An ethical dilemma. Decision to be made by 10: 00 a.m. EST.

[IdaBriggs]

I found out yesterday by accident that our financial advisor listens to Rush Limbaugh. We found out because he left a message for us, and then didn't hang up the phone totally, and so we ended up with five minutes of "Rush Speak" on our voice mail. Our voice mail system requires you to listen to the whole message before you are allowed to delete it, and so I got to hear the drone of Rush's voice for five minutes. I felt my brain melting by the moment.

Now I have a problem. Prior to this incident, I really liked our guy. We didn't talk politics, although he was aware of my feelings on certain things, including the fact I did relief work with the American Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina, and spent two months investigating election fraud in 2004. He has always behaved respectfully, and professionally --

And I don't think I can feel as confident about his judgment now that I know he listens to Rush.

He has a private office, and it was obvious the radio was on low while he was on the phone, because the volume increased after it was "hung up" -- and he isn't the type of person to do that to us on purpose.

My husband is meeting with him today at 10:00 a.m. to discuss our IRA allocations, etc.

What should I do? My immediate gut response is to pull all of our funds (not a lot, but important to us) IMMEDIATELY, and start dealing with someone else in his office because all of my experience with Republicans (especially those who listen to Rush) usually means "uninformed, short sighted, ignorant, and generally stupid." How can I trust this guy to give good advice for our future now that I know he listens to a moron for entertainment?

Opinions, please. I am a wrathful Independent who received death threats during my investigation into election fraud, and I'm not above "starving the beast" with a blunt "I don't do business with Republicans" message -- presuming he doesn't listen to a wide variety of sources to get his information, of course. If he does that, I can let this go. If he's a pure "ditto head" (is that what they call them?), then I'm not sure I can ever look at him the same way again.

Its like finding out your favorite cousin is a child molester. I am upset. :(

[BobRossi]

1. Take your money elsewhere..

Why support the hate machine?

[MsUSA]

7. Yup, ya gotta find someone who at least believes along the

lines of what you believe......be happy you found out. Dump him.

[Boredtodeath]

2. Don't try to find excuses - don't do business with republicans

Especially NOT Rush republicans!!!!!!!!!!

Why are you even thinking about it?

You DO remember what Rush's freeper buddies said about and did to Andy Stephenson, right?

Why are you even thinking about it?

[Extend a Hand]

3. I would be upset as well

but I don't think you have to decide by 10. Having one more discussion before you make a decision won't really matter in the long run.

Take the time to find out more about what happened.

[Stephanie]

4. "I don't think I can feel as confident about his judgment now"

'nuff said - find someone else

[converted_democrat]

14. I'll second that....n/t

[Fridays Child]

5. Tell him what you heard and ask him if he supports the views held by...

...Limbaugh. My husband--who is neither conservative or Republican--listens to Rush, sometimes, just to "spy on the enemy." It gets him madder than a scorched cat but he does it.

If your guy says he doesn't discuss politics with clients, tell him it's too late to take that tack with you, and that sort of answer is as good as a "yes."

[Quakerfriend]

6. I would pull your funds with him but,

I do think you should tell him why- honestly.

I would say, "You know I've always been very happy with the work you've done for us but, yesterday... etc. And, I have a policy of not doing work with ANYONE who listens to Rush and the utterly vile lies/hate he puts forth."

[Lerkfish]

8. rationally weigh your benefits/costs ratio

if you have had no problems with him professionally, and you want to keep him, then that's a large cost.
However, if you want to stay completely blue, that's a large benefit.
you have to see where those two intersect in importance to your life.

My two cents is that it was an accidental slip, not like he was pushing it on you. If you do go elsewhere, I'd make it clear it was not because of the slip itself, but that it gave you insight into his life that requires you to act in accordance with YOUR principles.

I would point out that many people listen to Rush who hate him, to keep tabs on what he's saying.

btw: I'm going to point out that this is nowhere near finding out a relative is a child molester. I happen to know what that's like. Trust on me this, if this had happened to you, you'd no way bring it up blithely and compare it to this.

[Obamarama]

9. Pull your funds, Ida. It's what THEY'D do....

If you were a Resmuglican and you caught your investment manager listening to Mike Malloy, the Resmuglican, reptillian nature in you would compell you to pull your funds in a New York minute.

We need to match them at their own games.

[blm]

10. Many Republicans are not fair and honest business people - some are - if

you are comfortable TRUSTING this guy, keep him.

He would be a RARITY among Republicans if he is honest.

The odds are against that, though.

[Bandit]

44. Yes but they seem to attract money

If you have no scruples then stay with the Republican but if you have Liberal values look elsewhere.

