in your party platform why not just put it on the cover so your customers can opt out? Because you want my money to promote your drivel? So not happening...
96
I know what you mean. For years I received the ACLU's boilerplate political propaganda and solicitations to join. At first I threw them away, but they kept coming, relentlessly. Then I started sending the solicitations back with a note asking them to remove my name from their mailing list. That didn't work, so I telephoned and asked them to stop sending their mailings and to take me off the list. The person I spoke to gave me some rope-a-dope excuse, but eventually the mailings stopped. Later I moved to a new town and the mailings resumed. Now I just throw them away.
5
@ Stephanie Saul and Danny Hakim, Last name pronounced like E-line, not U-line.
I lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and for a small while was part of the Milwaukee Uihlein social circles. I only mention this because they pronounce their last name as if it starts with an E.
Oh yes, they still lament about the demise of Schlitz beer (snore).
14
I bought some CD mailers from Uline years ago. Ever since, they periodically send me the largest, heaviest catalog of products imaginable - the thing weighs pounds. I've contacted them numerous times to stop sending it; each issue probably responsible for an acre of clearcut, easy. But they continue to show up no matter what I do. The things follow me around the country like an albatross from a lumberyard. Now I learn about these creepy trillionaires running the joint. Moral: never, ever order anything from Uline. You - and our nations forests - will regret it on a variety of levels.
77
James, maybe you could try opting out from the Uline catalog using the DMAChoice.org /or/ Catalogchoice.org
The NYT recently posted an article about this:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/08/smarter-living/how-to-cut-down-on-unw...
I did this a few years ago and was able to get rid of a lot of junk mail.
7
This is what more wealth than you can ever use gets you, the power to control peoples lives and promote your personal eccentricities without consequences. You can’t have representative democracy and unrestrained wealth without devolving into plutocracy, the money is speech trope that the Robert’s court has burdened us with will be our undoing. For wealthy people like these influence is a zero sum game and domination is the goal, all else is just smoke & mirrors. We’re either servants, tools or commodities to them and they don’t mean us well.
36
Thanks to the so-called Reagan Revolution, Saint Ronnie, Buckley v Valeo and Citizen's United and their progeny, we now live in an oligarchy undergirded by money, racism, and Christian fascism.
53
Add 'criminal exploitation of the natural environment' and you're right on target.
11
Of course they do, it pays off. They know where there bottom line is and they know which party will give them payments where it counts.
5
These folks likely are spending their money on what they think is most beneficial to all according to their life experiences and wisdom.
Had they gave all to planned parenthood the toxic vilification here could have been avoided.
6
I've purchased their products in the past for my small business. Now I know to take my business elsewhere.
36
I too, will need to look elsewhere.
7
This is why I subscribe to the NYT. Thank you for the reporting.
43
I guess "live and let live" does not fit into the Uihlein playbook though they could do so much good directing their philanthropy towards poor kids, hunger, education, all those pesky social justice issues.
27
Reading about this couple makes me wonder if they are related somehow to another likeminded person from Wisconsin. The late Senator Joseph McCarthy.
20
That’s it for me: no more purchases from U-line. By the way they waste a lot of paper with their catalogs.
29
The Uihlein family is well known in Milwaukee. The pronunciation is EEE-line.
12
For some reason, these two people believe their opinions matter so much more than everyone else's that they can call the shots and the change the rules for an entire country. Yet another prime example of why big money in politics is absolute poison, and another reason to limit the unfettered power of the exorbitantly wealthy through progressive taxation.
29
Apparently it is now a conservative cause to destroy the United States. I guess when the tariffs start affecting the one--percenters, then things will change. It isn't an autocracy now, but it sure is a kleptocracy---don't forget about all of those guns we (the poor 99 percenters) have--purge time?
17
Thank you John Roberts and the other Supremes who brought us Citizens United.
17
Oh...we've heard of them and stopped using Uline for our graphic arts supply needs a year ago. Our creative studio was never a big customer for them, but we've made sure they're off the approved vendor list for the rest of the ad agency.
29
Hmmm. So only a Republican problem, huh? No extreme equivalents on the Democratic side?
7
I have heard of them, and my small business stopped buying from them immediately when I did. It's past time to stop calling figures like the Uileins "conservative". They are reactionary, in the worst sense of the word.
23
“They typically support broad access to assualt weapons.”
All I need to know: boycott ULINE. Our society does not need assualt weapons only the military needs assualt weapons.
27
The most powerful conservative couple you never heard of? The Uihleins show we can over emphasize the importance of money in politics. This married couple has spent millions backing losers and kooks.
8
I went to the VAULT website, which has a page concerning employee reviews of working for Uline. How many years has it been in business? It was started in 1980. There isn't one review posted. "Be the first to review."
I guess employees are keeping a low profile. 37 years and not one review. Wow.
11
Another person, born into wealth, who's hobby is now to promulgate his various whims.
10
... questioned their (veterins who vote democratic) thought process" as in "I think they must be crazy"? Doesn't sound quite that bad, does it? I've said that about good friends before.
Citizens United has destroyed the US more than any other legislation ever passed. We are living in the hellish nightmare of post Citizens United. Bags of money to buy and control politicians, fund fake news outlets, and destroy the majority of the American people. This allows this very tiny minority to bend the rules to their advantage. Enough is enough! Please get out and vote Democrats in November to save your kids, your country and the world.
16
Well, I'm done with Uline. These two are beyond the pale. Pass it on.
16
People like this are why we need campaign finance reform. No more super PACs.
14
I switched container companies after I read about these two recently.
23
I suppose the fact that the decision in Citizens United (concerning corporations and unions) has nothing to do with the contents of this article should be seen as only a minor blip by those engaged in the denunciation of how this couple chooses to spend their dollars in support of ideas they champion.
1
I appreciate this information immensely. I have purchased shipping supplies from Uline for years but I will never buy another thing from them. These people need to run their businesses and stay out of politics.
19
Our manufacturing company had been buying supplies from U-Line for many years but when we heard about this a few months ago, we decided that even it costs us, we would change suppliers. it did take some effort but to our great surprise, we are now actually saving money while at the same time have stopped supporting a company owner who blatantly undermines democracy.
23
I'll be talking to our materiel management staff next week to make sure the shipping department isn't using U-Line products.
19
...and I just stopped buying boxes from ULine I guess. Sigh.
13
I generally use either Uline or papermart. Now, just papermart. I am also still boycotting Fed Ex
regarding their NRA stand and use UPS.
17
Well, it sounds like they are fairly incompetent. Not the worst thing I can think of when it comes to conservatives. Let them fund more Moores.
2
Overturn Citizens United- one of the worst Supreme Court decisions ever!
13
Good to know. Now I can shred my uline catalog.
15
Won’t be buying any shipping supplies from Uline.
14
They sure seem like a bundle of laughs.
10
My firm will immediately cease use of Uline. They do not share our values.
14
Stains on a great state.
6
Now that I know the Uihleins own the place I know why Manitowish Waters looks so faux northwoods. Money and power are hard to resist, but corrosive. Sounds like the Uihleins have the locals just where they want them--under their thumb, bought and paid for.
11
I’ve stopped buying any products from Uline.
12
Places I will never shop again...Uline.
My money is green too.
11
I've heard of the Uihleins. I get their huge catalog every couple of months. Once many years ago, before I knew about their politics, I bought something from them. Overpriced, like almost everything else in their catalog. They keep sending me their catalog. And I keep throwing it in the recycle trash. With a twinge of pleasure as I realize the small contribution I'm making by reducing their bottom line.
9
Good to know.....calling Uline first thing tomorrow morning to remove my name from their catalog list.
12
I just sent a corporate memo to stop purchasing from ULine. Thanks for the info.
13
Control freaks, as well as supporters of Roy Moore ... that is all I need to know to convince me to never again place another Uline order.
12
Uline will receive not one more cent from me.
Shame on this couple.
14
I had no idea these horrible people were behind Uline. Thanks to the NYT I will never buy from them again.
13
These people sound like the most horrible people. But I’m sure they are very nice when you meet them in person.
2
Some sad thoughts based on the comments:
1) The commenters who buy from Uline seem to have had good experiences with the products and services--the business is good at meeting the needs of its customers.
2) By boycotting the business, it is Uline's 6,000 workers (who provide the high customer satisfaction) who will be hurt the most.
3) Assuming Uline obeys the law and is an equal opportunity employer, worker households of all races, ethnicities, religions and genders will be impacted.
7
With all due respect, the Uihleins made the decision to play dirty politics by spending $26 million. Some of that money came from their customers, who can also choose to shop elsewhere if they do not want to fund dirty politics. The 6,000 workers could also be helped by the Uihleins if they were the recipients of that money instead of politicians who are intent on undermining our democracy.
8
Yes, possibly. But then it is incumbent on the Uihleins to stop purchasing politicians to benefits themselves so that the boycott stops and their employees aren’t affected. Or to not lay off employees if their distasteful politics and spending hurts the company.
8
I'm delighted to see that ULine just lost quite a few customers. Long may it last, unless they have a change of heart.
Money is not the same thing as intelligence or caring for humanity. Nauseating!
