John Metz: idiot and fucktard

By Frank Moraes

Matt Yglesias has been writing a bit about about these business owners who are whining that the ACA (Obamacare) is just going to destroy their businesses. In particular, he highlighted John Metz, owner of more than 30 Denny's restaurant franchises, who said he was going to add a 5% "Obamacare surcharge" on all customer bills. Because he's such a charming motherfucker, he added that the customers could take the surcharge out of the server tip, because after all, they're "the primary beneficiary of Obamacare."

These comments didn't sit too well with the CEO of Denny's. John Miller had a private meeting with Metz and afterward said that he was "disappointed" in Metz. Yesterday, Metz released a statement that he regretted his remarks. There is a proximate reason for Miller's swift action, of course: people were talking boycott and were generally pissed off at Denny's. But I think there's more to this. So does Yglesias.

Matt Yglesias puts it this way:

But my strong suspicion is that the CEO is right about this and that's actually a terrible way to market a 5 percent price increase. The basic business proposition at any restaurant is the idea that we're giving you a dining experience that's more valuable to you than the money we're asking for. It's a good deal, come eat our tasty food. Whining about the fact that your servers now have health insurance is neither here nor there in terms of the value proposition on offer, and is only going to serve to alienate people by making you look like an asshole.

I agree with all of this, but I don't think this is the main issue -- or at least this isn't the way that I would put it. This is all about demographics. If everyone in this country voted, Democrats could win every election by a landslide. Everyone doesn't vote, of course, so Republicans do okay. But everyone does go out to eat from time to time. What's more, the people who go out to Denny's tend toward the poor. These are people who are going to be most hostile to a partisan Republican stunt like blaming part of the cost on President Obama.

Yglesias is correct, that everything that Metz said is likely to offend everyone -- even Republicans. But had he said nothing and just added the surcharge, it might have tickled the 30% of his clientele who are Republican. But the 70% Democrats would find it offensive and perhaps choose another of the similar low-cost dining choices.

But I'm still planning to boycott all Denny's in Florida just in case the money might go to this fucktard John Metz.

(Cross-posted at Frankly Curious.)