[Greyhound]

11. Financial Adviser and a ditto-head, I'd seriously consider taking my

account away from him and the firm. If he is a true believer chances are he isn't giving serious consideration the likely 'readjustments' that are rapidly heading our way. Get at least a chunk of your money out of the amerikan markets and into gold (bullion not futures) and an international money market.
If nothing else, your commissions could be going to a blue broker, they are out there.

[eyesroll]

12. Has he been a good financial adviser?

That would be my sole criterion.

A lot of people listen to morons for entertainment. (On our side, plenty of people listen to Howard Stern and Jerry Springer. C'mon.) It's hardly on par with child molestation.

[mwb970]

22. Hey - what's wrong with Jerry Springer? (n/t)

[eyesroll]

24. His TV show has pretty much polluted his image in my eyes, even if

his AAR show is legit.

He's bright, but I could see a Republican taking issue with his dentist listening to "the guy who talks to women who are sleeping with their sisters and snorting coke off their babies' backs."

[rpgamerd00d]

13. DO THIS !!!

Tell him this, word for word:

"Hey, xxx, you know what's funny? You left a message for me yesterday and the phone didn't hang up and my machine recorded like 5 minutes of Rush Limbaugh! Hahahaha!"
(wait for his reply)
"So, you like Rush?"

Then, see what he says. If its innocuous, stay. If he is like "Rush Rules!! OMFG!" then leave.

Simple as that.

[IdaBriggs]

15. Thank you, everyone. I'm going to talk with him. Evidence, etc.

My husband is the more pragmatic of the two of us ("is he making money for us?") while I am pretty passionate about my politics. I'll let you know how it goes. :)

[Stephanie]

16. Your money is paying some of his salary.

And if he is making any political donations, that would be a huge drag. Maybe check him out on www.opensecrets.org

[elehhhhna]

17. pull it. tell him why.

YOU GOT D. THREATS from his comrades!

[Marie26]

18. Well, a lot of financial/business

types are Republicans. If you fire him based on politics, you might find your next advisor is a Republican too!

[MsUnderstood]

19. I know i'm a little late. . .

but the "real conservatives" are fiscal conservatives and hence are good investors because they look at business from a make money loose money mentality (rather than what is good for the country, environment, etc). Just because he listens to Rush doesn't mean he can't make financial decesisions well.

In life you'll deal with all kinds of people....good and bad. It is better to judge him based on the way he handles your account than his personal life.

How would you feel if you lost business because of your politics, sexual orientation, weight. Just be smart and keep politics out of your business.

[Carni]

33. Yeah but there's a hell of a diff between a dittohead and a fiscal con

Anyone with an actual brain wouldn't be listening to Rush--

I would not trust anyone influenced by that la la land bush cheerleader with my kid's lunch money.

[Lars39]

20. "Someone else in the office" might not work either,

if it's a whole nest of Rush listeners. :(

[IdaBriggs]

21. Problem Solved: He listens to both sides (& I'm okay with that).

He instantly apologized for the hang up problem, and when I bluntly asked him "do you believe what Rush Limbaugh says?" his answer was "No, its entertainment; I listen to both sides." Then he gave the Air America schedule he listened to, and said his attitude is very simple: he is a "middle of the road" guy who loves EVERYONE in this country, and believes we all need to work together.

I bluntly asked him a few more questions -- are you homophobic? (No) Are you aware that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? (Yes) Do you know that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 911? (Yes)

I apologized for doubting him, which he brushed off, and I told him that my experience with folks who listen to Rush is that they are generally ignorant and uninformed, and that when it comes to my money, that is an issue for me. He laughed, said he understood, and that was one of the reasons he listened to BOTH sides -- so he can stay informed. He was very gracious, and apologized several times for the hang up problem.

He's a braver person than I am!!! My respect is restored, along with an important future lesson: NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING.

Thank you, everyone, for your support and suggestions. If it had turned out he was a raving Republican ditto head, he would have been gone. Well informed middle of the road guy I can live with -- and it makes me like him even more! :)

[Lars39]

23. Oh, I am so glad that turned out well!

:hi:

[GreenPartyVoter]

26. Phew!

[Sammy Pepys]

28. Are you serious?

You asked him that stuff?

[IdaBriggs]

32. Yes, I really did. I needed to know he was INFORMED about the world

before I felt comfortable taking his advice on where to invest my money. The whole Rush thing left him temporarily suspect in my mind. If he had been insulted and didn't want my business anymore, I would have understood, especially since I don't want to do business with idiots, either. :)

[Carni]

34. Well that's good- I used to torture myself with Rush

To see what he was spewing and it sounds like that's what your money guy is doing to try to sort out current trends.

