Mark Penn chief campaign strategist/lobbyist (WTH?)

[ProSense]

Clinton: Worse than Goolsbee?

Posted: Friday, April 04, 2008 8:59 AM by Domenico Montanaro

CLINTON: Worse than Goolsbee?

Clinton chief strategist Mark Penn "met with Colombia's ambassador to the U.S. on Monday to discuss a bilateral free-trade agreement, a pact the presidential candidate opposes. Attendance by the adviser, Mark Penn, was confirmed by two Colombian officials. He wasn't there in his campaign role, but in his separate job as chief executive of Burson-Marsteller Worldwide, an international communications and lobbying firm. The firm has a contract with the South American nation to promote congressional approval of the trade deal, among other things, according to filings with the Justice Department."

“Penn declined to comment. Howard Wolfson, communications director for Sen. Clinton's campaign, said in an email that 'Mark was not there on behalf of the campaign' and referred further questions to Burson-Marsteller. 'Sen. Clinton's opposition to the trade deal with Colombia is clear,' Mr. Wolfson added."

Appearing on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night, NBC’s John Boxley reports, Clinton managed to joke about her Bosnia misspeak, saying: “It is so great to be here you know, I was afraid I wasn’t going to make it… Why? Yeah, I was pinned down by sniper fire.” The show also had a funny opening skit with Jay Leno calling Hillary at the White House at 3:00 am to ask her to come on show. Looking into the camera, Hillary replied, “I need caller ID.” Following her Tonight Show gig, Clinton also taped an appearance on Ellen. The show will air Monday.

Mark, Mark, Mark ...

04.03.08 -- 10:30PM By Josh Marshall

Just out from the Wall Street Journal ...

Hillary Clinton's chief campaign strategist met with Colombia's ambassador to the U.S. on Monday to discuss a bilateral free-trade agreement, a pact the presidential candidate opposes.
Attendance by the adviser, Mark Penn, was confirmed by two Colombian officials. He wasn't there in his campaign role, but in his separate job as chief executive of Burson-Marsteller Worldwide, an international communications and lobbying firm.

The firm has a contract with the South American nation to help promote congressional approval of the trade deal, among other things, according to filings with the Justice Department.

There are so many reasons why candidates should be paying Mark Penn to stay as far away from their campaigns as possible. But this is yet another. Having your key campaign advisor also be an international man of mystery-cum-PR-lobbyist-cheeseball is fairly problematic. But for Hillary's sake, when her political future is on the line in a state like Pennsylvania, wracked by the loss of industrial jobs for decades, you think he could have waited a few more weeks before prancing off to help get a new free trade pact passed?

[crankychatter]

1. bumped for good information

this is why I lurk around this armed madhouse, thanks

[olkaz]

2. He was working out some sort of free-trade deal?!

Jesus ever-loving christ.

Hillary, I'm telling you, you would have had a way better shot at my support if you didn't decide to surround yourself with lunatic scum like this.

God, it just makes me furious.

[ProSense]

4. Remember the hoopla

Hillary's camp made about the NATFA lie that originated in their camp?

[quantass]

30. .

[antigop]

3. K&R. n/t

[AnarchoFreeThinker]

5. kick

[JNelson6563]

6. I think Penn is a rather dispicable figure

He is such a worm.

[ProSense]

7. Yeah, where is the outrage? n/t

[ProSense]

8. More:

You may recall former Sen. John Edwards, D-NC, once likened Penn to Karl Rove noting that Penn's firm once represented the private contractor Blackwater, adding, "we don't want to replace a group of corporate Republicans with a group of corporate Democrats."

Burson's lobbying subsidiary BKSH helped Blackwater's top executive, Erik Prince, prepare for his congressional testimony.

Since then, Penn's firm has also represented the company that made Aquadots, the toy beads coated with a chemical that when ingested metabolizes into gamma hydroxy butyrate, better known as the "date rape" drug. (Two kids in the US who swallowed Aqua Dots went into non-responsive comas, though both have since emerged. Aqua Dots have been pulled from the shelves.)

