Today's Wall Street Journal contains a fairly damning story about Mark Penn, the chief strategist for Senator Hillary Clinton's Presidential campaign:
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 promote congressional approval of the trade deal, among other things, according to filings with the Justice Department....
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.
Change to Win vigorously opposes the Colombia "free" trade agreement, because Colombia is the most dangerous country in the world to be a union member:
More than 2,200 workers have been murdered by Colombian death squads for trying to form unions since the 1980s, and there have been more than 400 murders since President Uribe took office five years ago. Yet the Colombian government has done nothing to effectively stop death squads from murdering workers for trying to form unions.
In response to the revelations about Penn, Greg Tarpinian, Executive Director of Change to Win, has issued a statement calling for Senator Clinton to affirm her stance against the Colombia "free" trade agreement by sending Mark Penn packing:
“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.”
UPDATE (2:28PM): Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo: "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."
UPDATE (2:44PM): Barack Obama shows why he is the American Dream Candidate:
Sen. Barack Obama pushed back against criticism from Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who said Obama opposes the free-trade deal between Washington and Bogota because of election politics.
“I think the president is absolutely wrong on this,” Obama told reporters on his plane Friday morning. “You’ve got a government that is under a cloud of potentially having supported violence against unions, against labor, against opposition.” The Illinois senator has promised to rebuild America’s reputation abroad...
“That’s not the kind of behavior that we want to reward,” Obama said. “I think until we get that straightened out its inappropriate for us to move forward.”
He pointed to his support of the Peru trade deal that Congress passed last year as an example of his support for free trade under the right circumstances. “We’ve got to have some sort of standards that we stick to,” he said.
UPDATE (April 7, 2008): Mark Penn still has to go.
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Comments (14)
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The sad part is that Penn thinks he can skate on this, merely by "apologizing" for it.
What does that "apology" mean, Mark?
You're sorry you got caught?
You no longer support this legislation (which Bush is pushing)?
You're resigning?
Which is it, mark?
Posted by Alyosha on April 4, 2008 at 4:19 PM
Posted on April 4, 2008 at 4:19 PM
Let's also not forget that John McCain's:
http://www.americablog.com/2008/02/mark-penns-tangled-corporate-web.html
Penn is the CEO of Burson-Marsteller, a DC public relations (PR) firm. Burson-Marsteller owns a subsidiary, BKSH. BKSH is run by Charlie Black. Black is a longtime Republican politico, and a top adviser for John McCain for President. And, as Think Progress notes, while Black is a volunteer on the McCain campaign, he views Mcain as his client and continues to take a paycheck from BKSH. JedReport dissected these relationships in a diary on DailyKos last night.
Posted by Alyosha on April 4, 2008 at 4:22 PM
Posted on April 4, 2008 at 4:22 PM
The mystery has been how voters continue to be duped by Hilary about her commitment to middle class America when she was a corporate lawyer for most of her life sitting in the Walmart board when their chairman was calling Unions parasites. Clinton has coated big corporations, the pharmaceutical and war industry among others. Her Chief Strategist is A Chief Lobbyist union buster with ties to the Black water mercenaries in Iraq. With an income of over 100 million, who is still being fooled by the Clintons?
Meanwhile Obama the community organizer with no wealth or name recognition, stepping in to lead a movement from the ground up. And his brilliant mind being mocked by Karl Rove as arrogance. Fortunately there is a way the truth is rising to the service. Yes we can
Posted by Jezz on April 4, 2008 at 6:36 PM
Posted on April 4, 2008 at 6:36 PM
The good oh wink wink...
Try to Mark this up....
Posted by elizabeth on April 4, 2008 at 8:57 PM
Posted on April 4, 2008 at 8:57 PM
How could he do it? I'll tell you how... just like Clinton, he cares NOTHING about morals, people, or values - only money! Only winning! She won't fire him because she owes him 2.5 million dollars! Watch, he ain't going no where and she'll find some excuse to keep him.