19
You are correct, that's why Hillary spent well over a $Billion of other people's money just in the last election alone, and was beaten by a guy who barely spent $100 million, mostly of his own money.
4
As a (very) small businesses owner, I used to purchase supplies from Uline. However, I ceased dealing with the company once I learned that my purchases were going into lobbying and supporting hard-right conservative politicians. It also doesn’t help that they include some of the oddest ramblings in their enormous printed catalog, which they’re fond of mailing out about once every week...
15
BUT stay on their mailing list/ costs them !
3
As much as I’d love to, the environmental impact of those lousy catalogs is too painful for me to bear. I’ll just rip off the cover and write a saccharine-sweet note clarifying my thoughts and wish to be removed from the mailing list, much like the time I received an invitation from the Robert Jeffress’ First Baptist Church. THAT was a doozy...
4
Against food stamps, but more than happy to take millions in taxpayer funds to relocate from Illinois to Wisconsin. What is wrong with this picture?
243
They take the world, the Constitution, the laws, all a la carte.
17
Food stamps are never paid back, tax breaks for companies are quickly recouped through sales, usage, property, and income taxes of not just the company and it's employee's, but all the ancillary companies and their employee's who also will profit. I have NEVER seen the U.S. Government turn a profit, strange.
3
Is this a town or duchy?
60
It warps the mind to think that Citizens United, as a key decision is the undoing of our democratic republic, was decided by a single vote.
118
Anthony Kennedy should be ashamed of citizens united.
142
Why is it always the rich people who are looking to change society to their worldview complaining that society is not to their liking?
Whatever their complaints may be, it seems that life has treated them well, but why do the say it is never enough for them? Why should we care what their complaints may be? Their influence will no end until big money is removed. From politics.
120
Greed. Monetary, political. No difference. Rich is right. Don't we see it all around us.
Fascist or communist, it's all the same. Power.
6
I think it was Jack Lemmon in the movie The Apartment who said, "Since the beginning it's been a struggle between the selfish and the unselfish." Fortunately the world has become too small for all the senseless megalomaniacs the American empire seems to invariably churn out.
10
I get their catalogs and I’ll still throw them away, regardless. I’m not into shipping.
22
Holier than thou comments with threats of Uline boycott, at least democrats have option of boycotting political donors they don’t like. What about the other side. How do we boycott urban public employee unions which exclusively fund democrats who in turn have promised them unsustainable benefits now bankrupting Illinois and cities in California.
14
you can move away from those cities.
3
California has the 7th largest economy in the world, not just the US, the world. Whereas Wisconsin has the reputation of being the most anti-Black state in the Union.
4
Not threats kiddo. Decisions to purchase elsewhere. My company will not help support political and social extremists.
2
I grew up with this family in Lake Forest, IL. Same country club, same schools. They are incurious and unintelligent, the sort of people who consider their every advantage to be a result of their unique skills and work. They are blind to the notion of an ethical field in which we are all obligated to one another in some way, whether we choose to engage or not. They are white and rich and blinkered, and they think remaking the world to their tastes is an unquestionable gift to the planet. Nobody who believed him or herself a member of community—eg, anyone who recognized that work and luck are twin factors in life’s spoils—took them for anything other than dullard hacks with a pretty good game on the paddle tennis court.
177
will no longer use Uline.
89
I find it hard to hold back utter disdain for these two. How can two ignorant out of touch people wield so much power. If this is allowed to continue our freedoms are doomed.
74
No more business with Uline.
89
Never heard of? These people are as easy to spot as the Kochs if you pay attention.
Just because someone is good at business does not equate to being good at anything else. By their wealth alone, these people can circumvent and impose their appalling and demented beliefs on an entire country.
Yet, the country sleeps.
The country is due a huge wake up call. This isn't IBM 1965.
22
Terrifying to see these horrible faces over and over again of people who can control an entire country just because they have money.
77
But they can't. many of their candidates are losing.
3
Thanks for the info. I have ordered from Uline in the past. No more.
103
Why do you say we've never heard of them? Everyone who receives the ULINE catalog gets the "bonus" of a page-long unhinged rant from Liz every month. They're not exactly flying under the radar.
45
Friends don’t let friends buy Uline. Thank you NYTimes for exposing these traitors. Please continue exposing these enemies of democracy. If the wealthy can buy political influence then we the people must also vote with our wallets when deciding what products we buy.
105
I believe I read that people from counties who voted for Hilary Clinton in 2016 accounted for 2/3 of US GDP and 1/3 of GDP for Trump voting counties. This means Democratic leaning counties (people) have a lot of power, away from the ballot box, and if they use it money speaks and politicians and businesses will listen (hopefully). For example, while Trump pulls us out of the Paris Accord many businesses are supporting green energy anyway.
17
This is the cost of unchecked greed.
53
These people are obscene. They have no redeeming social value to justify their existence while politicians prostitute themselves for donations. I would much rather see them on their fancy yachts enjoying themselves than forcing their trite, unconcerned political views onto others. What have these egotistical people done to help anyone but themselves.
58
It is rather pathetic when we have to worry about whether our purchase of toilet paper (Georgia Pacific owned by the Koch Bros.) or shipping boxes from Uline is used to fund the deliberate undermining of our democracy.
Thanks, NYT for exposing these people. It isn't enough anymore to vote at the ballot box, we need to be informed voters with our wallets.
210
White, rich and racist. Nothing new here.
125
I read this article and it makes me sick. We’re going to need more guillotines if the 99% ever wake up and realize how their country has been stolen from them by greedy oligarchs.
59
I’m ready for the revolution.
6
There is nothing American or democratic about these people. They are Fascists through and through.
101
$26 million, eh? Someone explain to me what's democratic about that.
31
Again and again Citizen's United is proven to be a lie.
I don't have millions to give to push my agenda, yet the Uihleins, the Mercers, the Kochs, have an outsized influence on our elections because they have a lot of money, and in some cases it is inherited.
This is why a $1.5 Trillion tax cut was pushed through for the richest people in this country.
This is why the estate tax was overturned by the feckless, corrupt Republicans in Congress.
This is why the 1% are pushing through cuts to Social Security and calling it an "entitlement," something I've been paying into my entire life. Even a so-called Democrat, Howard Schultz, billionairea who has more money than 99% of the world wants to cut Social Security and Medicare, even though a majority of older Americans need these programs in order to survive.
Money does NOT equal speech.
We need to get money out of politics.
Now.
131
boycott their businesses in a way that hurts- AND let them know.
26
I hope folks who do business with U Line make a bee line away from the company.
Also, why are Liz and Dick wearing thin plastic ponchos at Trumpo’s inauguration? Cheap is as cheap does.
28
It's so they'd look like "regular folks", instead of multimillionaires who are using their money to refashion America to their sensibilities.
4
Libertarian oriented "conservatives" (completely different from 'Burkean' conservatives) are, in essence, sociopaths subscribed to the "philosophy" of sociopaths. It appears from this article that the Uihleins are not pure Libertarians in the sense that they want to manifest some traditional social conservative rule. Libertarians, if they are purely philosophical believe pot should be legal as should any sexual orientation. In essence, anyone can do what they want as long as it doesn't affect what they imagine are property rights.
But what is manifest both in Libertarian reality and with the U-Lines is that because they have the money, they call the shots for everybody else. Libertarians fantasize that this is actual liberty and individuals making individual agreements based on their independence and freedom. They steadfastly refuse to acknowledge the power of money and of massive imbalances of ownership and insist this is the best for everyone to live because freedom.
People get confused about the apparent philanthropy of U-Line and Koch-like entities. But even a semi-close reading of the story demonstrates that the motive of the U-Lines in helping others in Manitowish Waters is purely selfish. The clearly understand the town as their town, the others just live there.
Libertarian "philosophy" is the philosophy of sociopathy. The ironically named "freedom caucus" and the Koch's vast infrastructure of libertarian 'think tanks' are an existential threat to US democracy.
20
What gives multi-millionaires and billionaires the right to control society around them?
Just because they have money does not make their views about the world better than everyone else's views.
Its time to get this type of money out of politics. Its killing our democracy!
30
follow the $$$ all over US, in fact worldwide ‘democracies’ - money talks; strengthened by [non]citizens [un]united
6
These people are racist. They sicken me.
19
What this timely report did not say is that the Uihlein's slate of candidates for the school board failed to win the election in Lake Forest, IL.
It culminated in a lopsided outcome.
A clear majority of the voters cast their ballots for a highly qualified slate of candidates, some of whom were seeking re-election.
The Uihlein slate over the course of the campaign revealed themselves unable to gain the public's trust.
This episode reminds me of Abraham Lincoln's well-known trope: "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."
46
It seems possible that labeling the Uihleins' hard right conservatives may be a bit unfair to a decent hard right conservative who may be hiding in a cave somewhere. The Uihleins seem more accurately described as dangerously empowered, rich, bigoted nitwits, much like Trump.
35
My, my our oligarchs are not any fun at all.
17
thanks for the info. have purchased from Uline for years, and will never do so again.
42
As has been said many times. We need to get money out of politics.
With the discrepancy in wages and wealth, now more than ever.
17
Thank you NYTIMES! I will never buy from uline again. In fact I'm calling them first thing tmrw to tell them to stop sending those wasteful catalogue. I'm so perturbed with the fact that I gave those people my hard earned money.