A Burson official told me at the time that "Mark has never had any contact with this client. We have thousands of clients around the world and this is one of them."

more

[blm]

10. My little girl was effected by the Aquadots, btw. Costco had them and he gave in to the pleadings

of a 6yo (at the time) who saw the ads on TV.

She started getting headaches shortly after playing with the dots. The company said, No you have to INGEST the dots to be effected as the younger tots were, I said No, you haven't factored in that the 6-7 and up who are playing with these dots often bite their nails or put their fingers in their mouths. The exec at the company admitted he chewed his nails through his teens.

[ProSense]

9. "Penn wasn't wearing his Clinton Camp Top BS Artist hat"

How can that be that Hillary's top surrogate was out supporting a deal she's against? Ah, for that you need Mark Penn's collection of invisible hats.

He wasn't there in his campaign role, but in his separate job as chief executive of Burson-Marsteller Worldwide, an international communications and lobbying firm. The firm has a contract with the South American nation to promote congressional approval of the trade deal, among other things, according to filings with the Justice Department.

So Penn wasn't wearing his Clinton Camp Top BS Artist hat, he was wearing his Smarmy Lobbyist Against US Workers hat. How nice it must be to have such a collection of invisible hats that no matter what you're up to, you always have an excuse.

A good thing, too, because without those hats, Penn would come off as a cynical jerkwad who would sell out anyone or anything just to put another buck in his pocket. And then Hillary would be putting her campaign in the hands of someone whose beliefs are no deeper than the oil stain on top of a mud puddle.

link

[Scurrilous]

11. K & R

Great post! :thumbsup:

[ProSense]

12. Good grief!

April 4, 2008, 12:20 pm

Penn Apologizes for Trade Meeting

By John M. Broder

Updated | 1:11 p.m. In addition to his duties on the Clinton campaign, Mark Penn has been keeping his hand in other matters, notably meeting with Colombia’s U.S. ambassador on Monday to discuss a free-trade agreement, as The Wall Street Journal reported today.

That trade agreement is opposed by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, and word of Mr. Penn’s talks with the ambassador comes as the debate over such trade deals continue to crop up on the campaign trail.

Mr. Penn issued a statement apologizing for the meeting: “The meeting was an error in judgment that will not be repeated and I am sorry for it. The senator’s well known opposition to this trade deal is clear and was not discussed.”

Mr. Penn was meeting with the ambassador as part of his job as chief executive of Burson-Marsteller Worldwide, the communications and lobbying firm.

Today, the Clinton campaign was asked about the meeting, and a spokesman, Mo Elleithee, said that Mr. Penn’s work had nothing to do with the campaign and that he did not see any conflict or perception problem.

“She remains opposed to the Colombia trade deal,” he said of the Senator.

What a lying disingenuous bastard!

[ericgtr]

13. She is just unbelievable

I have no idea how she can run a campain this fucked up and expect to win, she acts like she is above all just like Bush and Cheny did. Her drop from this race cannot come soon enough.

[ProSense]

14. Statement from SEIU

Obama allies hit Penn

Change to Win, the labor federation that includes SEIU, just sent out a statement demanding Penn's head:

The statement, from executive director Greg Tarpinian:

It's time for Senator Hillary Clinton to send her vaunted 'chief strategist' Mark Penn packing -- back to his job consulting for union busting corporations and anti-labor governments for good.

Continued after the jump.


"We have questioned Penn's role in the Clinton campaign in the past for his representation of union busting employers like Cintas. At that time, Penn said there was a wall between him and his firm's representation of union busters. The latest revelation that Penn -- whose firm represents the Colombian government in its effort to secure passage of a so-called free trade agreement -- is actively involved in securing its passage in the middle of Senator Clinton's presidential campaign is outrageous. It also suggests that he has been playing a double role - advising the Senator on what to say to curry Democratic voters and advising the Colombian government on what to say to curry a majority of votes in Congress.