This is who would be running the Whitehouse and our country if Hil-LIAR-y or McINSANE wins - all the scumbag lobbyists!
Posted by Dom on April 4, 2008 at 9:15 PM
Posted on April 4, 2008 at 9:15 PM
While I firmly support Change to Win's call for Clinton to fire Penn, that's not why I'm commenting. I just wanted to thank you for making me laugh with the funniest FAIL picture I've seen in a while.
Posted by Tom on April 5, 2008 at 3:24 PM
Posted on April 5, 2008 at 3:24 PM
I am a Barack Obama supporter. My wife is from Colombia, and she is also an Obama supporter. I don't agree with his position on free trade with Colombia.
I don't vote on the basis of any single issue, and Barack is by far and away the best presidential candidate in the race in my opinion. That being said I would like to offer my critique.
I don't want to lose American jobs to Colombia or anywhere else, yet, trade agreements can work to improve the lives of workers in the US and in Colombia, if free trade is linked to fair trade.
Nancy Pelosi has said the Colombia trade pact won't pass Congress unless new assistance is given to US workers who are harmed by overseas comepetition. This is the right kind of approach in my opinion.
Colombia is one of the main exporters of cocaine to the rest of the world, and one of the reasons for this is the 25-40% unemployment rate in Colombia. We have the same problem with Afghanistan, the number one producer of heroin, high unemployment. Lots of drug money is diverted or utilized to keep an ongoing war afloat, which causes immense suffering to the population, in both countries.
Improving trade and improving the economies in these places improves world security, can decrease drug production, and can decrease crime in the US and internationally, as well as decrease unemployement which benefits US and Colombian workers.
Many of the Democrats in Congress point to Colombia's human rights record, and don't like President Uribe, who definitely is a conservative leader. However, Uribe is democratically elected by the people of Colombia, and is popular there.
But, violence is down, a lot, in Colombia, and labor leaders are not being killed like they were in years past. This problem has been tackled by Colombia without outside pressure. The right wing paramilitaries have been disarmed, (these were the guys who mostly killed the labor leaders), and the left wing FARC is losing ground quickly. (These guys are exporting cocaine to the US where the burden of drug addiction falls hard on working class and poor families.)
Prospects for peace in this region are improving, and these ex soldiers/terrorists are going to need a way to make a living besides shooting folks.
Penn lobbies for Colombia and is supporting Clinton, who like Obama has come out against the Colombian trade act. In both campaigns, the candidates are not going to able to control the words of supporters.
One of the problems for US labor is competing against 3rd world labor wages. Improving economies around the world can, if done right, lead to rising wages world wide, benefiting US and foreign workers.
Posted by Carl Friedrichs on April 5, 2008 at 3:32 PM
Posted on April 5, 2008 at 3:32 PM
I am from Pittsburgh,and this story is not being reported. Hillary has given speeches pretending to be a friend of the "working man",but her actions tell another story.
It was members of the Clinton campaign that "met" with the Canadians,yet they pushed that off on Obama. The media ran with that story,however was luke warm in reporting the truth once it came out. This distortion of facts about Hillary's support of NAFTA I believe cost Obama the Ohio primary.
We can't let this happen in Pennslyvania!!!
The Clinton campagin needs to fire Mark Penn,or confirm my opinion that she speaks from both sides fo her mouth.
Posted by Marge on April 5, 2008 at 7:24 PM
Posted on April 5, 2008 at 7:24 PM
Mark Penn is the slimiest creature in American politics...at least Rove believed in the cause he was promoting. Mark only believes in cramming as much money as he can in his pockets. He could care less about Hillary and has been looting her campaign from day one. I think the Colombians should audit his bills to them. I'll bet he's stealing from then just as he steals from everyone.
