Pennsylvania SEIU Demands Resignation Of Mark Penn

[malik flavors]

Pennsylvania SEIU Statement:

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.

"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."

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

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. Time to eat popcorn!

:popcorn:

[cliffordu]

53. Hey, Can I have some too??

:popcorn:



Thanks!!!



:hi:

[PoliticalAmazon]

100. I'm making a snack-bar run. Save my seat, will ya? n/t

[Emillereid]

2. Good for them! Mark Penn is slime through and through.

[my3boyz]

3. No...please let her keep him! That way he can go down with her! nt

[mhoran]

36. He'll bail...

...the moment he decides Hillary's ship is sinking.

[ekwhite]

70. Wrong

He'll bail as soon as he can't get any more money out of her.

[EmilyAnne]

71. And now we know that that could take a very long time.

[pompano]

83. Sinking?

The only part of the ship out of the water now is the mast. When organized labor catches wind of this lastest saga the rats will have to start swimming.

Heck with the popcorn...pass the beer.

:toast: :bounce:

[IsItJustMe]

88. Right on!!! It's Miller Time. LOL

[rndmprsn]

4. K&R

the truth to corp democrats hurts...it does

[redqueen]

25. They don't know? I think they know very well. (nt)

[Diane R]

5. Ah! This is going to be fun! A big PA union vs. Hillary's campaign advisor!

[Mooney]

6. Oh shit.

This is wonderful. Mark Penn is hemmorhoid on the asshole of the body politic.

[PoliticalAmazon]

101. Yeah, but most people try to get rid of hemorrhoids. Hillary PAYS them. to stay. n/t

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

7. ROFLMAO

Ahhh, the shit's gonna hit the fan now.

[slinkerwink]

8. great! hope they run ads hitting Clinton on this!

[Zachstar]

9. I agree

Clinton FIRE Mark Penn!!

[babylonsister]

10. Rut roh! Trouble in river city now. nt

[gateley]

52. ....

:hi:

[Catherina]

11. Recommended, kicked and bookmarked! What surprise. More filth n/t

[phrigndumass]

12. They just took the "Penn" out of Pennsylvania

:thumbsup:

Rec'd

[FrenchieCat]

20. Hahahahahahaha!

Great pun!

[Oilwellian]

22. ROFL

That deserves a DUzy Award. Brilliant! :rofl:

[lisa58]

76. made me smile - lol

[blm]

13. Those Dems who continue to pretend that events of the 80s and 90s are not relevant to

what's going on today and our future need to wake up and smell the FASCISM.

At this point, Dems standing by those who have led the Dem party marching behind the Bush-led GOPs are just abetting fascism.

[FrenchieCat]

14. We'll see how this goes over.........

Cause this ain't a small thing.

[cliffordu]

56. Who's going to write her next tearful remembrance???

:rofl:

[IsItJustMe]

91. No, it's not a small thing at all. Mark my words, Hillary is going to take a big hit on this.

[Ian_rd]

15. A peak into the difference between actual beliefs and election year lies is rarely so obvious

Thank you, Mark Penn, for showing us the genuine nature of your campaign.

To the voters: "I will fight for you!"
To the rich: "Don't worry about those brainless cattle, we're just keeping them in line."

[Lucky 13]

16. Whoa! Hold on there SEIU!

Are you sure you want to do that? Mark Penn has been the best thing to happen to Barack Obama since he met Michelle.

Let's let this thing run it's course!

[rateyes]

17. Ouch. This post at that link says it all:

"you can't pick your family, but you can CERTAINLY pick your top strategist/lobbyist"

[redqueen]

26. Hahahahahaha...

[1776Forever]

94. Oh sooooo good! Here is a great article on Penn who worked for Gore & Clinton's

Clinton's PowerPointer With Data and Slides, a Pollster Guides Campaign Strategy

By Anne E. Kornblut
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 30, 2007

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/29/AR2007042901661.html

It was fairly simple, Mark J. Penn said calmly to Vice President Al Gore, reporting the findings of an exhaustive survey he had conducted in the early stages of the 2000 presidential campaign. Voters liked Gore's policies. They just didn't like Gore.