"The vast majority of Americans do not believe that we should be granting preferential trade status to a government that coddles death squads that target union organizers. Colombia remains the most dangerous country in the world for union members, where more than 2,200 workers have been murdered since the 1980s by Colombian death squads for trying to form unions while the government has done nothing to effectively stop the murders. It is time for Penn to go."

[Zachstar]

15. K&R

[anigbrowl]

16. A clear conflict of interest - this is shameful

As if Penn's lobbying strategy wouldn't use leverage/promises based on knwoeldge and contacts he has access to because of his role as Hillary's campaign strategist. This is no different from W and other Republicans saying that the financial sector does best with voluntary regulation and suchlike.

[panAmerican]

17. Penn apologized for meeting, but will he refund $300,000 and cancel contract?

WSJ states:

"The spokesman said he didn't know if Mr. Penn was representing Sen. Clinton or Burson-Marsteller, which signed a $300,000, one-year contract with the Colombian Embassy in March 2007 to work on behalf of the trade deal and anti-drug-trafficking initiatives, according to the Justice Department filings."

[cliffordu]

18. What IS that giant flushing sound?????

:rofl:


edited for K&R!!!

[ProSense]

23. $10 million from Hillary's campaign wasn't enough. n/t

[ProSense]

19. "Clinton lectured reporters"

Clinton Top Aide Working to Help Colombian Trade Deal She Opposes, Part II

April 04, 2008 1:53 PM

Last year, Mark Penn told the Washington Post that conflicts of interest like this would not happen.

"Penn said that he has been cleared of all client responsibilities, except for Microsoft, for the duration of the campaign but that he still relies on a team of about 20 employees to do most of the day-to-day work. Though running a major company and a presidential campaign at the same time would seem to provide a number of possible conflicts, Penn insists there are none," the newspaper reported.

More to the point, what does this do to Sen. Hillary Clinton's outrage about the Austan Goolsbee story?

During that kerfuffle, Clinton lectured reporters to "look at that story, substitute my name for Senator Obama. If some of my advisers had been having private meetings with foreign governments and basically saying ignore what I'm saying because it's only political rhetoric…"

That of course is not what Penn was doing. He was, for cash money, advising the Colombian government how to get the trade deal passed, how to build popular support for it in the U.S. and in Congress.

What would Clinton say if David Axelrod were advising Colombia on how to pass the deal despite Sen. Barack Obama's opposition to it?

Holding a press conference right now, I bet.

From the link at "Clinton lectured reporters" above:

Clinton accused Obama of doing "the old wink-wink."

"It raises questions about Senator Obama coming to Ohio and giving speeches about NAFTA and having his chief economic adviser tell the Canadian government that it was just political rhetoric," Clinton told reporters. "I don't think people should come to Ohio and tell the people of Ohio one thing and then have your campaign tell a foreign government something else behind closed doors. That's the kind of difference between talk and action and that I've been pointing out in this campaign."

She then challenged reporters to pursue the issue more aggressively.

"I would ask you to look at that story, substitute my name for Senator Obama," Clinton said. "If some of my advisers had been having private meetings with foreign governments and basically saying ignore what I'm saying because it's only political rhetoric ... I think it raises serious questions."

With NAFTA very unpopular here in Ohio, the two candidates have warred over who is more opposed to the trade deal. At a rally in Toledo following the news conference, Gov. Ted Strickland blasted Obama for the meeting and noted that Clinton was backed by a man who had fought against NAFTA back in 1993, former House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt. The chief proponent of the deal whom Gephardt was battling was, of course, Bill Clinton, one of the agreement's biggest advocates back them.

link

‘NAFTA-gate’ story takes unexpected turn(hypocrisy)

[Ichingcarpenter]

20. Penn just called it "An error in Judgement"

"The meeting was an error in judgment that will not be repeated and I am sorry for it," Penn said

NOW? Who hired this "error of judgement" and was the hiring of him an "error of judgement"?