If he had been a dittohead however I would have run and not walked away from his services.

[Matariki]

25. my .02 - you don't have enough information

First and foremost, you should judge him by his actions, not by what you overheard him listening to for 5 minutes. You said you have liked him up to this point.

Also, considering all the 'freeper reports' on this board, there must be plenty of people who listen to and watch "the other side", you could as easily catch someone here listening to Rush and come to a completely wrong conclusion.

If it is important to you to not do business with wingnut Republicans, how can you find out where he's at politically?

on edit: nevermind, i misssed your most recent thread. glad it worked out.

[Sammy Pepys]

27. Eh.....

Shouldn't you really be making the judgement on whether he's a good financial advisor or not based on how well he's handled your business? You've admitted that he's been professional and respectful.

And does this mean you're going to investigate the political leanings of the next person you go to for financial advice? Are you going ask the next guy/gal who they listen to and how they vote?

[IdaBriggs]

35. Yes. In my experience people who listen to Rush and Hannity types

are woefully uninformed, ignorant, and in general Stupid. Those aren't things that go away when they are making decisions about where I should be investing my money -- BUT, if they are "informed" and listen to BOTH SIDES (which is what I want in a financial advisor), then I can be confident they have enough information to give good advice.

And I don't want to find out they give BAD ADVICE by watching my accounts lose money. He hasn't been handling them long enough to have built up an "automatic" trust level (its only been a few months), and this was my first "bad vibe" moment I've ever had with him.

Frankly, I don't want a "flaming liberal" or a "flaming conservative" handling my financial affairs. (Well, except for my ethical issues -- there are certain types of investments I'm not willing to make, and he had always been good about that before this.) I want someone who is going to look out for my long term needs (retirement wise), and is educated enough in world affairs to have a clue about stuff. I want my finance guy to be "middle of the road" -- which is fortunately what I have.

And I quit buying pizza from my favorite place when I walked in one time to find a picture of the owners attending a Bush Rally in 2004 proudly displayed. When the (uninsured) high school student asked me what politics had to do with Pizza, I explained it to him: they supported a man who was PERSONALLY responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people. They were free to do so, but I was also free to take my pizza dollars elsewhere. Politics Matters.

[Sammy Pepys]

38. Well, that's your prerogative....

And you're free to take your business where you please.

[adigal]

29. I just decided that, in looking for an financial advisor,

I will only deal with Democrats. I think my new accountant is a repub, and I am going to let him do my taxes this year, and then find another one.

We need to start supporting each other, not those who support King George.

[BenDavid]

30. Your decision, but

if you decide to transfer, then make sure you do it as to avoid any penalties. You are allowed to transfer the full IRA balance, provided the assets are transferred to an IRA that holds no other assets and you continue the SEPP from the new IRA.

[Carni]

31. Pull your money

If he's a dittohead he'll just funnel your cash to wherever bushista wants it so they can steal it.

I wouldn't trust a dittohead as far as I could drop kick them with my money--even if his intentions are good his source of info isn't.

[Susang]

36. What kind of voicemail makes you listen to the whole message?

That would really suck. :-(

[IdaBriggs]

37. SBC Ameritech. And yes, it does. :) nt

[Misunderestimator]

39. This will be really helpful... instructions for SBC Ameritech voicemail:

http://www.sbc.com/gen/general?pid=3747#3

[Richardo]

43. Could come in handy...

...I could use one of those myself. :thumbsup:

[Susang]

42. I have SBC voicemail and it lets me skip to the end of the message

Poor Ida! You could have saved yourself five minutes of Rush! :hug:

[IdaBriggs]

47. How? Please, tell me! I keep hitting the "7" to delete, and it won't!

It was SO HORRIBLE!!!! :hug:

[Greyhound]

45. Until about 2 months ago Verizon Wireless had no options to FF

save, delete, or repeat messages until they were finished.

[mmonk]

40. I wouldn't worry too much about it

unless he makes incompetant decisions with your money. Is his track record good?

[ProfessorGAC]

41. I'd Dump Him

There are lots of good financial advisors and most don't listen to Limbaugh. They can't because only about 1% of the population listens. So, it's likely that even in the conservative and libertarian world of financial management, only 1 in 8 or 1 in 10 listen to that nitwit.

It'll be easy to find someone who doesn't. And, i completely agree. I would not trust my money to someone who listens to someone as stupid and dishonest as that duplicitous, no-family-values-having, drug addict.
The Professor

[JCMach1]

46. Cut and run... I did this when I found my car insurance agent

was donating to local Repugs...

I changed agents for a guy who had C-Span on in his office watching Robert Byrd speaking...

I never regretted it...