Any suggestions for a decent replacement? I need small mailers, boxes, etc...
26
let them keep sending you their catalog - costs you nothing to recycle
for other suppliers do a online search - - lots of suppliers
i ‘bet’ uline product is made in china!
1
I recently made my first purchase from Uline Canada, but regretted it upon reading about this horrible couple. Thank you for letting me know. I've let the company know why I will never buy from them again.
29
Money is speech ... what nonsense !
14
Thank you for outing these greedheads.
We'll not be buying anything from Uline again!
58
Good to know. I own a business and we use them for shipping supplies. No more. Thank you NYT.
89
The only good in such evil people is their being exposed for what they are.
10
Your country for sale. Bye bye Miss American Pie...
11
Despicable and dangerous people. Thank you NYT for informing us how people like these are trying to own and run the country just by the sheer amount of money and power that they have. They have to be stopped. This country belongs to Us, the People, not those with the purse strings who can flaunt their homophobe and racist ideas and elect a monster like the one we have in the WH now. if people like this couple, the Mercers, the Kochs and so forth have any more power this country and its democracy will die forever. Poor America!!!
16
This racist intolerant white uprising is like an incurable plague. Any company that ships me products in their packaging is going to get immediate complaints and no more orders until they switch suppliers. The spread of this hatred and ignorance needs to be stopped by votes and boycotts.
47
Wonderful! Let’s now conduct business based on political affiliation. Hmmm banana republic comes to mind.
6
Citizens United has guaranteed that people like the Uihlein's can buy our government. Their views may be wacky but, like the Mercers, their money "trumps" every sensible policy that they oppose. How can American citizens tolerate this royal system, where the royalty is anyone with money. Everyone else can go whistle. If you don't have the money, no one listens.
29
These "people" are sick, truly unAmerican. To say nothing of their twisted worldview, the "political engineering" they are doing should be illegal. We desperately need campaign finance reform -- we have to get the money out of politics!
1. Put a limit / maximum on how much any candidate running for any public office can spend (in total on their campaign, from staffing to expenses - everything).
2. Give each candidate free equal air time for commercials and radio, print, mail etc.
3. Eliminate PACs and all outside money.
The only good news is that these people (and others like Murdoch and Koch) are in their seventies.
23
Limit political donations to individuals, no PACs and cap those donations at $1000 per person.
6
Agree completely, people should be elected on their merits and not how much money they have to tear down their opponents.
However while these people may be in their seventies, it's likely their children will take up from where they leave off. This won't end anytime soon.
3
1. The Supreme Court has spoken fairly decisively about campaign limitations in Buckley v Valeo, Citizens United v FEC, and possibly others. Correction would require significant modification of the first amendment, and is not likely to happen any time soon.
2. Some might argue that requiring free media would constitute a "taking" requiring compensation under the fifth amendment. Arguably, concern about media coverage might better be directed at news editors who evidently choose interesting over dull, and even outrageous over conventional. Unfortunately, solving that might run into that pesky first amendment.
3. Eliminating PACs also raises serious first amendment issues that would be very hard to circumvent.
Alternatively, tamp down the outrage and relax a bit. There are plenty of rich and high income progressives to balance things out. According to opensecrets.org, Clinton's campaign raised nearly 70% more than Trump's, and she had more than three times the outside money, and id did not all come in small donations.
1
Imagine if they wanted to do good, like the Gates. Instead, they use their heaps of cash to harm our nation. Shame on them.
38
A. The Gates people have their own agenda which is not always so wonderful.
2
People like these, and the scope they have to influence elections, mean America is no longer a democracy.
29
The greatest lie ever told in the Bible - and the greatest lie Jesus ever told himself and his followers is that the meek shall inherit the Earth. The answer is rather more pedestrian. Rich jerks have since the dawn of time and it's never enough for them.
19
The greatest lie is the Bible itself!
10
They may mean well, but the rich do not do well for the poor. Time for a class war?
11
These types of people including the Kochs, Adelson, and the Mercers are not a good influence for this nation. Their Libertarian views are not self sustaining and their money is poisonous to the country’s political health. They represent the proof of money controlling our politics through the auspices of the 2010 Citizens United ruling. The have spent $26 million to influence our elections. Where is the fairness in this?
26
If people would not be such dumb followers and think about the issues from unselfish, educated points of view instead of watching political commercials as if they were true, all the money in the world couldn't help a candidate.
12
For what it’s worth, the Kochs are recently putting their money behind reinstating DACA and on prison sentencing reform. They are also backing a Democratic candidate for US Senate, but don’t let any facts get in your way of trying to lump them in with these people and Rebekah Mercer.
2
Apparently not many people are other than concrete thinkers.
It made me sick reading this. These people are poison. GOTV and please, my dear commenters, please stop theorizing on what needs to be done. This is a life or death proposition: we need ACTION. GOTV today in your city and state.
18
just got their catalog in the mail, and now straight into the trash.
29
Of course you mean recycles not trash...
The send a copy of this catalogue the size of a phonebook for a small town with every single order, assume they bill the customer for the weight.
2
Two thoughts:
1) These are truly despicable people.
2) We must get money out of politics.
40
Then don't allow political television commercials. The T.V. stations are making a killing off of them, and stupid America can't see that as a problem.
8
Thank you NYT! I have a small business and have bought their products often, but will never again spend a single dime with them. How many small businesses are out there that feel the same? #BoycottUline
43
The destruction of the American social contract is underway powered by people who can never have enough!
16
Good to know, I'll never spend another cent on their products.
50
These are some very dangerous people who hate Republican democracy and our 200 years as a open society. They will do whatever it takes to ensure that the “little people” will no longer have a say in how the country is run. This is the endgame for these people who fear that majority rule might one day deprive them of something
23
Oh no, this tiny village is where I have to go for family reunion this summer.
11
Don't go.
11
On the contrary - go and observe what's happening to the town due to the Uihleins' money and influence.
So they don't like pot? I'd suggest shrooms for this couple.
From what I've been reading in top-flight news outlets (including the NYT) about the serious academic research being done on psilocybin mushrooms and other psychedics, it appears these experiences can give people the sense that we are all interconnected - people, animals, plants etc.
Under proper guidance, of course!
Could change their perspective!
20
Remember in November
31
Could you say that again.
2
As long as $$$ = speech the wealthy will have more speech than the rest of us.
This can only be addressed at the SCOTUS level. It may be the single largest impediment to democracy in our country.
I'm not a supreme court justice but it seems to me the only rational view is that SPEECH is for human beings, and in the case of political speech, for citizens. I think that neither corporations nor unions should be allowed to contribute to political causes. ONLY eligible voters should be allowed to contribute $$$ to politics. We have laws that forbid foreigners from contributing. So there's a precedent.
I don't care if the CEO of Exxon wants to contribute out of his private funds. But ZERO corporate money should be allowed into the process, and that goes for lobbying as well. Paid access to politicians has to end.
15
All money (personal, corporate, union money) must be excised from our political system. All of it. Only then we can we have something approximating democracy. A constitutional amendment is the only way out I’m afraid.
3
The New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal, corporations all, arguably have as much free speech as the Uihleins, Kochs, and Mercers who, like it or not, are spending their own money. So do NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, and CNN, all of them corporations as well.
Some would object that those corporations are "the press" and therefore protected. And that would be true, but irrelevant: there is no good reason to think the first amendment applies - or should - more or differently to the corporate press than to any citizen or other corporation.
I learned about them prior to this article and immediately stopped buying from their company.
48
Likewise.
15
My family spent summers in Manitowish Waters for decades. It was a magical place for my siblings and me to spend our childhoods. I will never go back there again as long as the Uihleins wield such significant influence in the town: I would not feel safe returning.
46
I would love to know who ULines biggest customers are. Any ideas, friends?
Because my refusing to buying ten moving boxes from ULINE won't matter.
But shareholders of the largest companies that support this radical company might be heard.
Shareholders can gather together to voice their opinions of their investor values- and where they invest their dollars.
23
Sounds like we should boycott U-Line and encourage anybody who ships anything to boycott them. I'm all for crushing these economic despots.
30
This was a good article. Good research to reveal yet more oligarchs telling everyone else what they can and can't do. What's next kill the ones of us who don't obey? Russian oligarchs do. Maybe tbe French had it right in their revolution.
19
I've known about the Uihleins for quite some time, and refuse to buy anything from them, even though I have my own boozy jam business and use a lot of packing supplies. I toss the Uline catalogs immediately.
I knew they were very big republican donors, but didn't know the extent of their meddling. I'm surprised the other residents of Lake Forest put up with any of their ridiculousness (source, am from the north suburbs of IL), but maybe they don't which is why they focus on WI. Hopefully they'll get shot down there too. Not everything and every place is some rich person's fiefdom.
30
Thank you for this article exposing right wing extreme conservative company’s that I will no longer be supporting.
30
Wow! I will never use Uline again. Let those catalogs pile up. What a bunch of creeps.
36
And these are just the ones we know about - just think of how many are scuba diving in the swamp.