LBN: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3255683

[ProSense]

21. What A Goof

What A Goof:

"Mark Penn on his Colombia trade deal lobbying: It was an 'error in judgment.'"

[ProSense]

22. More Hillary camp problems: "Another Clinton fundraiser has a suspect past"

Another Clinton fundraiser has a suspect past

By Greg Gordon and Will Connors | McClatchy Newspapers

Posted on Thursday, April 3, 2008

HOUSTON — A Texas oilman who's accused of defrauding the Nigerian government by illegally pumping and exporting 10 million barrels of oil is a major fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

Kase Lawal of Houston is at least the fourth person accused or convicted of criminal wrongdoing to help finance Clinton's political ambitions since 2000 and the second in her quest for the White House. The list also includes Chinese and Pakistani fugitives and a former Miami lawyer who was convicted of defrauding Cuba.

There's no indication that Clinton's campaign was aware of Lawal's legal problems when it accepted his help in raising more than $100,000, but a McClatchy investigation in the U.S. and Nigeria suggests that her campaign did little to scrutinize the background of one of its top fundraisers.

<...>

However, a simple Google search by McClatchy produced reports of serious allegations about some of Lawal's business dealings in Nigeria and South Africa.

Clinton's campaign lists Lawal among about 250 "Hillraisers" who pledged to collect at least $100,000 in donations. Clinton attended a fundraising luncheon at Lawal's home in Houston last Aug. 11 that generated more than $100,000, and she spoke to about 250 guests gathered around Lawal's indoor swimming pool, including two former Houston mayors and Shell Oil President John Hofmeister.

link

[panAmerican]

24. PENN GOT FIRED!!!!!!!!

By the Columbian Government! They are offended that the head of the firm they hired thinks meeting their own client could be considered an "error in judgement".

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0408/Colombia_fires_Penn.html

[McCamy Taylor]

25. Just to be fair, here is who Axelrod does business with and how he does it

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=AKP%26D_Message_%26_Media

Working from the same office as his AKP&D firm, David Axelrod "operates a second business, ASK Public Strategies, that discreetly plots strategy and advertising campaigns for corporate clients," reported BusinessWeek. Axelrod's ASK partners are John Kupper and Eric Sedler, the latter previously of AT&T and Edelman. <1>

ASK is known for creating front groups. Chicago Alder Brendan Reilly called ASK "the gold standard in Astroturf organizing." In 2005, as ComEd was "preparing to ask state regulators for higher electricity prices," ASK advised the company to form "Consumers Organized for Reliable Electricity." The front group, which described itself as "a coalition of individuals, businesses and organizations," funded ads that warned of blackouts unless rates were raised. Around the same time, ASK helped Cablevision, which owns Madison Square Garden, oppose the New York Jets's plans to build a new stadium in Manhattan. Cablevision formed the "New York Association for Better Choices," and ran anti-stadium ads in its name. ASK's other work includes helping AT&T defend municipal broadband referenda

So that means AT&T, Cablevision and ComEd already have an "in" with Obama, by the logic above.

[ProSense]

27. Oh BS! What does that have to do with negotiating a bilateral trade deal with the Columbian

government, or even Axelrod's current role with Obama's campaign? This is not about his former business dealings. It's about Penn's current dealings with despicable RW companies like Blackwater.



edited punctuation, clarity

[ProSense]

26. Damn, even the Colombian government now despises him

Colombia fires Penn, finds his spin ‘unacceptable’

Posted April 5th, 2008 at 3:30 pm

Clinton campaign strategist Mark Penn’s lobbying work on behalf the Colombian government continues to be a headache for the controversial pollster. His meeting, relating to the pending Colombian trade deal that Hillary Clinton opposes, not only undermined the senator’s message, it contradicted his claims about clients with whom he’s directly engaged.

more

[ProSense]

28. TIME FOR MARK PENN TO GO.

TIME FOR MARK PENN TO GO.