Posted by Emily Penn on April 6, 2008 at 12:51 PM
Posted on April 6, 2008 at 12:51 PM
I'm SEIU and I've had enough! Mark Penn has "asked to step down" but will NOT leave his role as a consultant and pollster for the campaign; please review this article from ABC: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/04/clinton-chief-s.html
In this article you will see that "Penn's firm -- Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates, Inc. -- will remain on board providing polling and advice to the campaign, though he will no longer serve as the chief strategist, Williams said. Instead, Geoff Garin and Howard Wolfson will head up the message for the campaign."
THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!!! He AND his firm need to be sent packing, and Clinton's campaign needs to explain WHY the Columbians couldn't tell who he was representing, if indeed she objects to the trade deal??? More secrecy and lies???
I'm all for free trade, and I'd carry a union into any country at any time, and I fully support fair and equitable trade agreements. I do NOT support politicians who speak with forked tongues!!
HOW COULD they have not been able to tell whose position was whose?????
The campaign owes Penn 2.9 million, and secrets abound, so how COULD we expect this former attorney and "right hand gal" for WalMart to be union friendly??? Honoring his 'quitting' is wholly inadequate.
Let's let voters in the upcoming states know LOUD AND CLEAR what their choices are!!!
Posted by mary burke on April 6, 2008 at 9:12 PM
Posted on April 6, 2008 at 9:12 PM
Reports of Mark Penn being fired are NOT TRUE. This is more smoke and mirrors from the Clinton campaign:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/6/20620/63110/928/489260
Posted by Zoey on April 6, 2008 at 9:44 PM
Posted on April 6, 2008 at 9:44 PM
My gosh! This mess with Mark Penn does NOT surprise me one bit! As far as I am concerned, the Clintons are patholgocal liars, and Mark Penn is in the same category. "From Day One" I have NEVER trusted the Clintons. Hillary owes the bigwigs too many favors and I do not consider Bill Clinton to be a reputable person. I cannot understand why some people think Bill is so great. He has the morals of an alley cat. They have no conscience. I will vote for a person that is trustworthy, honest, logical, dependable, rational, and has good judgement. Obama '08
Posted by Claire on April 7, 2008 at 10:40 AM
Posted on April 7, 2008 at 10:40 AM
I don't understand the lack of Union leadership outrage over this situation with Mark Penn in the Clinton campaign. All she did was "shuffle the deck" so to speak. This guy is still gonna do polling and provide "advice". Mark Penn needs to be GONE! I cannot put any trust in Clinton that she has the best interests of American union members as long as she refuses to part with this guy. And neither should the leadership of any union. I don't understand all the wailing about Obama's unpaid advisor's comments to some Canadian official, while the leader of Clinton's campaign is holding strategy meetings to get this onerous Columbian legislation passed? She is basically spitting in the eye of the unions by moving this guy to the back room for a while till the heat (what little of it thats been generated)dies down. Is union leadership so in love with (or in fear of) the Clintons that they accept this with nary a whimper? WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE? The AFL-CIO ought to be hounding Clinton to make a complete break with this guy. Somebody please explain to me why that is not happening.
Posted by Bill on April 8, 2008 at 8:54 AM
Posted on April 8, 2008 at 8:54 AM
Hillary Clinton has to go, and here's why:
It just got worse. Hillary Clinton herself is a direct financial beneficiary of the Columbian thing. It's NOT just Mark Penn -- he's the least of it. Her husband, Bill, has a share in it all and she will financially benefit by continuing this anti-union action. It's a huge scandal. Can you help me get this out to other union members? The story broke today!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/08/bill-clintons-ties-to-col_n_95651.html
Look, please be careful. My ex-husband is a union member in Cali (he's a commercial plumber). I'm strongly pro-labor and am really concerned about people in the country getting screwed by this. Please tell other people about this. It's really important.
The Clintons are way totally pro-NAFTA and anti-trade and they're lying about it but folks are finding out and it's just scary.
Posted by saki on April 8, 2008 at 4:01 PM
Posted on April 8, 2008 at 4:01 PM