16
Why Is it that that so many of these crackpots from Trump to Giuliani, the Bushes and even Clinton and this clan are in their seventies? Do they rationally miss something about the 18th century? Or are they like the crazy old uncle at Thanksgiving or the embarrassing septegenarian bands. Can't they leave the stage gracefully for the next generation?
10
Great to know. Ill never buy their products again.
31
This kind of money is killing democracy in America.
20
Good to know. Our company formally stopped buying from ULine as of today. Thanks, NYTimes.
35
Thanks for including photographs. When one hears the word “fascist,” it’s good to have mental images to match with it.
22
These too rich bullies need to be taxed to the point where they feel it deeply. Conservatives like these should targeted.
15
Corporate customers of Uline largely have no idea they are supporting these wacko's. Spread the word. Buy packing products from someone else.
23
Good to know.
I will be closing my Uline account today.
26
Boycott Uline and companies that use it.
Billionaires have the right to spend their $$$ to express their political views. So do Citizens.
25
Scott Walker tried to push through a sale of state-owned lake frontage in Manitowish Waters that ran in front of one of Mrs. U’s motels, which would have increased the value of her property immensely. That the state did not ask for bids and offered the frontage at a ridiculously low price really annoyed a lot of people up north. That’s how Republican politics work: quid pro quo. Actually, I guess that’s how all politics work, but Republicans have better stuff
25
The Uline catalog is great. We have used it several times and the service is quite good. And when you know a very well managed company it's hard to understand why the owners support guns. We did not know about donations to politicians that are friendly with guns. What are they thinking? Do they have school age grandchildren?
10
Get them where it hurts...I will never ever by from uline again and urge others to do the same.
27
It’s probably too late...their investment in upsetting the American democratic experience seem to be working
6
I will vote with my dollars and will not buy products from Uline.
45
No, just Uline.
9
No...why should we, they're not necessarily fascist like the Uihleins - are they?
3
My thought? Tell the business about the Uline company’s leanings. Any operation with a sliver of ethics will cease the relationship in short order- I certainly did.
5
Thank you NY Times for this article.
The Republican Party is funded by people like the Uihleins and we need to know who they are, what they stand for, and how they think we should live our lives.
We need more articles like this.
50
Thank you New York Times for bringing the insidious Liz and Dick Uihlein to my attention. I receive Uline catalogs and I will not order anything from their company.
39
We completely agree!
13
I'm truly beginning to believe that these people, and others like them playing the same game, have an overarching agenda to bring back the feudalism of the middle ages, when the lower classes lived and worked at the mercy of their wealthy overlords with no protections, no voice and no power. They would do well to recall though, that the peasants fought back.
Thank you NYT. Please being more of these manipulators out of the shadows, so we can know the true identities of our "leadership"
29
Unfortunately, what you describe has already happened.
6
When democracy functions to give a leg up to the “little people” then democracy must go. That is why the Republican Party and folks like the Uilines. Bradley’s, Kochs and addlesons are spending all that cash and effort to protect emperor Trumpkin as he consolidates power. The funny thing is, they actually think they can work with Putin to rule the rest of the world
4
Apparently, narcissism runs rampant in all libertarian business men and women. And, towards the sociopathic end of the continuum.
16
Buying a motel to keep a Pakistani from buying it? Really? That's the same type of Jim Crow stuff that happened in the south.
That's about as bigoted and racist statement as I remember reading about.
33
The non-profit org where I work purchases certain supplies from Uline. Now that I know about their politics, I will try to persuade our buyers to find a different supplier. Thank you NYT!
30
My company has been buying from Uline too. I can change that. I will start doing research.
Here's something I just found.
http://www.weebly.com/inspiration/5-best-alternatives-to-uline/
20
Please read about the husband’s attempts to anchor a floating bog island in his lake plus the wife’s attempts to turn northern Wisconsin into Lake Forest.
18
Dark money, through and through.
I still can't fathom why they hate so much. Power & greed are the true evils of the world.
18
If you can spend $26 million in one election cycle in support right wing candidates your taxes are way too low. At a time when republican policy has shortened the projected dates for shortfalls in funding for social safety net programs, it's time to reverse the current trend of wealth transfer from middle class working families to the wealthy.
53
Amen!
4
You wonder why the Republicans are so quiet in Congress during the daily Trump sideshows? Well they are thrilled with Trump because while the press is chasing the shiny objects and the latest fiasco, the Republicans are doing and undoing all the laws and regulations to keep good folks like this happy.
Vote in November 2018.
51
Agree! I will vote, but I am not waiting. In the meantime I am making small donations to candidates and causes I support who are being targeted by this type of obscene, dark money. I will be sending what I can afford to Sen. Tammy Baldwin D-Wis. I also donated to March for Our Lives Road to Change voter registration bus tour https://marchforourlives.com/road-to-change/. We have to vote in November, but we can start now to help those trying to make change.
10
I am new to politics. Why are rich people more likely republicans and poorer people more likely democrats?
7
Guess it’s time to cancel the order I made with them for those moving boxes. I can’t support crazy.
37
Yes. I'm now looking for lists of companies led by crazy conservatives vs. Democratic-leaning leaders. I will never buy from Uline again. If we vote with our pocketbooks and we're vocal about why, we can take some of the undue economic power away from people like this.
11
I just tossed their newest catalog before I saw the article. Another company I don't need to buy from.
29
They also send out huge catalogs, unsolicited. I will be requesting an immediate halt. Excuse me while I do it right now.
28
Please don't halt the delivery. Throw it out when it comes like I do. Cost them a little money
11
Thank you for this article. Another vendor off the list!
25
With apologies to ABBA (and another apology because I can't make one of those "B's" flip): "Money, money, money. Must be funny in a rich man's world. Money, money, money, always sunny in a rich man's world." That's all that seems to count. Here we have a rich family trying to take over a public entity, a town, and turn it into a private fiefdom in which the residents serve as peasants taking orders from the family seeking to control every aspect of life in the town. Welcome to the 16th century. We missed ya.
26
Right. My mom used to live in a company town in New York State ( Johnson city) where ones’ liquor buying habits were recorded by the company owned liquor store, who’s supervisor would then contact Your Work supervisor at the plant to counsel you about your drinking if they felt you were buying too much booze. That’s the America these folks want to see. Productive drones doing the work while the owner class enjoys their own personal libertarian life style.
14
We are inching our way closer and closer to a modern form of monarchy. Presidents who think their power is absolute. Representatives who only do the bidding of the monied gentry. Schools and community organizations who have to grovel to the rich for handouts. Come on people, wake up, stand up, get involved ... stop thinking these people care anything about your happiness/success/prosperity.
28
More and more I see the Mueller probe as a way to keep us out of the streets in protest while Trumpkin and these sorts of people consolidate their power.
4
In digital commerce it's difficult if not impossible to know the philosophy of those who sell. I almost bought some boxes from Uline once. I'm glad I didn't.
15
No wonder they prefer not to give interviews. Now that I know what is behind Uline, I am adding them to my boycott list - a list that keeps getting longer. Thank you NYT for your consistently great reporting!
28
Old Schlitz beer money.
7
Yep, Schlitz is even more awful than before.
5
Nice to know they don’t like government...until they get a big tax break.
47
There's an Irish saying that goes something like this: "You can tell how God feels about money by the people he gives it to." Never more true than in this case. These people are terrifying.
28
The hallmark of true evil is that no thing or no one is too small for an adherent to pervert or destroy. I am blessed that I can't begin to imagine the depravity and ugliness of the headspace these people live in. And I do not for a microsecond believe that they are actually motivated by doing good. They know that they are destroyers of innocent lives and undoubtedly glory in it. The US and the world will be a better place when these people leave it.
17
And, we've got a right wing conspiracy of other billionaires just like them.
6
Wanting to fix the grout in a gas station's tile is the epitome of narcissism. Just think about what was going through her head to make her suggest something like that.
9
Oh Deb--and so they fix grout and that makes it ok when they support easy access to guns? And policies that discriminate against transgender kids? She fixed the grout because she didn't want to have to look at it, not for any greater good.
3
Just lost my companies business. We order a lot from Uline. No more. These guys understand one thing. Money
23
Isn’t it good to know that if you have inherited money, the world needs to bend to your offensive beliefs? These two are dinosaurs wanting to go back to the racist, gays in the closet 1950’s. Their arrogance shows a lack of class and humility. If your main goal is to oppress others, you really have lived a crummy life.
22
Elect Democrats.
1 ) the 5-4 Citizens United decision was a delayed effect of the Nader voters in Florida, who gave us Roberts and Alito on the Court instead of 2 appointees more similar to those appointed by Bill Clinton (Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer). (Jill Stein voters have made the situation worse, by adding Gorsuch to the Court in place of a more Bader-Ginsburg like Clinton appointee)
2) The Democrats in the Senate have tried several times to undo the damage of Citizens United, for example with the Disclose Act, but all attempts have been blocked by the Republicans in the Senate
3) 54 House Democrats (with only 1 Republican) have co-sponsored an amendment to the Constitution to overturn Citizens United.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-joint-resolution/48/c...?
4) Many State Legislatures are calling for an amendment. https://freespeechforpeople.org/state-resolutions-in-support-of-amending...
https://www.citizen.org/media/press-releases/nevada-19th-state-call-cons...