Looks like Mark Penn -- Hillary Clinton's chief strategist -- met with Colombia's ambassador to the US this week to advise him on how best to pass a bilateral free trade pact.. So, on the one hand, Clinton voices opposition to this Free Trade Pact while running for president amidst electorates that are against further free trade deals. On the other hand, she pays Mark Penn hundreds of thousands of dollars to act as her chief adviser, and he's meeting with official representatives of the Colombian government in order to help them craft a strategy that will lead to the passage of such an act.

Penn will say that he's doing this as CEO of Burson-Marsteller, his political PR firm (which has a nice large unionbusting division, as some of you will remember). But Mark Penn has not been exposed to Gamma Rays which split his person into two unrelated beings, one of whom works for Clinton, the other for BM. Rather, governments and clients paying Penn's firm millions of dollars aren't unaware that the CEO and guy they're meeting with has Hillary Clinton's ear. And Hillary Clinton isn't unaware that Mark Penn has a responsibility to advocate for the interests of these clients.

In 2000, George W. Bush dealt with these problems by insisting Karl Rove step down from his other companies in order to work on the campaign. Clinton has done nothing of the kind, leading to all sorts of huge conflicts of interest. It's time for Clinton to make Penn step down. Either from her campaign, or from his other jobs.

[quantass]

29. k&r

[ProSense]

31. "The Colombia government has fired Mr. Penn; should the Clinton campaign fire him too?"

* Mark Penn, Mrs. Clinton’s top strategist and pollster, agreed to represent Colombia in its efforts to win Congressional approval of a trade deal that Mrs. Clinton opposes. The Colombia government has fired Mr. Penn; should the Clinton campaign fire him too?
Mr. Rendell suggested that it might consider doing so: “You’ve got to make it very clear, when you’re someone who’s a consultant, who you’re representing and who you’re not representing. And I would hope Mr. Penn, when he talked to the Colombians, made that clear. It doesn’t sound to me like he did. And that’s something the campaign should take into question.”

link

[ProSense]

32. Rat jumps ship

The chief strategist for Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, Mark Penn, is giving up that post, the campaign says.

[ProSense]

33. Penn sidelined

Penn sidelined

The knives have been out in Hillarlyland for Mark Penn for years, but today they finally cut through. In a statement, campaigner Maggie Williams linked the departure to Mark Penn's meeting last week with the government of Colombia, a private client, but that was just the latest in a long series of distractions triggered by his private work, and his departure also reflects Clinton's obvious dissatisfaction with elements of her strategy.

Says Williams:

After the events of the last few days, Mark Penn has asked to give up his role as Chief Strategist of the Clinton Campaign; Mark, and Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates, Inc. will continue to provide polling and advice to the campaign.

Geoff Garin and Howard Wolfson will coordinate the campaign's strategic message team going forward.

On edit, call it what it is: a smoke screen.

[ProSense]

34. Penn Sorta Not Really Resigns from Clinton Campaign

Penn Sorta Not Really Resigns from Clinton Campaign

04.06.08 -- 7:04PM
By Josh Marshall

Fall-out from his work on behalf of the Colombia trade deal Sen. Clinton opposes, Mark Penn is 'stepping down' from his role as "chief strategist" but will remain as chief pollster.

Note to self: Write separate post on the craziness of having Mark Penn both run message and polling when his polling is so legendary for cherry picking data to confirm his preferred political strategies and messages.

Note to self, two: Make effort to work in fact that Penn earlier tried to argue that he was never part of the Clinton campaign in the first place.

[ProSense]

35. Wow, Hillary finally disappointed in Penn, but not enough to boot him outright

April 6, 2008

Chief Strategist of Clinton Campaign Steps Down

By JOHN M. BRODER

<...>

Mr. Penn, who has been associated with Mrs. Clinton and former President Bill Clinton for a dozen years, has come under withering criticism for continuing to consult with clients as chief executive of Burson-Marsteller, the international lobbying and public relations firm.