Gore laughed, according to people who attended the meeting. He had heard that before. But the vice president, worried about the effect President Bill Clinton's scandals might have on his campaign, had another question for his pollster: Was there any evidence of this "Clinton fatigue" that people kept talking about?
"I'm not tired of him," Penn replied. "Are you?"

b]It was a flippant response -- and the final straw for Gore, who had long been wary of Penn and concerned that his real loyalty was to Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. His senior advisers agreed, regarding Penn as arrogant and controlling, someone who pushed the boundaries of his job by dispensing strategic advice rather than simply interpreting data. Shortly after the meeting with Gore, Penn was fired. One of the party's most prominent pollsters sat out the presidential campaign, but he signed up that year with a familiar face making her inaugural run for office in Penn's native New York -- Hillary Clinton.

(snip)

In the four months since Clinton officially became a candidate, Penn has consolidated his power, according to advisers close to the campaign, taking increasing control of the operation. Armed with voluminous data that he collects through his private polling firm, Penn has become involved in virtually every move Clinton makes, with the result that the campaign reflects the chief strategist as much as the candidate.

If Clinton seems cautious, it may be because Penn has made caution a science, repeatedly testing issues to determine which ones are safe and widely agreed upon (he was part of the team that encouraged Clinton's husband to run on the issue of school uniforms in 1996).

If Clinton sounds middle-of-the-road, it may be because Penn is a longtime pollster for the centrist Democratic Leadership Council whose clients have included Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.).

If Clinton resembles a Washington insider with close ties to the party's biggest donors, it may be because her lead strategist is a wealthy chief executive who heads a giant public relations firm, where he personally hones Microsoft's image in Washington.

And if some opponents see Clinton as arrogant, her campaign a coronation rather than a grass-roots movement, it may be because of the numbers wizard guiding her campaign and the PowerPoint presentations he likes to give on the inevitability of his candidate.

Yet Penn also has everything that Clinton would want in a senior consultant: undisputed brilliance and experience, according to even his enemies; clear opinions, with data to back them up; unwavering loyalty; and a relentless focus on the endgame: winning the general election. And Clinton clearly adores him. She describes Penn in her autobiography, "Living History," as brilliant, intense, shrewd and insightful.

..............

Sounds to me like Penn and the Clinton's go together like a horse and carriage!

[Metta]

18. Another person who's betraying his incarnation as a human. Happy karma, Mark.

:hi:

[bunnies]

19. Maybe Penn should just go on Leno and make a joke about it.

These union guys. No sense of humor.
:sarcasm:

[thewiseguy]

21. Here is a joke:

Hey Jay..guess what? I almost did not make it here because I was pinned in a free trade meeting with Colombian officials.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

23. I'm curious to see how this will play out.

[pompano]

84. Not too well...

...if he is a Union busting scab.

If she knew he was hip to hip with union busting it puts her in like company.

If she claims she didn't, probably won't fly, if it does, who could have any confidence in her to pick the next Cabinet?...like ah ummmmm Labor Secretary?

[redqueen]

24. This is great.

:D

[quantass]

27. k&r

[Whisp]

28. I sure hope Obama uses this in PA as the silver hammer.

he should end this quickly and bludgeon the Clinton campaign with this information in all his speeches from now til vote day.
hammer away with THE TRUTH.

bring it up over and over and over again until the slack assed media Has to cover it.

[tekisui]

68. And bring it up during the PA Debate on the 16th.

If Penn is still around, then.

[ekwhite]

72. Bang, bang Maxwell's Silver Hammer

came down on his head...:evilgrin: Great Beatles song.

[lisa58]

77. da do da do do

[OzarkDem]

79. God forbid he should talk about the economy, health care reform or Iraq

This campaign is quickly becoming a soap opera.

[PA Democrat]

86. Sorry, but in PA, more free trade deals are an economic issue.

According to the Economic Policy Institute NAFTA caused the loss of more than 35,000 jobs in PA and that's only through the year 2000.

http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/briefingpapers_nafta01_impactstates

http://www.epi.org/briefingpapers/nafta01/state-losses-table.pdf

Free trade agreements are a huge economic issue in PA.

