[Peace-discuss] Clinton's anti-labor corporate lobbyist

[C. G. Estabrook]

MARK SCHMITT, GUARDIAN UK - A battle is starting to brew over the role 
of a man said to be the de facto campaign manager for Senator Hillary 
Clinton, and labeled by some "the most important man in Washington 
you've never heard of": Mark Penn, a pollster who since getting into the 
business as a Harvard undergraduate in 1975 has advised Bill Clinton, 
Tony Blair, former Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and Italy's 
Silvio Berlusconi. Penn is known for a particular approach to political 
polling, identifying certain demographic groups as "swing voters," and 
urging candidates to focus their attention exclusively on those groups, 
usually middle-class suburbanites.

He's also brought those insights to many corporate clients, including 
McDonald's and Ford Motor Company, and that is one of the things that is 
beginning to draw him unwanted notice. There's nothing unusual about a 
political pollster conducting consumer polls for corporate clients, but 
for most it is a sideline. Penn's immersion in the corporate world is so 
complete that after selling his polling firm to public relations giant 
Burson-Marsteller, he became "world-wide president and CEO" of the 
parent firm, the fifth-largest PR firm in the universe, in 2005.

In this capacity Penn runs numerous corporate lobbying subsidiaries that 
ought to give key Democratic constituencies pause: among his underlings 
are a former chair of the Republican National Committee, a former House 
Republican leader, and several other top Republican lobbyists. 
Burson-Marsteller also has advertised its expertise in "Labor 
Relations," making clear on its web site that labor relations means 
keeping unions out. . .

As more detail's about Penn and his firm's role begin to emerge - last 
week, The Nation's Ari Berman revealed Burson-Marsteller's role in 
blocking a major union organizing drive at the industrial laundry and 
uniform firm Cintas - union leaders have said nothing publicly.

Perhaps they assume that Clinton is likely to be the next president, and 
they don't want to alienate her by criticizing an advisor to whom she is 
said to be personally very close. Perhaps they assume that if they can 
get Clinton to endorse their specific policy positions in exchange for 
their endorsement, her advisors don't matter. Or perhaps labor is 
reassured by the presence of others they trust in Clinton's circle, such 
as former President Bill Clinton or labour lawyer Harold Ickes [sic]. 
But if labor ignores Penn's influence, they will have no standing to 
complain when working Americans are ignored in the general election or 
if Clinton becomes president. . .

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