18
The amount of money being spent to influence politics in such a way, no matter what the leanings, doesn’t seem like it should be legal.
Yes, they worked hard for their money, I’m sure, but no two people should get that much influence just because of money. We should all get one vote in America.
10
No, they didn't. As a scion of the founder of Schlitz beer, he was born into extreme wealth. Now they just work hard at undermining what is (used to be) an institutional foundation that brought stability and the rule of law to the world's most powerful democracy. They may have a lot of money but they're morally bankrupt. The good news is that they're old.
26
I am so happy that I read this. My company is a fairly large account for Uline and I look forward to going back to work on Monday. The first thing I'm doing is closing our account. Guaranteed...they will notice this closed account.
236
So happy to read this, because I'm a consumer who has purchased a few industrial rugs from Uline for home use, and wish my boycott would be more meaningful/harmful to them. Such great information; I hope other customers of theirs follow your lead.
34
THANK YOU. Thank you, thank you.
33
God for you, you'll get better prices too.
21
Sound like Trump in believing money is more important than people. No regard for others points of view as they know best. Individual freedom should not be negotiable.
10
The GOP seems to view donors like this as an advantage. They're dead wrong. The likes of these oligarchs demand to kill creativity, innovation, and evolution that are indispensable to a party's future.
Good work. It's time that sunlight shone hard on the hidden influence buyers.
By the way, their catalog comes here often. I can't imagine what it costs them to print and send, but they get zero business from me. May I recommend that a million more people sign up for it, and order accordingly.
21
No. All that is needed in American ‘democracy’ is money.
2
Good to know...I will no longer be a U-line customer, and I love their products!
21
There’s something wrong with a society that lavishly rewards people whose fortune rests on a lousy beer and boxes while teachers and civil servants are chastised for wanting decent salaries and pensions.
73
who says money buys happiness? it only buys more greed. with all their wealth, this couple could make such an enormous positive change and yet...
16
But they think they are making positive change. That is the weird and unfortunate thing about it.If only our elected officials would grow a backbone. We all know they won't.
3
I’m a longtime Uline customer. No more.
52
Simply voting isn't enough anymore... now you have to have your own Super-PAC if you want representation...
13
I'm closing my account, switching to Ashley.
20
Goodbye Uline. Goodbye Menards. Sorry Wisconsin.
29
I encourage everyone to order their paper catalogue thru the mail and then ... recycle it in your bin.
20
Thank you NYT. The Uline catalog just went to the recycle bin.
38
Thanks! I'll never buy another thing at Uline.
I won't support these despicable people.
32
Not as powerful as Chicago military-industrialist Crown family that financed Obama’s rise to power. BTW, I too threw out my Uline catalogues after learning about this vile couple. Not financing their sick agenda.
13
And this is why I no longer buy any office supplies from U-Line.
We used to make 4 purchases a year of bulk supplies....now I go elsewhere. I will no longer give my money to a company whose owners go against everything I stand for.
65
I also dropped my Uline account when I Iearned of the Owners' ultra right wing support. So glad to see they are being outed, nationally.
30
My family has a cabin in Manitowish Waters where generations have gone to enjoy quiet times at the lake. Liz Uihlein's influence just ruined the place. It breaks my heart to go there every single time. I am very happy for the people and businesses that have benefitted from the growth and changes, but I would rather have an ice cream parlor and bait shop than two furniture boutiques with prices that no one in the town could afford. The place now looks like a caricature of a quaint lakeside town with no personality.
60
Thanks for sharing.
My office has a Uline account, as of today not anymore.
There are plenty of other solutions.
68
ugh. I don't buy much, but I feel better for not having found the boxes I was looking for on their site last month. Time to find a new supplier.
Thanks for the enlightenment. :-/
41
The Koch brothers now get $1,200,000,000 per year forever in tax cuts. It pays to vote for the coin operated machine--it pays out every time.
12
Obliterate donations to politics. Mandate the media allow for political ad time and uphold civic responsibility. Cut off the hand of the wrath that flows into politics and make it free of the influence of a handful of oligarchs who can buy their way to influence.
21
State monopoly capitalism is the fusion of the state with Big Business. The only remaining purpose of the government is to protect the interests of Big Business. State monopoly capitalism is the final stage of capitalism before it collapses. We shall see....
17
Problem is, it can collapse into out and out fascism as much as in a more beneficial way.
5
Case closed.
No one, I mean NO ONE, conservative or liberal should wield that kind of power in a functioning democracy.
If you don't think campaign finance law is important, well welcome to your plutocracy.
59
My thoughts exactly. Your comment is a much more well worded expression of my own.
Every American deserves one vote. It’s simple—I thought!
8
Louie:
Exactly. People like this should not be allowed to exist in public life. After paying a pre-1961 marginal tax rate, they can spend their money on toys. Or move to Singapore or China.
9
I am awed by how smart they are. Arbiters of everything. What a gift to the universe to be blessed by their presence. I forget, what again is the first deadly sin?
23
I am a medium size client of them in California, guess how much of my business I will give them in the future, Nada. total hypocrite principles and people that they support.
62
The SPLC should track Liberty Principles (ha) as a hate group.
18
Thanks for the info! I'll gladly toss their giant catalogs, which I'm somehow on a list to receive, and I've already informed a friend, a purchasing manager, who won't buy from them again.
57
In truth, more evidence that there is no fixing a system so badly broken. When people with these laughable so-called values have this much clout, the system is beyond repair. It would be one thing if they were an anomaly, but there are many more where they come from. They are the real reason we are currently being governed by a corrupt Executive Branch whose central and possibly only guiding principle is “more for me and those like me.”
32
I really don't understand it--these right wing billionaires who are anti-worker, anti-health care, who are destroying the environment, who hate social benefit programs. Just what do they want? How much of everything do they want to own--for themselves?
78
You act surprised. If you've ever worked in a commercial kitchen, you're already familiar with the ULINE brand and Uihlein politics. Where do you think these people made their money? The social impact of a disposable straw extends far beyond the environmental impact of wasted material. You should think about these considerations the next time you order takeout for your family. For that matter, you should also remember names like Bob Kraft and Woody Johnson. Those delightfully innocent childhood memories are far from innocent. These people are actively engaged in damaging the average person's life.
I'd honestly appreciate seeing Mr. and Mrs. Uihlein demonstrate their products to the dishwasher making nine dollars an hour. When the spend twelve hours working a shift every day for a year, they have a right to voice an opinion.
14
I don’t understand who buys from them, their prices are triple compared to local packaging suppliers .
13
Thank you, New York Times, for informing us about this would-be-oligarch couple! Whatever products the Uihleins make I will boycott.
Grateful that they are in their 70's as are many of the old rich conservatives.
We, the People still have the VOTE! Although, these types would like to take the vote away from those they do not deem "American." Pay attention people! Or we will go the way of Russia with their oligarchs ruling the country!
VOTE, November 6th! Let there be such a HUGE voter turn out that all the money these types throw at their preferred candidates will do no good!
33
Being among the people this angry couple abhors, I will certainly never give them my business. If only all people they hate and try to destroy would do the same, their business would be cut by 70%.
40
The best democracy money can buy.
15
How much money do some people need?
How much power do some people need?
These people--people who hoard money and power and need more and more--are just as mentally ill as people who hoard cats or expired coupons. Nothing will fill whatever hole they're trying to fill.
34
For every Uihlein and Koch there is a Soros and/or Bloomberg.
Repeal Citizen's United, and vote for campaign finance reform.
26
AND, Soros and Bloomberg are to the Uihlein's and Koch's as?
False equivalence, false name, false location.
11
And ignore posts from Bostonians who apparently love the status quo.
The story wreaks of the Citizens United decision. The ultra-right wing, a.k.a. alt-right, is just another source of poison infecting our fragile democracy.
As this power couple illustrated when they bought up local newspaper to create a fact-free source of blather, we see it in the media takeovers by Sinclair Broadcasting. That company has been buying up tv stations around the country and converting their news organizations in ultra-conservative propaganda machines for the RNC. News anchors and reporters who are uncomfortable lying to their devoted audiences are fired and quickly replaced with those who will lie for money's sake.
I don't know if reversing Citizens United is at all possible. But if Justice Breyer retires, he will be replaced by the Trump cabal with another conservative-at-all-costs judge. In fact, don't be surprised if Breyer's replacement is just a simple-minded lawyer, with little if any actual courtroom experience, eager to get a life-time appointment to the SCOTUS. The Dems must take back the House and, hopefully, the Senate, with the last great hope of saving the nation in taking back the White House.
Our great nation, for all of its faults, is in very big trouble thanks to 35 years of Republican dreams of total power. It will take Dems at least a generation to repair the damage done by the RNC crime syndicate. Our allies need this as much as we do. Trump is a psychopath with a team of drooling sycophants lining their pockets and his.
21
The Times should rethink the word "donors" for people like this. "Donors" sound like people who give and expect nothing in return, and that seems like a bad assumption in this case. "Bribers", maybe?
34
Please, more articles like this, so I know where to divert my money away from.
46
Read this article and weep for American democracy. By rights, this repugnant pair’s influence should have been confined to their personal fiefdom of Manitowish Wisconsin, but Citizens United has given mega- wealthy, reactionary busybody bullies like the Uihleins the power to shower money on candidates willing to shape this country according to their sonsors’ repugnant world view.
