Restaurant Owner Who Booted Sarah Sanders Basks in Publicity, Issues Statement
Donald Trump and members of his administration have formed a kind of cottage industry for angry liberals. Think of it as a make-work program for people whose 15 minutes of fame would ordinarily be confined to winning tofu-eating contests at the Vermont State Fair.
There’s a long list of liberals who have taken advantage of the program. Linda Sarsour. Nina Mariah Donovan. Shaun King. And then there are those who have used it to re-up their 15 minutes of fame, like Peter Fonda or Tom Arnold.
To this long list, we can add Stephanie Wilkinson, the owner of the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia. That’s the place that booted Sarah Sanders off of its premises because she is a member of the Trump administration
In fact, just one day after the White House press secretary got the boot, Wilkinson was already giving an interview to The Washington Post.
In her statement, Wilkinson said she found the Trump administration “inhumane and unethical,” which is why she gave Sanders the heave-ho.
“This feels like the moment in our democracy when people have to make uncomfortable actions and decisions to uphold their morals,” Wilkinson said.
You know, like the very uncomfortable decision to self-promote her restaurant as the official pit stop of #TheResistance.
As for the confrontation with Sanders, Wilkinson said, “I was babbling a little, but I got my point across in a polite and direct fashion. I explained that the restaurant has certain standards that I feel it has to uphold, such as honesty, and compassion, and cooperation.
“I said, ‘I’d like to ask you to leave.’”
So, would she do it again? (Did Ted Kennedy like an occasional tipple?)
“Absolutely, yes, I would have done the same thing again… We just felt there are moments in time when people need to live their convictions. This appeared to be one,” Wilkinson said.
“(W)hatever happens, we will soldier on,” she added, no doubt with a symphony of nanoscopic violins playing in the background.
Give me a break.
It’s not an act of valor to kick people out of your establishment because you disagree with their political views. In addition, the article makes clear the staff also disagreed with Sanders’ religious views on gay issues, which is a different kettle of red hen entirely.
Either way, there’s absolutely nothing in this sordid tale that has even a soupçon of living one’s convictions. This has everything to do with pettiness, virtue-signaling and intolerance.
Yes, of course Wilkinson would do this again. This is giving her the kind of undeserved attention every liberal seems to dream of thanks to this administration.
And, of course, if and when things go south for her — as they likely will once the support from fellow #Resistance members dries up and long conservative memories cast a shadow over her bottom line — maybe she’ll make a Kathy Griffin-esque video in which she cries about how much this has cost her.
I don’t actually wish that upon her, inasmuch as financial ruin seems a bit steep of a penalty for being an attention-seeking git.
However, given the relative likelihood of this ending, I’d start looking into other opportunities if I were Ms. Wilkinson.
Maybe crocheting pink hats with ears? Seems right up her alley.
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