Thomas Peterffy is a man who grew up in socialist Hungary and saw for himself the results of the socialist philosophy of “fairness” and “social justice.” He saw the economic destruction of his home nation and the moral destruction of his fellow citizens. Mr. Peterffy later came to America where he became a citizen and applied determination with hard work to become a very successful businessman.
Mr. Peterffy paid for a nationally televised message in an attempt to warn his fellow Americans of the dangers of socialism and to persuade any who would listen to vote against Obama and the socialist Democratic party in the upcoming national elections. With knowledge acquired through experience, Mr. Peterffy hopes to convince America of the dangers of her perilous and increasingly intimate liaison with the soul-eating ideology of socialism.
Two questions: Will enough Americans hear Mr. Peterffy’s warning? If they do hear him, will they heed his advice?
Stay tuned.
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12 comments
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Thor Christopher
15 October, 2012 at 11:51 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
A reader writes:
I live in Wisconsin. Recently someone named Thomas Peterffy has been running ads in Wisconsin and he says he will be voting Republican “this time.” I never heard of this person. He gave the impression that he was an ordinary guy who is spending “his own money” to tell us why he supports the Republican ticket. So I did an internet search this evening to find out who Thomas Peterffy is. Much to my surprise, he left something out of this ad when he was “spending his own money.” It turns out that he is one of the wealthiest men in the USA with an estimated personal wealth of five to six billion dollars. His ad is deceptive. He never mentions in his ad that he is wealthy enough to buy an unlimited number of ads. I don’t fault him for his wealth or his success story. I fault him for giving the impression that he is an ordinary man. My internet search also turned up something about buying a seat on the stock exchange with his own money. The more I read about him, the more I felt deceived by his ad. When he said that he will be voting “republican this time,” that’s an attempt to mask his true politics. According to my research, Peterffy is a conservative Republican who has a history of supporting conservative candidates (donations) and causes. It also found that he went through an unpleasant divorce and has an ex-wife and 3 children. He never mentioned his marital status and how that runs contrary to a conservative’s position on traditional values. He sings the same song as Donald Trump who espouses conservative Republican views but has had 3 wives, including Marla Maples who was pregnant with his child (they were not married when he impregnated Marla).
I am a moderate Republican who is sick of the garbage in this year’s election. My party has been kidnapped by radicals and extremists on the far right. I can understand why people get turned off by the lies and deceptions, as well as the hypocrisy on both sides of the political spectrum. Wisconsin is a swing state and I have decided to support Obama. Why? I’m not an Obama fan but I don’t like to extreme positions of the right-wing faction of the Republican party. In Wisconsin, we have a former moderate governor Tommy Thompson who is saying things to appease the radical right wingers. That approach is backfiring. I don’t see him as credible. Had he stayed the course and taken a moderate positions on issues, he would have more support in Wisconsin. As a moderate, I think Tommy Thompson has sold out to the right wingers and I cannot vote for him. I will hold my nose and vote for his opponent Tammy Baldwin. I am not alone in my views. The conservatives cannot win elections without the small middle of the electorate that I am part of. I also predict that the pundits will be asking how congressman Paul Ryan lost his own state. I know: Mr Ryan is not in sync with the mainstream of Wisconsin and he cannot carry the state with a conservative message. As a closing point, you may want to read a recent poll that was taken last week in Wisconsin about a strange alignment. I fall into a category that the poll identifies as voters who voted for Governor Scott Walker and will also vote for President Obama. The poll identified the reason – these voters don’t like the politics of the far right wing and see a further shift to the right as dangerous. You can find the results of these recent polls in Wisconsin newspapers.
P.S. If you know Thomas Peterffy, please ask him to be forthright in his ads and tell people that he is a billionaire many times over. He has the same credibility as the Koh brothers who have spent over $400 million to sway the electorate. Money does not buy my vote. That’s why I won’t vote for Mitt Romney who is parading as a conservative even though he has a history of moderate and liberal positions in the past.
Enjoy your day
[From an email sent by a reader]
Thor Christopher
16 October, 2012 at 12:39 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Thanks for commenting.
I do not know Mr. Peterffy. I saw his political advertisement, either on television or online, and decided his message is something that I wanted to share with the readers of this website. I have no problem with the fact that he is a billionaire. Quite the opposite – I think his success lends credence to his message.
Anonymous
17 October, 2012 at 8:01 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
This Reader Writes:
I notice you neglected to tell us anything about yourself or even your name. And you’re not going to convince anyone you’re a conservative a Republican a Libertarian or even a Constitutionalist. You’re a Liberal Democrat. Own it!
Thor Christopher
17 October, 2012 at 3:28 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Just to clarify: He gave his name in the email he sent but since he didn’t post on the comment page I decided to note the comment as sent by “a reader.”
I agree with you that his comments are liberal; they are talking points straight from the Democratic party leadership and are more in line with those of a liberal Democrat than a conservative Republican.
[EDIT] I changed CNN host to liberal Democrat - it came across as snippy and that was not my intention.
Brent
18 October, 2012 at 11:23 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
You’re a moderate Republican voting for Obama? Sure you are. It appears that you and Obama have one thing in common: you’re both liars. This Hungarian immigrant may be very wealthy NOW but he wasn’t when he came here. He was a “regular guy” that faced even greater challenges than a natural born citizen in attaining wealth. Good for him! He also has seen the Obama plan of redistribution played out in his homeland and has a personal understanding of it’s failure. The entitlement attitude, divisive politics and class envy that Obama has spewed will be the destruction of opportunity for all and the weakening of our young, once great nation. Your children and grand children will be ashamed of you for supporting the collapse of their once bright future.
Shirley
3 November, 2012 at 6:27 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
So you will risk what will happen to our country with 4 more yrs of obama just because this man was able to have a great success story by coming to America, becoming a citizen legally & working hard? He didn’t say that he didn’t do that. He was trying to warn about what he experienced in Communist Hungary. We are headed straight for that with obama. You DESERVE that since you chose to vote for obama. God help us with your type thinking. Good grief! Clever deduction – not.
Nick
26 October, 2012 at 1:46 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
He is as ordinary as each and every one of us, because he had the same opportunities, as you, me…, all of us. That is what make us Americans. Keep dreaming “moderate Republican” . Dreams of success and hard work to achieve it often brings results. Enjoy freedom. Hope you never have to live in environment some of us came from (behind “iron curtain”).
Hungarian Heritage
29 October, 2012 at 9:34 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Mr. Peterffy also doesn’t know what he is talking about. If he grew up in Hungary, then unless he is less than 23 years old (which he doesn’t appear to be) he didn’t grow up in a socialist country. Hungary was a communist country from 1956 until 1989. So Mr. Peterffy grew up in a communist country.
EM from BP
30 October, 2012 at 9:45 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
You have to get your information in order.from 1947 to 1990 is when Communism was destroying the land of ARPAD.
Rick
30 October, 2012 at 12:45 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Here’s the link to the annual report for Interactive Brokers, the company founded by Mr. Peterffy. Quite a success story!
http://investors.interactivebrokers.com/download/IBG_2011_AR_10-K.pdf
PB
30 October, 2012 at 2:48 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
This guy has missed the point of the ad. A government that can take over a private company is socialist by any name, isn’t it? I grew up in Mexico, which we shall name a Social Democracy.
During my youth, my father’s company was taken over by the government more than once. My dad waited until they ran it into the ground, spending all the money and goodwill, before starting up a new company doing the same thing. He did this three times!!
Those most affected were the employees. Steady work under an owner that accepts responsibility to keep the business going benefits everyone. And so what if that success is also reflected in the lifestyle of the owner? Ask yourself, who took the risk to start up the business?
These points seem so obvious. I grew up under the tutelage of a disillusioned Communist grandfather. Maybe they are only obvious to me.
I have long believed that one prerequisite to running for President should be that you have ‘met a payroll.’ I think many, including those on the left undervalue the responsibility felt by owners of small companies (or large).
WJ Hartvikson
1 November, 2012 at 4:54 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I am in total agreement with the points made in Thomas Petterffy’s ad. I too, looked him up. Totally impressed with what he was able to build in the USA.