What ever possessed the Supreme Court to allow plutocrats like the Kochs, the Adelsons, the Mercers , the Singers, and the Uihleins to drown out the voices of millions of ordinary voters by dint of their great wealth? What were they thinking?!!
31
OMG! I’ve made purchases from Uline. Thanks, NYTimes for this reporting.
10
Me too, not any more though.
11
Let the boycotts begin! Anyone who doesn’t understand how dangerous this handful of rich, white, racist, homophobic control freaks are to our democracy is not paying attention. Time for us to all start paying attention!!
18
Thank you for this article. I’m a corporate purchasing manager and we’ll be taking our business from U-line to competitors like Grainger or Fastenal.
373
I just made the same decision for our company. I cannot morally do business with a company so profanly against basic human understanding.
49
thanks for telling us who the alternatives are - will spread the word
32
My initial reaction was that I don't like to boycott businesses because the owners' views differ from mine. Then it occurred to me that they are using their wealth and the money I send them to gain outsized influence and subvert the political process. If they are going to use their money that way, it will have to come from somebody else.
16
This article makes me happy that I have always thrown out their very enormous catalogs.
47
Agreed
5
The article is very enlightening to say the least. It may not matter much but I will never buy another box or roll of tape from U-line even if it were for free. This is certainly a sad state of affairs.
39
Very successful people that prove the American dream. Thank you for highlighting them. I knew about Uline but not the people behind the name. It’s good to see people with values for society.
9
Did you not read the part about Mr Uhlein coming from beer money?
11
I can't believe that I supported them when I bought moving supplies years ago. Never again.
32
Oh, we are well aware of the Uihleins in WI. Super Scott Walker supporters (they know who’s easy to buy)
Talk about elitist - Kinda think they’re kings or something
FTA: Perhaps nothing illustrates the couple’s determination to set the agenda more than their efforts in the Wisconsin town of Manitowish Waters. They have spent millions remaking the small community and buying up much of its downtown. In 2016, shortly before Mrs. Uihlein joined the Trump campaign as a major fund-raiser, she threatened to divert $300,000 in planned donations if the town didn’t move a boat ramp that was near a pavilion she had built.
30
Bring back the 90% tax bracket; restore the estate tax; pass a Constitutional amendment stipulating that money is not speech. This order of discretionary wealth represents social, political and cultural power that is safe in no individual's hands. For every billionaire with a social conscience there are dozens like these viciously out for themselves and their class.
75
It should be obvious by now that success in one business has little if anything with knowledge in general, expertise in another field, or political wisdom. If they get most their news from Fox, they have very limited knowledge.
24
We like to think that the US system is so pure and democratic but in reality we are just like any third world country. The government and power is bought and sold through influence by the wealthy like the Uihleins, Kochs, Mercers, Murdochs, lobbyists, etc. They buy the politicians and pander to the unknowing.
28
These huge donors are exactly why we need to address income and wealth inequality. Our tax code has favored capital and inheritance and, along with the disruptive Citizens United decision, has allowed a few families to have outsized influence on our politics. They work to shape our country to benefit only themselves. We’re heading toward oligarchy, if we’re not already there, and will soon look like Putin’s Russia. The solution: raise taxes on the rich!!
28
Failure to enact meaningful campaign finance reform will eventually prove lethal to the USA.
21
Eventually arrived January 20th, 2017.
10
Makes me ill to realize I've been purchasing from them for fourteen years,
As of today no more.
38
Thank you for this information. I was not aware, and have been using Uline for shipping products for years. That stops effective immediately.
28
Like ancient Rome, money, to be precise vast wealth, is polluting and undermining our Republic. The Roman Republic fell before the generals who were the oligarchs of their time resulting in a dictatorship of emperors. This is now playing out across America as Washington has an oligarch as our Chief Executive and wannabe emperor, a cabinet of oligarchs, and an entire political party in their service. Money is much more than speech as the Supreme Court ruled; it is much more than power; it is a cancer on democracy that corrupts and it corrupts absolutely.
18
The US is now like Pakistan. About 25 years ago it was said that Pakistan was controlled by 26 families. The number is probably similar now.
In the US, I would estimate that a 100 families are in total control, and the control is more sophisticated than in Pakistan. We, the lumpenproletariat, are allowed the illusion of having a voice in the form of comments to the NYT.
30
When I learned about these two I stopped ordering their products.
30
I also stopped buying from Uline a few weeks back when I read another article about them. I think an economic boycott is an appropriate response.
13
Uline, huh? That's good to know. I'm going to ask my purchasing department not to buy from them anymore.
47
The millions that the Illinois-based Uihleins are using to prop up Kevin Nicholson here in WI also are also playing a role who even makes it on the ballot here in WI. The thing I find funny (and also not funny), is that the person who is most affected by these out of state millions being spent is the other republican candidate (a mega NRA funded state senator who is an equally trumpy choice -- it's almost as if it's a battle who can spread more hate and be named the biggest jerk here in WI in order to win the republican nomination). Ugh.
Per a recent article in the local paper:"In all, the Nicholson campaign turned in 3,906 valid signatures. Of those, 2,791 signatures were gathered by seven out-of-state circulators." https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2018/06/05/kevin-nicholson-...
19
Not surprised. We need to get this message out, let every American know so we get them out to vote, voting is the only way to combat these oligarchs !
8
Thank you for alerting me as to who owns ULine so I can discard their mail order catalogs well before they reach my front door. I had no idea the owners were engaged in such unsavory pursuits.
41
I have a Uline catalog for my business and I just recycled it after reading this story, if that's OK with Mrs. Uihlein. I love how they run the conservative playlist, probably using a $779 Uline Chinese-made whiteboard: 1. Move your business to gain taxpayer-funded tax credits but decry big government. 2. Tell people how to vote, run their businesses, conduct their lives, and even trim their bushes. 3. Guzzle $90 bottles of wine but go after marijuana. Legal in my state, by the way. 4. Support any, old backwoods candidate as long as they think this is still the 1950s. 5. Try to abrogate democracy with cold cash and closed minds.
116
Well said! The only way I see to combat these people is with our vote.
10
I second Mari. Well said!
3
Time for me to stop doing business with Uline! I can't see any reason to pay money to a vendor that uses profits to promote an extreme political agenda. (What are some good alternative shipping supply vendors folks?)
24
I contacted them today to close my account.
6
We so need to get money out of elections. The survival of this country as anything but an oligarchy or plutocracy depends on it. And the irony is, the plutocrats have their hidey holes already purchased in New Zealand for when the US has nothing left to loot. Ironic because New Zealand is far more socialist than the US.
16
Our company used to buy lots of supplies from Uline.
No more.
25
The vague revulsion I felt while reading this article over lunch turned to nausea when I realized the iPad I was reading it on was resting atop a Uline catalog. I immediately called the company and cancelled our HOA's account. I've (thankfully) never ordered a lot from them, but...now it'll be not another dime for these types.
29
ULine catalogues are in the recycle bin. No more buys from a company that uses its earnings against many things I support. I wonder how much ULine packaging stuff Amazon uses?
24
Wow. I've always used ULine for my business supplies, but I had no idea the owners had their tentacles so deep into political activities that clash with my morals. This Reagan Democrat will take her business elsewhere, thanks.
27
Thank you NY Times for exposing another anti-American plutocrat. I will now happily throw every ULine catalog that arrives in my office straight into the recycle bin. Please expose all of these people you can and give those of us who love democracy and love America an ability to vote with our pocketbooks.
26
It would be nice if the Times could compare the amounts donated by the Uihlines to conservative groups with the amounts donated by George Soros, Tom Stayer, Michael Bloomberg and various unions to liberal organizations.
Are they compatible? Is one group vastly outspending another? Readers would like to see a more instructive account.
8
Do the research yourself! It's a matter of public record!
14
Recently, a Comcast technician came to my home and
made the remark, during a conversation, that when he goes
into a home that is watching Fox News, that tells him
all he needs to know about the people
Mrs. Uihlein does not approve of food stamps.
13
One more reason for the inheritance tax. Gross inherited wealth causes insanity. All these people who inherit billions wind up being deranged. Mellon, du Pont, Wildenstein, Kochs, Trump, Saudi princes. It’s a real affliction.
23
I read with interest today's NYT piece by Stephanie Saul and Danny Hakim, and this month's NG Mag cover story on single use plastics. Having seen the ULINE catalog, it's no wonder that Uihlein wants less government regulation . . . imagine the amount of devastation these rich people are spreading, and getting richer while leaving generations to follow with the horrific mess. Maybe Stephanie Saul and Danny Hakim should consider this tragedy, and how spreading ignorance improves Uihlein wealth. Uihlein has no responsibility for the mess, just reaps the unfettered benefit of its single use plastics. IKEA and plastic straws are a joke compared to nearly everything this ULINE catalog promotes. Let's hope Tammy Baldwin slows them up a bit too.
21
Another self-made heir (Schlitz money) using his fortune to try and control how people live in other states.