He has also been held responsible for the flawed electoral strategy considered partly responsible for Mrs. Clinton’s difficult political position, trailing Senator Barack Obama by more than a hundred delegates and with a very narrow path to winning the Democratic nomination.

<...>

A person within the Clinton campaign said Sunday that Mrs. Clinton was “disappointed” that Mr. Penn had taken on Colombia as a client and had met with Colombian officials to advise them on how to win passage of a pact she has publicly denounced.

<...>

The campaign aide said Mr. Penn concluded over the weekend that he had to step aside as chief strategist to avoid further embarrassment to Mrs. Clinton. She did not try to talk him out of it, but the aide said Mrs. Clinton did not dismiss him outright. “He will continue to provide polling and advice as part of the team,” the Clinton aide said.

[Skidmore]

36. Mark Penn chief campaign strategist/lobbyist and.....

Charlie Black's boss. Who, might you ask, is Charlie Black? Well, he manages John McCain's campaign. Ever wonder why Hillary and McCain's campaigns were so in sync with messages? Why they were so in tune on blasting other candidates?

[ProSense]

37. Penn: Never Out, Still In

Penn: Never Out, Still In

07 Apr 2008 01:39 pm

Demoted Hillary Clinton strategist Mark Penn may no longer have the coveted title of chief strategist, but he remains a key member of the campaign's senior staff.

Mr. Penn took part on the campaign's morning message call this morning, as usual.

This afternoon, he is also scheduled to be on a call with Clinton and other aides to begin to prepare for Saturday's presidential debate in Philadelphia.

Mr. Penn "is still going to be very much involved," a senior campaign official said.

Indeed, it is not clear precisely what Mr. Penn's title-change entails, other than a public rebuke, although the official said that "there is a difference between being in charge and being one of many voices."

[ProSense]

38. Chief Goof

Chief Goof

04.07.08 -- 2:24PM
By Josh Marshall

<...>

There's a lot of truth in this, except for Hillary's and I think Bill's unique responsibility for putting Penn in charge of the campaign (strategy, message, polling, whatever term you want to use). In one sense, a candidate should always be judged by their campaign, even in cases where a good deal is delegated. It's a good way of judging their ability to evaluate people, hold people accountable, etc. And in the final analysis the buck stops with them. It's their campaign.

In the Penn-Clinton case, though, from every account I've ever heard, you had a connection that was much deeper than that consultants and pollsters usually have with the campaign and so deep it was able to survive years of evidence that Penn was an overrated incompetent excelling mainly in being a showboating buffoon. From what I can tell, this was actually pretty widely understood within the Clinton campaign, perhaps especially within the Clinton campaign. But for Bill and Hillary, in some ways perhaps more for her, Penn was the one whose too clever by 5/4 polling nuggets saved them from political oblivion in 1995 and 1996. So he was like a political life jacket, a talisman of some sort.

So, all true, but the Penn problem went right to the top.

[ProSense]

39. Who's in charge of Hillary's campaign money:

More Clinton Campaign Cash Conundrums

April 07, 2008 5:49 PM

A few weeks ago, Howard Paster -- who during the Bill Clinton presidency served as the White House liaison to Capitol Hill -- joined Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign as "chief operating officer."

Paster is in charge of the cash, in other words, who gets the contracts, how much they're paid, and so on.

Paster, it should be pointed out, is also the executive vice president for public relations and public affairs for the advertising conglomerate powerhouse WPP Group.

WPP Group owns: Burson Marsteller...Mark Penn's polling group Penn Schoen and Berland Associates...Dewey Square Group...the latter two are the largest campaign vendors for Clinton -- with the mail, phone and polling contracts.

Does it seem odd to anyone else that the COO of the Clinton campaign -- the guy in charge of the contracts for companies working for the campaign -- also likely has a financial stake in the contracts those companies get?

Does anyone even care anymore?

What was it that Hal Holbrooke whispered?

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