Edited to add zero in job loss figure.

[IsItJustMe]

92. It is time for Obama to make some serious commercians on this. Get the camaras rolling folks.

[phrigndumass]

29. Here's what I really am surprised at ...

Senator Clinton goes on record against a free-trade agreement with Colombia, but she hires as her Campaign Manager Mark Penn, who is the Chief Executive of Burson-Marsteller Worldwide, which was hired by the Colombian Embassy to lobby FOR a free-trade agreement with Colombia.

From CNN:
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/04/04/penn-calls-trade-meeting-error-in-judgment/

Un-friggin-believable.

[Just-plain-Kathy]

45. Here's another post from your link...

Eric April 4th, 2008 1:23 pm ET

Get ready for a new big business owned administration if Clinton is elected. This reeks of Halliburton. These are trade deals she opposes to the public just due to campaigning in places like Indiana and Ohio. She is a firm NAFTA warrior and will sign any pro-globalization anti-American worker law into power. I wonder if any of Penn's companies will benefit once she inks in further trade deals with the blood of American workers? Recession? Get ready for a depression.

[azmouse]

30. kick

[FrenchieCat]

31. Can't wait for the debate!

[Cha]

32. Glad someone is noticing this in Pennsylvania

and not just Obama supporters on the net.

[Baby Snooks]

33. The biggest red flag of all

I have always wondered why no one has really made an issue of Mark Penn since his firm has never really represented anything which could even vaguely be regarded as in the public interest. That in itself, really, indicates the priority the public interest has for Hillary Clinton. She just wants to win. She probably would have hired Karl Rove if she'd thought no one would have noticed. She might as well have. No one seems to have noticed Mark Penn. He represented Blackwater. And Hillary Clinton. The two really don't mix well so to speak.

You can look at her proposed "universal health care" and realize where her priorities lie. In profits for the private sector.

[Heywood J]

107. "You can look at her proposed "universal health care" and realize where her priorities lie."

And who his clients are. Remember, he's a lobbyist, she's a politician.

[Mr Rabble]

34. Anyone notice what's missing from this article?

How about any mention of where Columbia gets its military hardware.
How about any mention of Bill Clintons "Columbia Plan"?
How about US support and training for those death squads?

[gateley]

54. Yep --

I was thinking that as I was reading this. Aren't we a BIG benefactor?

[Mr Rabble]

66. No. We are their sole benefactor.

Outside of Israel and Egypt, Columbia has been the leading recipient of US arms (called aid) for about a decade. This status has been neck and neck with Turkey. However if we just stick to our hemisphere there is no question.

The Politico knows this full well, but wont mention it for obvious reasons.

[gateley]

95. Sincere question --

What are the obvious reasons The Politico won't mention it? Thanks.

[Mr Rabble]

99. Because it would be telling the truth about US policy.

Keep in mind that all US mainstream media exists to parrot US policy. You may occasionally hear that the policy is being carried out incorrectly, or that the policy is a failure, but you will almost never hear that the policies are openly murderous, as in the case of "Plan Columbia".

That just is not what the media does.

[Forkboy]

35. Awesome!

:applause:

[happygoluckytoyou]

37. GOP = CHEAP LABOR.....

time for union busting to return to the underside of their rock

HILLARY..... GOP LIGHT

MCCAIN "THE REPUBLICAN" ..... GOP HEAVY

GOBAMA gobama GOBAMA gobama GOBAMA gobama GOBAMA gobama GOBAMA gobama

[aaroh]

38. Mark Penn is an asset to the Obama campaign

Look at the bigger picture, a chunk of money raised every month by the Clinton's campaign goes to Mark Penn, if he leaves there's more money to be spent on more important stuff like advertising and paying off over-due bills. It will be in Obama's campaigh interest for Mark Penn to stay put.

[DerekJ]

42. Lol :)

True, in a twisted kind of way.

[Danger Mouse]

39. ooh burn. i've said for a long time that penn is Hillary's greatest weakness...

why she continues to saddle herself with that greasy dirtbag i'll never know.