26
Contact the company and tell them how happy you are to boycott their products and how much you hate plutocrats:
[email protected]
22
Emailed them, telling them I'm boycotting their company any way I can!
9
Absolutely disgusting to think that persons with such abhorrent values could have such influence on our society. But regardless of political orientation no one should have that capability. Until Citizens United is overturned this country is doomed. In the meantime I am making it my personal mission to spread the word: BOYCOTT ULINE!!!
48
Now I get it.
David Koch is reportedly very ill and is no longer active.
The Uihleins are now designated as public enemy #1 by the Left.
Stay tuned. We’ll be hearing a lot more about them.
4
It's Charles who's always been in charge?
3
You should be alarmed that people like them, are buying our government, manipulating politicians. What are we, Russia where oligarchs rule the land?! Is that what you want?!
16
You can't counter the criticisms so you use language meant to vilify anything said by what you perceive as the "left."
5
Stop calling right-wing extremists “conservative”.
51
The term "conservative" conjures images of solid citizens who work hard, play by the rules, etc.
These people are no such thing. Most of them inherited or married into their money, and they are dedicated only to using their wealth to benefit themselves further at the expense of the rest of us.
16
Gladly, but please first stop calling left-wing socialists “progressive”.
2
Thank you for outing this corrupt pair of crony capitalist corporate plutocrat oligarchs.
When did conservative become a cover for ethnic sectarian xenophobia and color aka race bigotry?
When dd conservative become synonymous with homophobia and misogyny?
34
The Uihleins?
First it was the Kochs.
Then it was the Mercers.
Then it was the Greens.
And then the Smiths.
And then came Betsy DeVos and her little brother, Eric Prince.
And, just as we receive news that David Koch is off the scene, you, NYTimes, give us a whole new Hater-Couple!
And these 2 sound just as hateful as the rest of them.
Well, back to Google!
At least these two are my age and we won't have to worry about them being around "forever".
Tell me, Times, do you know of any youngish ones that are wealthy troglydytes or has the younger generation managed to maintain good mental health?
How about an article on that?
10
So pot is more evil than $90.00 for a bottle of wine? What a laugh. Perhaps they should smoke a pipe full of pot. It might relax them and they could more easily see their views of a more perfect world are not the only ones that are valid.
I see their world as false, plastic, one sided, well manicured, and boring as hell.
I wonder what Mrs. Uline would recommend if she saw my yard. She would hate it, but hey, my yard is full of bees this spring, of all things, and all other critters. Maybe I'll see a Monarch butterfly soon and know I am rich beyond words.
56
This is the end result of tax cuts, starting with Reagan, ending (one hopes) with Trump. Only way this will stop:
1) Elect a democratic president in 2020, who appoints a decent Supreme Court judge, who helps repeal Citizens United
2) Top individual income tax rate is doubled (or more)
3) 100% inheritance tax for oligarchs (not enough space here to hammer out the details, but you get the idea).
54
ghsalb: Completely agree, and add that we must elect enough Democrats to the House (at least) and Senate and local offices THIS YEAR to begin to end the complete ripoff of our country before it is too late. 2020 may well be too late.
11
The habit of power and wealth, turned outward, is to shape unformed clay into something beautiful, something like a mansion with bolted-down furniture. It must be hard to believe that success doesn't justify every one of the opinions held by a successful individual. The Uihlein's support for Scott Walker (Evil Scout), is enough for me to question all of them. If their help was what elevated Walker to governorship, their colors are an enemy to working people and organized labor. They have the legal talent to walk the fine line; they condemn class warfare--all of it--and argue it is un-American to question success.
41
These are not "conservatives;" they are right-wing plutocrats, many of whom inherited their wealth, who are trying to manipulate the system for maximum personal gain.
312
Pat,
They are what conservatism has become in America. Paleoconservatism, like the name suggests, is a thing of the past. I doubt it will ever be revived. In their quest for power, conservatives have totally abandoned the values they once stood for, and Republican voters are 100% to blame.
13
Thanks for this article. A good company to boycott.
292
Liz Uhlein came into our town where we vacationed for generations and pushed the town to completely revamp it. It now looks like a prefab, sterile image of what someone might think a vacation town should look like. No denying that it may have resulted in more business and potentially jobs, but the entire town culture is gone. I am not a fan of her approach.
31
People like this are truly evil. How can we even claim to have a democracy in this country if dark money like this controls even local elections?
136
Thank the SCOTUS for that.
15
So, this couple wants to bend 325,000,000 American Citizens to their will. We should hate what they hate. We should allow them to design and decorate our towns. We should notify them of any property for sale that might be sold to persons with browner skin or more tolerant views so they can snatch it up, renovate it, put their favorite wine on the menu and spare the neighborhood the bother of welcoming and getting to know new people. They expect submission, and they get snarky when it takes a while.
These are oligarchs, plain and simple, using their wealth to bring down candidates who don't agree with their frightening world-view and install sycophants. Their tactics are despicable and they are the perfect example of the need to limit money in politics.
414
Two things we have left: our vote and the ability to boycott their company.
36
What do we have to do to have a national referendum on Citizens United?
132
In light of the fact that the ACLU supported the Citizens United decision, I wonder where a referendum would come out.
1
A profile of one pair of billionaires now running the GOP Congress. Good.
23
That's good to know. Never again will my company purchase shipping supplies from u-line, no way, no how!
265
I have unknowingly ordered from Uline in the past. Since I found out that its filthy rich founders are exercising their right to support the politics of hate and inequality, I have been exercising my right to immediately dispose of their catalogs.
259
The holier than thou, sociopathic Uihleins deserve the deepest, aggressive and wide ranging IRS audit. There is no way they made that much money without bribery or pay to play. These ultra rich think they are so smart but they are the corrupt poster children on why all American elections should be publicly funded and take place over 90 day cycles.
93
Uh-oh, time to find a new source for business supplies.
140
Don't you just love it when rich people confuse their billions for brains, as if money magically instills them with the wisdom to decide how the rest of us need to live? Whether they're browbeating local shop owners or shoveling piles of campaign contributions toward another generation of loony "conservative" politicians, the Uihleins are poster children for what's truly gone wrong in our country.
249
Dear Mr. Bagels, g'day.
You are correct in what you write.
Unless people wake up quick smart and take the time to vote, I am afraid that is the way Democracy will be shaped in the United States for a while.
Unfortunately Mr. & Mrs. Uihlein are not the only ones supporting the unsupportable. It is unbelievable, but all their financial donations are well within the limits of the law.
25
One could say the same thing about Hollywood actors, who confuse their Oscars for brains.
4
IN a way, yes. But still, brains, no matter how vacuous, are not money. The correlation of money with speech has been predictably ruinous to our democracy. Much easier to ignore Hollywood than biilionaires.
4
Its why I stopped purchasing anything from U-Line, period.
108
I just cancelled my company's U-line account. Thank you for the information.
498
I no longer consider Uline products for purchase. When they send me their catalog unsolicited, I immediately throw it in the recycling bin. None of my money will go to these people.
The less money they get, the less they can use for fascist purposes....
238
Very informative article.
This kind of bullying and influence peddling is destroying our country.
Dumping my Uline account today.
180
Repulsive.
Who do these people think they are, that they get to confiscate money that is NOT theirs and use it to promote an agenda that benefits no one but them?
Their hard-working emplyees deserve that $26 million in their paychecks, or their customers should get a price reduction.
These selfish, phony, arrogant creeps should be front and center in every Democrat ad this season. They represent exactly what has gone wrong in our country.
The only way to stop them is at the ballot box, and then demand that our new legislatures fix the campaign finance sytem once and for all.
69
84 or so years ago there is a good chance the Uihleins, and folks like the DeVoses, would have been in on the plot to overthrow FDR in a real coup. Luckily for America, General Smedley Butler (himself no lefty) played along with the conspirators and then blew the whistle on them. Like Henry Ford, I have no doubt they would have praised the leaders in Germany of that era for "getting things done" and, not a few years later, handsomely funded the prewar America First groups if not the bunds themselves..
We must overturn Citizens United and keep these malefactors of great wealth from buying our government(s) and making America into an exceptionalist banana republic.
102
In addition to the Mercers, the Kochs, the Adelsons and Citizens United, our democracy looks like it is on borrowed time.
52
More small-government, conservative billionaires who have no money taking socialist government handouts for their business. It's only wrong when a black single mother receives free milk for her child.
Citizens United has turned this country into a post-Soviet style oligarchy. It's obvious, we all know it, yet nothing can be done about it. It makes you wonder if the system is so broken that will never be fixed.
35
What would it take to challenge Citizens United? Has anyone asked? It has to be possible to challenge a Supreme Court decision. Roe v Wade is constantly challenged.
7
Thankfully they are old and like most old white conservative Republicans have a limited amount of time left with which to influence our government and politics.
15
That's the only thought that gets me out of bed in the morning.
12
If you live in Illinois, you already know this despicable pair of lying, neoconservatives. Just remember never to buy anything from Uline.
52
Goodness. We are all so tired of the sociopathic rich; please, take your wealth, buy an island, set up your own dystopic state, and leave the rest of us alone.
473
Umm, a little parochial of the NYT to assume no one has heard of these folks. In Wisconsin, we have heard--loud and clear.
