Lobbying Firm Memo To Advise Wall Street Clients On Occupy Movement (Chris Hayes Scoop)

[Hissyspit]

Source: MSNBC / Huffington Post

Lobbying Firm Memo To Advise Wall Street Clients On Occupy Movement

Posted: 11/18/11 08:58 PM ET

WASHINGTON -- A lobbying firm has prepared a memo offering advice to its Wall Street clients to help them manage any political fallout from Occupy Wall Street, warning that Republicans may turn on big banks, at least in public, altering the political ground for years to come. It is one of the first clear signs that the movement may be starting to trouble the moneyed elite.

The memo, first reported by MSNBC's Chris Hayes, host of the show "Up with Chris Hayes," was written by the firm Clark, Lytle, Geduldig, Cranford and addressed to one of its Wall Street clients. It runs four pages long and is set to be sent on Thanksgiving.

The first two graphs of the memo, provided by MSNBC to The Huffington Post, express angst over the idea that the movement could mean "more than just short-term discomfort for Wall Street firms" and has "the potential to have very long-lasting political, policy and financial impacts on the companies in the center of the bullseye."

The paragraphs read in full:

Leading Democratic party strategists have begun to openly discuss the benefits of embracing the growing and increasingly organized Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement to prevent Republican gains in Congress and the White House next year. We have seen this process of adopting extreme positions and movements to increase base voter turnout, including in the 2005-2006 immigration debate. This would mean more than just short-term discomfort for Wall Street firms. If vilifying the leading companies of this sector is allowed to become an unchallenged centerpiece of a coordinated Democratic campaign, it has the potential to have very long-lasting political, policy and financial impacts on the companies in the center of the bullseye.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/18/lobbying-firm-occupy-wall-street_n_1102310.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false

---

Former Boehner aides turned Wall Street lobbyists urge big banks to "punish" politicians who target them. Specifically targeting Sherrod Brown and Dem elections. American Bankers Association says the proposal was "unsolicited" and they "chose not to act on it." - Chris Hayes this morning.

Entire Memo will be HERE apparently after 9 a.m.:

http://upwithchrishayes.msnbc.msn.com

Up Exclusive: DC Lobbyists Pitch Plan to Attack Occupy Wall Street

By Jonathan Larsen - Sat Nov 19, 2011 6:27 AM EST

In case you caught the Huffington Post story about our exclusive this morning, you should know that they only had two paragraphs of a four-page memo.

We'll be posting the full memo today after the program so you can see it for yourselves, but we can tell you now that it's a well-known Washington lobbyist firm, Clark Lytle Geduldig & Cranford, pitching an $850,000 plan to one of its Wall Streets clients...for punishing politicians who might express sympathy for Occupy Wall Street.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is specifically singled out for targeting, and he'll respond to this story on tomorrow's edition of Up. In the meantime, we're going to try to keep track of where and how this story gets picked up, so please give us a shout if you see it making the rounds...

UPDATES AT LINK

[Kaleko]

1. Let's make this backfire on the lobbyists.

Yes we can.

[Hissyspit]

8. UPDATE w/ Entire MEMO:

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections/news/CLGF-msnbc.pdf

http://UpwithChrisHayes.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/19/8896362-exclusive-lobbying-firms-memo-spells-out-plan-to-undermine-occupy-wall-street

Exclusive: Lobbying Firm's Memo Spells Out Plan to Undermine Occupy Wall Street

Sat Nov 19, 2011 8:53 AM EST
by Jonathan Larsen

- snip -

The memo outlines a 60-day plan to conduct surveys and research on OWS and its supporters so that Wall Street companies will be prepared to conduct a media campaign in response to OWS. Wall Street companies “likely will not be the best spokespeople for their own cause,” according to the memo. “A big challenge is to demonstrate that these companies still have political strength and that making them a political target will carry a severe political cost.”

Part of the plan CLGC proposes is to do “statewide surveys in at least eight states that are shaping up to be the most important of the 2012 cycle.”

Specific races listed in the memo are U.S. Senate races in Florida, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin, Ohio, New Mexico and Nevada as well as the gubernatorial race in North Carolina.

The memo indicates that CLGC would research who has contributed financial backing to OWS, noting that, “Media reports have speculated about associations with George Soros and others.”

[DirkGently]

19. A fairly perfect illustration of the problem. Big money offers to target populist outcry ...

against the influence of big money.

[IDemo]

2. K Street is the missing link in all of this

OWS argues that Wall Street is the culprit behind our current mess, while the baggers claim Big Government (excuse me, gummint) is at fault. The lobbyists are the interlocutors of the minstrel show and deserve their share of Occupying.

[Hissyspit]

3. The original demand from Adbusters for OWS was "one simple demand—a presidential commission to

separate money from politics."

[IDemo]

5. Publicly financed elections and an end to Citizens United are job 1

And bringing K Street under control would mean putting the brakes on against corporations drafting legislation for their obedient robo-signers in Congress.

[ewagner]

7. a kick for that one!

:kick:

[SpiralHawk]

4. Occupy K Street

[emcguffie]

15. Yup.

I'm with you. And with them (the occupiers, I mean). :bounce:

:kick:

edited to clarify

[ewagner]

6. Absolutely true

K-Street is the trigger mechanism used by Wall Street and the financial community to enrich themselves.

