NEW YORK – Wal-Mart is lashing back at Democrat members of Congress that have joined the retailer’s most significant critic, Wake Up Wal-Mart, by sending 18,000 of its Iowa employees a “voter education guide,” reports CNN.

“We believe it's wrong for these political candidates to attack Wal-Mart and the transformation under way at our company," notes the letter penned by Wal-Mart, adding, adding, “We would never suggest to you how to vote, but we have an obligation to tell you when politicians are saying something about your company that isn't true.”

CNN writes that presidential hopefuls are already visiting Iowa, which is home to the first presidential caucus.

Wake Up Wal-Mart fired back with a response to the retailer’s letter, noting that the Wal-Mart debate “is of critical importance to the future” of the United States.

“Sadly, not one single employee or any citizen will ever hear the truth from Wal-Mart about the negative impact it has on its workers or working families because Wal-Mart does everything it can to hide its real record,” the group wrote.

Wal-Mart has indicated that it will invite candidates to visit its Iowa stores and employees. So far, the retailer has sent a letter asking Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) to visit “without fanfare of media or staff or supporters.”

According to Wake Up Wal-Mart, Democrat members of Congress “from Sen. Hillary Clinton to Sen. Evan Bayh” are asking Wal-Mart to change “because the American people desperately want large profitable corporations, like Wal-Mart, to reflect the best of our nation’s values.”

Meanwhile, on August 15, Wal-Mart reported its first quarterly profit decline in nearly 10 years, reports the Associated Press.

Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott said in a prerecorded message that the company’s second-quarter sales were disappointing, as consumers are making fewer trips to the store to conserve gasoline while the retailer’s own fuel and utility bills were rising. The news source also notes the company is feeling a backlash from recent decisions to bail out of the South Korean and Germany markets.