[RBInMaine]

40. Penn is a corporate lackey !

[quantass]

41. Piggy on a Spit!

[constantino]

43. It is worth noting that SEIU union is endorsing Obama

Just for the record.

[Mme. Defarge]

46. Soyez le bien venu, mon cher ...

Welcome to Du!

[FrenchieCat]

57. Il est déjà parti ma cher Mme. Defarge!

[kevinmc]

44. He's a perfect fit for the Clintons they are anti-union just look at the record .....

NAFTA and China

[PA Democrat]

90. NAFTA cost Pennsylvania more than 35,000 jobs according to the Economic Policy Institute

http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/briefingpapers_nafta01_impactstates

http://www.epi.org/briefingpapers/nafta01/state-losses-table.pdf

[Mme. Defarge]

47. Merde! Enfin,

It's all over but the shouting. Let us brace ourselves, and invest in OSHA approved earplugs.

[ecdab]

48. Hillary entrusted Mark Penn with her dream - being President - what does that tell

you about her judgment. It makes me very nervous about the kind of people she would surround herself with if by some miracle she were to win the Presidency. Mark Penn is a bad news. Does anybody know why Hillary picked this guy?

[PoliticalAmazon]

102. So he could make deals for her with foreign leaders who use death squads?...

...Seriously. The Clintons have whored their power to make themselves very rich. But they cannot directly deal with leaders associated with death squads. That is where the Mark Penns of the world come in. He makes Hillary once-removed from the negotiations. Mark my word, it will be shown that the Clintons either have already profitted for this, or would have profitted from it if they hadn't been outed.

[Colobo]

49. "I love you, Mark. Thanks for the help, Barack."

[davidpdx]

50. I honestly don't understand why Hillary supporters

have not pressed this issue months ago. He is bad for the campaign and costing her way too much money. Hats off to the union for bring out this issue. Maybe Hillary supporters, those who REALLY want her to win will start urging the campaign to let him go and find a fresh face to help.

Part of me hopes she's doesn't though. I mean watching the Titanic go down is kind of interesting when you are not on-board.

[mcollier]

51. The pattern continues

just as with the Canada Nafta hypocracy... I am not surprised. The balloon has been stuck by the "Penn" and its falling fast in Pennsylvania... How Ironic...

What does this have to do with the price of Milk, gas, bread, eggs,and meat? Demand a discussion of the real issues facing Americans right now. Its only your financial security at risk...

"Meet us in Philly Hillary"!!!! ;>(

Vote for Barack Obama, but for what he represents, his message, his wisdom, his intellect, his judgment, his commitment to helping every American. We can all be a part of strenghtning American had charting a new course.

Visit www.BarackObama.com Find out how you can join the movement.

Thanks.

[jillan]

55. Good - and I'm a Hillary supporter.

[MadBadger]

58. I hope if she wins the nomination, she gets rid of him

I know asking for Wolfson to go too is too much to ask for...lol.

[gateley]

59. Yeah -- I don't think he's served her well at all.

In addition to charging WADS of money, his guidance hasn't garnered the results she obviously felt he could bring.

I bet she wants to strangle him right about now. :7

[JohnnyCougar]

60. This is disgusting.

Just drop out, Hillary. Shame on you for even associating with this crook.

[Divine Discontent]

61. couldn't happen to a better guy and a better candidate. eom

[SlingBlade]

62. Man we need to MOVE ON !

I posted a link about our hometown paper kicking every democrat independent
and progressive off its forum today.

These wing nut are for real guys
Don't let them split and divide us please.

[PoliticalAmazon]

103. I agree. Hillary HAS to leave the race before she destroys the Democratic Party's...

...chances in November! It's gone beyond simply trashing Obama and his supporters. She is so unethical and crooked that she will destroy the credibility of the Democratic Party!

How can we say we are for change when the Clintons are as bad as the Bushes ever hoped to be?

We can't claim the moral high ground and being different from Bush Jr when the Clintons prove with every breath that they are as bad as the Bushes or worse.

Enough. We have to move on, and to move on Hillary must go.

