Posted on 08/16/2012 11:16:22 PM PDT by grundle
RADFORD — An Ohio man’s interaction with candidate Barack Obama in 2008 gave rise to “Joe the Plumber.”
Now, a Radford businessman’s decision not to host an “unscheduled” campaign event with Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday has sparked a news story that’s gone viral and led to a surge in business.
Just call him, “Chris the Baker.”
Chris McMurray had just opened his bakery, Crumb and Get It, Wednesday morning when he received a visit from Biden’s advance team asking if he’d host the vice president for a media event on the way to his scheduled speech at Virginia Tech.
McMurray politely declined out of a difference in politics, and Biden instead went up the street to the River Street Grill instead.
Later that day, WDBJ (Channel 7) reporter Orlando Salinas received a tip about Crumb and Get It via text message. The resulting story was picked up by the Drudge Report and a series of conservative blogs, leading to an outpouring of support online and at the store on Thursday.
At noon, McMurray turned down an interview request because he was too busy fielding a steady stream of orders, both from customers at the store and out-of-state patrons. A little more than an hour later, he closed the store because it had run out of cookie dough. It reopened a few minutes later, but with a sign in the window noting that only ice cream was being sold.
“It’s been a great day, a lot of great support,” McMurray said when he had a moment to talk. “A lot of folks are calling orders from out of state for local businesses and charities. That’s what we’ve got to catch up on.”
McMurray said the exchange with the Biden advance team had taken place just after he opened the store at 10 a.m.
“They said, ‘This is a place that we’ve identified for Mr. Biden’s stop,’ and they asked permission, if that would be OK,” McMurray said. “After much thought, I respectively declined. The exchange was very kind. It wasn’t at all heated. It was not at all hoarse. Even when she departed, it wasn’t at all ill-mannered. They were very nice. I told her no offense to the vice president, and she received that. We just had a difference of opinion politically.”
McMurray said that “convictions about my faith” factored into his decision not to host Biden. On a wall at the back of the bakery is painted this slogan, “Family: One of God’s masterpieces.”
The other reason that McMurray declined was President Obama’s attitude toward business.
“Very simply, ‘You didn’t build that’ [Obama] speaking of small businesses and entrepreneurs all across the country,” McMurray told WDBJ’s Salinas on Wednesday evening.
Obama made the remark during his July appearance in downtown Roanoke. Republicans seized on the comment as an example of the president's disdain for small business; Obama and his Democratic Party defenders say he was speaking about public infrastructure and his comment has been taken out of context. At least three nonpartisan campaign fact-checking organizations have come to similar conclusions. Still, the political reaction was so strong that Obama filmed a TV commercial within days further explaining his support for small business.
After the WDBJ story aired, McMurray said, “It just went bananas. Great support. It’s been wonderful. Of course we’ve had a few people who’ve been very critical, but by far the vast majority has been supportive and encouraging.”
At one point during the lunch hour on Thursday, two dozen people stood in line waiting to order cookies.
Jackie Moore of Radford said he’d before never visited Crumb and Get It, but he ordered a dozen cookies after seeing McMurray’s story.
“I stand with them,” Moore said. “I don’t believe you should be pushed into entertaining the vice president if you don’t agree with him.”
Many others felt the same.
Gary Harris, a Vietnam War veteran and commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 776 who lives in Radford, said he picked up some “freedom cookies” to support Crumb and Get It. Like Moore, it was his first visit to the bakery.
“He spoke up for what he believed in,” Harris said. “I heard somewhere that it may help or hurt his business. He shouldn’t be penalized for speaking his opinion, I’m going to help him out all I can.”
Ron Witt, an insurance agent from Pearisburg, said, “I saw the story on television and I thought, I have to stop by and support these people ... It’s not political at all. It’s more a matter of principle. He just stood up for himself. It doesn’t have anything to do with the current administration or politics, at least for me.”
Eddie Boes of Blacksburg got the last batch of cookies before Crumb and Get It ran out of dough. Like Witt, Boes said he wanted to support a local businessman’s right to speak his mind.
“It’s a matter of not being afraid of the pressure,” Boes said. “A lot of people aren’t going to say what they think because they’re worried about retribution.”
But Boes said that because McMurray took a stand for his beliefs, he’s being rewarded with much more support from customers than he would have if he’d agreed to play host to Biden for a photo opportunity.
>> the Secret Service thanking
Yeah, that’s a riot. But it wouldn’t surprise me if they were just being polite. I know a few, and they are really good people.
mark
You’re too cynical.
After Crumb and Get It said “No,” the River City Grill around the corner said “Yes” to Biden’s visit.
Can somebody please point me to the article about the huge upswell of business at River City Grill?
Can you imagine stiffing the POTUS that way? Sounds like the guy was polite and restrained. I'd be shrieking about how the communist is out to destroy America and the SS would haul me away.
VA Ping!
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Bump...because this is just a real “feel good” story!!!
Ditto bump!
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