19
Never heard of them out here in LA, and u read a broad range of news daily.
9
And in illinois.
9
That was supposed to be "'I' read a broad range of news" not "u". Darn iPhone keyboard.
3
I had never heard of this couple. Interesting that profits from something as mundane as packing supplies can be put to the support of such regrettable causes and candidates.
45
Did someone say bullying is just reserved for kids?
60
Beyond incitement, what is the point of this story? Maybe The Times should run a companion article about wealthy liberal and progressive donors, of which there are many. Some of those donors support equally extremist left-wing agendas.
11
The underlying point, Tony, is that might does not make right. “Far left” does not equal “godless Communism” (a phrase you probably still use...) and it does not involve denying women equal rights, promoting new forms of racial/ethnic segregation, or rigging the tax system so the rich never pay their fair share.
The other point is to identify the true enemies of democracy so that steps can be take to neutralize them.
30
Can you name a few and detail their extreme progressive views? I don't believe we would see any sort of equivalency, but I'm open to reason, unlike this strange couple who seem only to support people full of hate.
32
Which wealthy progressives are trying to pollute our air and water or deny us health care or the right to vote?
27
Disgusting. Nauseating. Self-entitled. Pompous. Self-righteous. Misogynistic. Homophobic. Unevolved.
There. All of those words should replace "powerful" in the headline.
Oops, I forgot. Add "Useless," while you're at it.
506
Now that the Times has provided phonetic help I’m guessing we’ll hear them mentioned more often.
13
Odd phonetic help also. In 20th century Wisconsin the family name was pronounced "E-Line" by everyone I knew. "U-Line" was just the name of the company they owned.
3
Talk about the Deep State. Here is the real conspiracy. Not among a bunch of dedicated government employees.
641
You're absollutely right. And their motto is: "Greed is good."
25
I never buy anything from uline and I always double check to make sure they are not second or third party suppliers on any sites I order from. No way these people will profit off of any actions I take.
684
How absurd that a company which only exists because of government funded infrastructure would advocate for smaller government
502
This is why 0.1% campaign speech should be illegal; only the rich can afford it.
It relegates most Americans to 99.9% silence.
The right-wingers don't deserve any more say in public policy than non-rich Americans.
Let them go to the third-world to build their fantasy conservative world.
Publicly financed elections would be much cheaper than this 0.1%-nightmare campaign finance system because it would would result in sensible candidates and reasonable public policy, not 0.1% astroturf billionaire-puppet candidates looking to eliminate taxes and restore "God's Kingdom" to America.
Time to boycott ULINE.
http://gawker.com/uline-where-the-boss-wishes-employees-watched-more-fox...
746
The 1% control all three branches of our government, and what the 1% want, they will get.
Also, 87% of Republicans in the latest Gallup poll approve of Trump’s performance.
I would love to see them “ho to a third world country to build their fantasy conservative world”, but it looks like they prefer a coup right here.
A recent right wing comment I saw stated:
“Trump’s policies are noticeably superior to the past Bush/Obama corporate welfare and open borders, if you are a lower/middle class working joe: More jobs, lower unemployment, lower taxes, less gov't regulation, border security, rejection of bad trade deals, no more coddling of Iran/North Korea/China, and the defeat of ISIS just for starters... What have the Dems offered us?”
These are Trump’s followers, and eventually, he will show his appreciation by devouring them.
Trump will ultimately meet a bad end asother dictators and wannabe dictators before him. But in the meantime, he could do a lot more damage.
38
Remember the game 'Life?' This game was put out by Milton Bradley and the object was to wind your way through a life and hopefully end up at Millionaire Acres. The player with the most money won the game.
I'm starting to think that we need our own version of 'Life' in this country where when you accumulate your fortune for real, you go to Billionaire Acres to live out the rest of your life with your peers, other Billionaires - and leave the rest of us alone.
31
As always, a succinct and cogent summary of the situation by Socrates.
Progressives need to realize that the Uhlines and their ilk are the biggest problems facing them, not the mindless Trump-besotted sheep. This is why taking back the US democracy from these enemies of humanity will require a sustained effort over thirty years minimum, not a one-time win in 2018. And the results of the recent primaries illustrate the uphill nature of the struggle. A single so-called "moderate Democrats" such as Ben Nelson or Joe Lieberman (but for whom we might have a public option in healthcare now) can still do major damage in the service of these parasites.
17
These people are the symptom, not the disease. Boycotting them is fine, but let's focus on the reason for their influence.
Reagan and fellow Libertarians started the disease by making the idea of individual rights paramount over societal responsibilities. Now, individual rights do come with considerable power if you already have a hundred million dollars or more.
For most of us, political power only comes through collective action, and electing responsive representatives. Does anyone believe this is still happening? Get rid of Citizens United, bring back an updated version of the Fairness Doctrine so we can control obvious sources of propaganda like Fox News, and support education, teachers, and unions.
633
The removal of the fairness doctrine was Reagan’s single most beneficial accomplishment in his entire presidency if you are Rush Limbaugh. Fox came along and it’s gone downhill ever since but not one Democrat that I know of has even broached the subject of reinstatement .... the largest fail by Clinton or Obama
36
JD ... Salient points, excellent n narrative !!!.
2
A commenter below accused the Times of "incitement" and asks what's the point of the article. I had no idea who this couple is and how they are using their billions in attacking my rights and attempting to return this country to the Dark Ages (if anyone is a "caver", it's that petulant, bigoted woman). Now I know, thanks to this article.
I've asked the Times in the past to expose these plutocrats attempting to impose a form of Gilead on the rest of us and it's delivering. Thank you! I'm happy to not have knowingly supported this company (plenty of free moving boxes on Craigslist or behind local stores) and I'll be keeping an increasingly sharp eye out for it in the future.
Please continue this valuable public service in the future by informing us who is doing what to our country.
466
I miss the good old days, when the obscenely wealthy spent their money on debauchery, diamonds, and domestic servants, when they took their jets and yachts to exotic places where they could lounge on the beach, dine opulently, and tell each other how challenging it was to find good help.
Back then, they left the rest of us alone. And when they got old, with their mortality staring them in the eye, more of them acted with charity and a sense of social responsibility, not with smug and sleazy efforts to remake the beliefs and morals of the average American. The really good ones funded universities, built museums, and started foundations. Their largesse enabled us to see and aspire to the American Dream. Yep, those were the good old days.
Too many of today’s uber-wealthy, the social engineering gentry, want to remake society in their image and bend the average American to their will. They are the true deplorables, not the factory worker, farmer, teacher, or public servant. And not the small business owner or individual entrepreneur either, with whom this gentry tries to identify itself.
Well, here’s a message for the entitled class that does nothing but dump money into politics with the expectation that elected officials will kneel and do their bidding: If you want to remake society, do it the way the Roosevelts, Kennedys, and Bushes did. Roll up your sleeves, hit the campaign trail, and contribute directly to the public dialogue. Get some skin in the game.
510
Thank you so much for publishing the information about this destructive couple. I have periodically ordered some packing supplies from ULINE, which has placed me on a mailing list to receive their gigantic, wasteful, bound catalog several times a year.
As soon as it arrives, my customary response is to rip off the mailing label and deposit the book into the recycling bin. When the next one shows up, I will instead take note of my customer number and promptly remove my information from their list.
They will never get another dime from me.
397
Let them keep wasting money on postage and printing!
29
I just noticed that a church where a chorus I sing in rehearses, and where I sometimes sing at Sunday services, has Uline facial tissues in the bathrooms. I very much doubt that the church shares the Uhleins' values and will see how I can get members to change their supplier. It's a small account, but there must be a lot of similar ones.
96
I bought shipping supplies from them for my tiny Ebay business because they shipped very quickly and their products were fine. But then I read one of their catalogs, which had a full page criticism of government backed healthcare, probably before Obamacare was passed. No more buying from Uline, and the catalogs went into the recycling buckets. I really resented getting their right-wing propaganda.
541
Buy your boxes in eBay from the Boxery. Much less expensive and usually free shipping
32
I discovered the Boxery by chance. I buy all my boxes from them. Quick shipping. Cheaper boxes. Perfect!
3
Stories like this about the undue influence of money (regardless of the politics involved) make me long for the days of high progressive tax rates. The world would be better off without any billionaires. The power that extreme wealth can buy should never reside in the hands of individuals who then have an outsized influence affecting the lives of others far beyond any they have a right to have.
364
The Uihleins, like so many other ultra rich that have so much money that they think entitle them to buy our government and force their horrendous and mendacious ideas on the rest of the country, are perfect examples of why we should tax the rich at the rates we had under the Republican Eisenhower administration. Tax the riches that they have wrung out of our country and put that money to work for the good of the country like investing in infrastructure, education and research and health care for all. It would result in a better country for all Americans, even for the rich!
199
My great uncle Dienst was brought over from Germany by the Uihleins to make barrels for their beer.
I bought a house on Longboat Key in 1980 from Richard's sister Sally.
Richard's dad, Edger, was a John Bircher. I stayed his little Longboat Key vacation home "shack" once, and the only paper was John Birch Society propaganda.
Don't know why my path kept crossing theirs -- but I can tell you this article is right on and actually just scratches the surface of their right leanings.
252