[No Elephants]

25. OWS argues that the system is the culprit. Both big money and the legislation it buys.

Lobbyists and our bought and paid for politicians and entire rigged system are very much included.

The occupation was supposed to begin October 6 in Freedom Square in Washington D.C., on the tenth anniversary of the start of the Afghanistan War--and so much of our money goes into war and into the private contractors that get fat off our wars. So, it's all connected.

Occupy Wall Street started in September, though and subsumed the Washington, D.C. occupation. It's all good, though. People who were very much involved in Freedom Square, like Chris Hedges, went to Wall Street and got arrested, etc. They are all one and all against the broken system, including lobbyists and legislators.

[Enrique]

9. we need to punish politicians who support the banks

we need to make taking bank money carry more cost than benefit.

[roguevalley]

23. baucus and nelson have to go

[Zhade]

10. So Dem strategists think such craven opportunism isn't also part of the problem?

Fuck these people. Seriously.

[emulatorloo]

13. Read the memo again. It is written by a 1 per center. He is a liar

He is making shit up about OWS and Democrats. I do not take the words of a liar as truth. Consider the source.


Sherrod Brown is one of the best Senators we have, and these creeps are trying to destroy him for speaking out.

[No Elephants]

27. Most Democrats in D.C., in and out of office, are one percenters.

[emulatorloo]

28. The author is a Republican lobbiest. Sherrod Brown is an excellent Senator. I don't

Understand your need to take a Republican hit piece on OWS and Sherrod Brown to create your own hit piece against Sherrod Brown

[slipslidingaway]

32. That part seemed get glossed over in the video I watched...

but the first couple sentences of the memo are worth reading.

http://publicintelligence.net/clark-lytle-geduldig-cranford-occupy-wall-street-lobbyist-response-proposal/

"Leading Democratic party strategists have begun to openly discuss the benefits of embracing the growing and increasingly organized Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement to prevent Republican gains in Congress and the White House next year..."

According to the memo Dems are looking to take advantage of the movement for political gains, the firm wants business, otherwise the sky might fall for these financial firms.

:shrug:

Just started reading this...

Here’s what attempted co-option of OWS looks like
http://www.salon.com/2011/11/19/heres_what_attempted_co_option_of_ows_looks_like/singleton/

[alfredo]

11. On to Facebook and my email.

[eleny]

12. kick n' rec

[malthaussen]

14. Some of the language in the memo is interesting...

... given the fact that they are trying to sell a service. They are obviously trying to play off the fears of their target population, and it is interesting to see what they think will do that. I especially like "we need to show them that the banks still have political power...

-- Mal

[No Elephants]

26. LOL. Republicans and their victim mentality are hysterical.

[Warren Stupidity]

16. They don't have to worry so much about the Democratic Party

as the leadership of our party is determined to appeal to a phantom middle by moving ever further to the right, and will not ever, aside from a few individuals, support OWS.

[emulatorloo]

29. You seem quite happy to use a Republican hit piece to smear Sherrod Brown

Why are you climbing into bed with a Republican lobbyist? It doesn't make sense to me. Doesn't seem like you, really.

[Warren Stupidity]

30. I am? What? The? Fuck?

me: "They don't have to worry so much about the Democratic Party as the leadership of our party is determined to appeal to a phantom middle by moving ever further to the right, and will not ever, aside from a few individuals, support OWS."

you: "You seem quite happy to use a Republican hit piece to smear Sherrod Brown"

I give up. Were you responding to somebody else?

[emulatorloo]

33. No, I was responding to your knee-jerk reaction to attack Democrats by embracing this memo

Instead of criticizing this disgusting memo, you immediately attacked Democrats

[Warren Stupidity]

34. I didn't "embrace the memo" I criticized its false concern

for a potential alliance between OWS and the Democratic Party. I attacked the Democratic Party leadership for its 30 years of pandering to the right, a pandering that has now placed our party's leadership on the record as in favor of major cuts to medicare and social security, for example. That was to point out how stupid this memo was.

You said that I "smeared Sherrod Brown". Please provide the text of that smear.

[jwirr]

17. Their argument will be totally uphill. The people already are angry

with big banks, corporations, globalization, politicians who do not support the people and provide jobs. What kind of consequences can there be that tops that.

[Why Syzygy]

18. k/r

Glad to see this posted here already! It belongs in Latest News and I hope the mods will agree.

[certainot]

20. talk radio is already a 24/7 attacker of OWS, on stations that depend on uni sports for community

credibility and ad revenue, and they get that free.

radio is mentioned as one of their vehicles- that would mean they would localize it in those states and the local blowhards would get fed subjects and interviews, it might even meant paid callers, but it's already doing free anti-OWS in every state.

[NashVegas]

21. I Wonder How That Memo Came to msNBC

and how many similar strategic memos would put the billing cost on such a memo, for their actual clients?

[WillyT]

22. K & R !!!

:kick:

[No Elephants]

24. Poor OWS. Not able to have any impact at all--and it's been two whole months, too!

Tsk, tsk. Totally ineffective movement.

I support it, mind you. However, I am concerned.

They better pack up their tents, appoint leaders, make specific demands, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

[Hissyspit]

31. I know what you mean!

Two Time Magazine covers in the last month about income inequality is indicative of how worthless this movement's approach is. They really ought to la do da do da...