[Capn Sunshine]

63. Oh yeah, Penn is backing this and other neofascist worldwide

Penn has been representing the Uribe govt for many months. Colombia has done well under Uribe:

11,084 civilians were killed or disappeared for political reasons during Uribe’s first four-year term, or 7.7 per day, the Colombian Commission of Jurists reports . This is down only slightly from the four years preceding Uribe’s term, when about 9 people per day were killed or disappeared.)

Whether Colombia is preventing future abuses by punishing government personnel responsible for past abuses. (The answer is “hardly.” The State Department found only twelve sentences issued for human-rights cases against government personnel during the first eleven months of 2006.)

Uribe KILLS LABOR LEADERS.

The killings are almost never punished, and this creates a climate that fosters more anti-union violence. (A recent Colombian government report on convictions of unionists’ killers shows an impunity rate of 98% under the Uribe government, with only 7 convictions for the over 400 murders of trade unionists since Uribe came to office. And there has been only 1 conviction for the 236 murders committed in the last three years.)

With 58 to 72 people killed last year for trying to organize, isn’t Colombia still the most dangerous country in the world for union activity?

These are the people paying Penn.


Oh, but Obama's preacher is such a problem.........................

[anigbrowl]

64. Of course, Columbian President Uribe was criticizing Obama publicly over the trade deal

but not Clinton. How convenient. Indeed, it was a minor anti-Obama talking point in here the other day.

Careless, Mark. Very, very careless. I'm sorry to have to do this, but I believe it's time you took a little bus ride.

[EFerrari]

74. There can be no clearer indication that the Republicans want to run against Hillary

than to have their thug Uribe criticizing Obama.

I always thought so but this is the capper.

[workinclasszero]

65. Gee Hillary sat on Walmart's board

and then hired a union busting free traitor to run her campaign. Couldn't see that coming!

I hope the word gets out to all the union workers in Pennsylvania so they don't get scammed by Hillary the blue collar champion:sarcasm: like Ohio did.

[IsItJustMe]

93. Makes you wonder how, in gods name, any honest union could ever endourse Hillary.

[Omaha Steve]

67. Somebody needs to nudge me when labor stories are posted elsewhere

I miss a few from time to time. K&R for this one.

[tekisui]

69. I don't see how Clinton can keep Penn on after this.

I would have fired him long ago. She is again showing her tone-deafness through retaining him. She should kick him to the curb immediately, or she is tied to him and won't last much longer.

[PoliticalAmazon]

104. I don't see how Clinton could keep her supporters after this! n/t

[UALRBSofL]

73. There are two big unions in Pennsylvania

One supports Clinton, and this one supports Obama. That being said, unless Clinton's union, which is the same size has Obama's in Pennsylvania demands Penn to resign, it ain't gonna happen. So Greg Tarpinian can stick it where the sun don't shine. He and the other director were on MSNBC the other day and were asked why each supported there candidate, Tarpinian had very little to say but the other guy for Clinton talked for 5 minutes why his union supported her.

[Fyddlestyx]

75. K & R

:kick:

[Wapsie B]

78. As a former member of the Teamsters & UFCW people like Mark Penn can rot in hell.

Having someone like this in her campaign is just another reason why Hill ain't gett'n my vote. Doesn't the Democratic base count for anything these days?
Evidently not. :eyes:

[Gman]

80. SEIU quit the AFL-CIO so they're virtual scabs

who gives a shit what they think.

[JayFredMuggs]

81. Maybe union members do?

[me b zola]

82. K&R

[Scurrilous]

85. K & R

:thumbsup:

[ooglymoogly]

87. What is to be gleaned from this

imo has mainly to do with Hills judgment as a "Democrat" and indeed where she is coming from. She is coming from pug light as is Mark Penn; Status Quo with a few shackles to the poor but still somewhat better than the pugs.

[IsItJustMe]

89. I think this story here might be the death nail to Hillary's campaign.

[mucifer]

105. Depends how the media will follow it.

[Ztarbod]

96. Surprise! Hillary playing both sides again

[NEDem]

97. kick

[SOS]

98. Kick

nt

[quantass]

106. k

[ORDem]

108. k

:kick: