I wouldn't want this dude's pizza either

[TheGreatGatsby]

Scott Van Duzer, the Obama hugger: Shop facing boycott - Kevin Cirilli - POLITICO.com

The owner of a Florida pizza shop says people are boycotting his business because he bear-hugged President Barack Obama on Sunday.

“People are saying a lot of bad things and boycotting my restaurant,” Scott Van Duzer, 46, told POLITICO. “There’s no middle line anymore, and that’s exactly what’s wrong with our country right now.”

The owner of Big Apple Pizza & Pasta Restaurant in Fort Pierce, Fla., said that both Democrats and Republicans are welcome in his store. But he also said he thinks Mitt Romney’s running mate Rep. Paul Ryan — whose sculpted abs are thanks to intense P90X training sessions — would lose to the president in a workout battle.

“I think Obama could take him,” Van Duzer said, laughing. “Obama looked pretty fast and pretty quick on his feet.”

So is Van Duzer. For a guy who biked 1,148 miles in 31 days from Florida to Washington D.C., lifting Obama was a piece of cake — err, a slice of pizza. And Van Duzer says he wasn’t even warmed up.

“I don’t work out that much, man. Usually, it’s about two days per week. The bike ride was my big thing,” Van Duzer said. “I’m starting to go back to the gym right now. I need to start maintaining.”

Van Duzer’s June bike-trek was part of his Van Duzer Foundation, and helped raise awareness for blood donation shortages. Founded in 2008 to support a local firefighter whose house burned down, the foundation has since raised more than $600,000, Van Duzer said. Van Duzer said he rode with a few kids from the Boys and Girls Club and met with U.S. Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin to discuss blood shortages.

Obama told The New York Times that Van Duzer’s effort in promoting blood donations was part of the reason the campaign decided to visit his pizza shop.

“One of the reasons that we wanted to stop by is that Scott has been doing unbelievable work out of this pizza shop in promoting the importance of donating blood,” Obama told the Times. “And so he has set some records here in Florida. He has received commendations from the White House, the surgeon general, he has galvanized and mobilized the local community and he’s educating kids and folks all across the country on this issue.”

Inside the shop Sunday, Obama wanted to know how to look like Van Duzer.

“Everybody look at these guns,” Obama said. “If I eat your pizza, will I look like that?”

(Also on POLITICO: Fit for office: 2012 candidates in the best shape ever)

Van Duzer told POLITICO that he packs on protein with his homemade pepperoni pizza. And the 6-foot-3-inch, 260-pound Van Duzer says he bench presses 350 pounds at six reps, usually twice a week — nearly double the estimated 176 pounds that Obama weighs.

“When I was in peak condition, I lifted five times a week,” he said. “But that was before my injury.”

He tore his Achilles tendon during an “intense” charity dodgeball game. Mainly, he says his active, energetic lifestyle keeps him fit.

“I move around a lot,” he said.

Read more: Scott Van Duzer, the Obama hugger: Shop facing boycott - Kevin Cirilli - POLITICO.com

 

[theDoctorisIn]

Sometimes you guys baffle me.

Are you really such a partisan nutcase that you would base where you buy pizza on whether or not the owner hugged Obama?

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

Sometimes you guys baffle me.

Are you really such a partisan nutcase that you would base where you buy pizza on whether or not the owner hugged Obama?

Anybody who is celebrating Obama, doesn't need or want my business.

 

[Chris]

It's Chic fil A in reverse.

 

[Chris]

Sometimes you guys baffle me.

Are you really such a partisan nutcase that you would base where you buy pizza on whether or not the owner hugged Obama?

When I was a kid, we bought fried chicken from Lester Maddox.

I am probably one of the few people that has met Lester Maddox, John Glenn, and President Obama.

 

[Cowman]

It's Chic fil A in reverse.

Except far more trivial.

 

[theDoctorisIn]

Sometimes you guys baffle me.

Are you really such a partisan nutcase that you would base where you buy pizza on whether or not the owner hugged Obama?

Anybody who is celebrating Obama, doesn't need or want my business.

Seeing as how you live a few thousand miles away, he probably doesn't "need" your business. But do you really take pride in being so petty?

 

[Chris]

It's Chic fil A in reverse.

Except far more trivial.

True.

The Chic Fil A guy was a bigot.

 

[Chris]

Sometimes you guys baffle me.

Are you really such a partisan nutcase that you would base where you buy pizza on whether or not the owner hugged Obama?

Hey Doc, when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

It's Chic fil A in reverse.

You'll notice that conservatives never objected to a person's decision to boycott Chic Fil A.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

It's Chic fil A in reverse.

Except far more trivial.

Not at all. The boycotters make their decisions based upon an establishment's politics in both cases.

 

[Cowman]

It's Chic fil A in reverse.

Except far more trivial.

Not at all. The boycotters make their decisions based upon an establishment's politics in both cases.

People all around you in daily life have differing political ideologies. This dude only revealed that he supported Obama, by giving him a hug.

He simply revealed to the world that he supports the President, and it is with that revelation that you have a desire to make him suffer.

It's not like supporting a candidate is such an awful thing.

You guys are so fucking petty. I don't fucking go around boycotting businesses in my neighborhood because I know the owner is conservative. If they did something worthy of boycotting like putting up a "Whites only" sign or some shit, then I probably would.

Petty, petty losers.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

Sometimes you guys baffle me.

Are you really such a partisan nutcase that you would base where you buy pizza on whether or not the owner hugged Obama?

Anybody who is celebrating Obama, doesn't need or want my business.

Seeing as how you live a few thousand miles away, he probably doesn't "need" your business. But do you really take pride in being so petty?

Petty? Obama is a scoundrel. Anybody who is bear hugging him and propping him up is not doing the world a service and I won't support that. Don't confuse principles with pettiness.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

It's Chic fil A in reverse.

You'll notice that conservatives never objected to a person's decision to boycott Chic Fil A.

So is the other guy by your fucked up standard.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

Except far more trivial.

Not at all. The boycotters make their decisions based upon an establishment's politics in both cases.

People all around you in daily life have differing political ideologies. This dude only revealed that he supported Obama, by giving him a hug.

He simply revealed to the world that he supports the President, and it is with that revelation that you have a desire to make him suffer.

It's not like supporting a candidate is such an awful thing.

You guys are so fucking petty. I don't fucking go around boycotting businesses in my neighborhood because I know the owner is conservative. If they did something worthy of boycotting like putting up a "Whites only" sign or some shit, then I probably would.

Petty, petty losers.

Go ahead and boycott whoever you want. I don't care. Actions have consequences and if this guy is too stupid to realize that then perhaps he's not fit to run a business.

 

[Katzndogz]

He voluntarily chose to support obama. People can voluntarily choose to boycott him too.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Ryans an animal fucker anyways. Obama at least could land better-so he wins. Yeah, I agree with the pizza man.

 

[Katzndogz]

obama would hide because that's really all he's good for.

 

[squeeze berry]

Sometimes you guys baffle me.

Are you really such a partisan nutcase that you would base where you buy pizza on whether or not the owner hugged Obama?

Maybe they are just following Michelle's orders

 

[Ravi]

If you were any kind of Patriot, you'd be writing up nasty things to post on his Yelp restaurant review like all the other fucking idiots.