Mark Penn and Senator Clinton: It's a Matter of Trust

BUZZFLASH EDITOR'S BLOG

Mark Karlin

Editor and Publisher, April 7, 2008

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Colombian President Alvaro Uribe

Mark Penn did not get "demoted" from being Clinton's chief strategist for meeting with the Colombian government.  He got officially "pushed" aside for getting caught, which had the danger of once again exposing Senator Clinton's hypocrisy and deception on fair trade and union issues.  Of course, he will still be "consulting" for the Clinton campaign. Natch.

Consider this April 4th Clinton campaign statement "inoperative" now: "Today, the Clinton campaign was asked about the [Colombian] 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."

BuzzFlash has a homework assignment for our readers. Examine the following excerpts from articles this past week about what was clearly a Clinton campaign overture to Colombia to get involved in the U.S. primaries by denouncing Obama. But there’s more to it than that. Despite all the ongoing Mark Penn apologies, he’s the poster boy for the corporate lobbyist destructive infestation of our government – and he is Clinton’s lead strategist.

Clinton can’t ever distance herself from Penn, because she chose to put a guy so compromised that he represents some of the worst corporate violators in the world as head of Burson-Marsteller as the chief strategist of her campaign. As Senator Clinton keeps telling us, actions speak louder than words. And the Senator fired Patti Solis Doyle and kept Mark Penn on in her campaign, to this day. (See update at bottom of commentary. Sunday evening, Penn formally got the heave-ho as official lead strategist, but apparently he'll still be doing polling and consulting. His crime: he got caught by the Wall Street Journal.)

This speaks volumes about how the corporations and "K Street" lobbyists will be running the White House if Clinton were to be the Dem nominee and get elected. Clinton’s campaign is so compromised ethically and in terms of contradictions to her stated public policies by the RepubliCrat Penn – and her "centrist" policies before the primaries started -- that it leaves you breathless.

In fact, Charles Black who runs McCain’s campaign, works as a lobbyist for a subsidiary of Burson-Marsteller, of which Penn is still CEO (he didn’t even take a leave of absence). On top of that, Penn is paid millions of dollars by the Clinton campaign to even another firm: his own consulting company.

So do your homework. I will be back tomorrow with some comments on this cesspool of corrupt campaign relationships, known as the K Street lobbyist/DLC/RepubliCrat ruling elite.

[BuzzFlash has italicized a select few key sentences.]

 

From the Tuesday, April 1, Wall Street Journal re a Monday meeting between Senator Clinton’s lead strategist and the Colombian Ambassador to the United States. It is important to note that the spokesman for the Colombian Embassy refers to the meeting as a political one:

"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

Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, Mr. Penn's campaign-consulting firm, received more than $10 million in payments from the Clinton campaign as of the end of February, according to federal election filings.

"Mr. 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.

A Burson-Marsteller spokesman didn't return calls or emails seeking comment.

A spokesman for Colombia's President Álvaro Uribe said the ambassador met with Mr. Penn to discuss the bilateral agenda. "There have also been meetings with the advisers to the campaigns of Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain," he said. "It's the embassy's job to explain Colombia's reality."

"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."

"Mr. Penn has been scrutinized over the dual roles he holds with his firm and the Clinton campaign. Burson-Marsteller's contract advising the Colombian government is one of several examples of the firm advising clients on causes Sen. Clinton has opposed."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120726769569388303.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news

 

From ABC News pertaining to Mark Penn’s compensation:

"According to Justice Department filings, Colombia agreed last year to pay Burson-Marsteller $300,000 to help ‘educate members of the U.S. Congress and other audiences/ about the trade deal and secure continued U.S. funding for the $5 billion anti-narcotics program Plan Colombia. Penn's political consulting firm, Penn, Schoen & Berland, has been paid $10.8 million so far by Clinton's campaign."

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0408/509128.html

 

From Afrik.com about the Penn, Colombian, Clinton foreign policy issues:

"Mark Penn, chief executive of Burson-Marsteller, a global public affairs and lobbying company owned by Britain’s WPP and Mrs. Clinton’s top aide, apologized for the meeting with the Colombian representative. A colleague of Mr. Penn said the executive, who is not listed as working on the account in Burson-Marsteller’s public filings, was not actively working on the Colombia account and had attended a breakfast meeting with the ambassador as a "courtesy" to a colleague. The Clinton campaign said Mrs. Clinton would vote against the deal and that she and Mr. Penn had not discussed the trade agreement."

"Change to Win, a seven-member labor alliance, said the revelation about Mr. Penn’s meeting - which was first reported in the Wall Street Journal - was "outrageous" and that Mr. Penn ought to be sacked.

"How can we trust that a President Hillary Clinton would stand strong against this trade deal when her top advisor is being paid by Colombia to promote it?" said Jim Hove, the general president of the Teamsters.

The incident was not the first time that critics have assailed Mr. Penn for his dual role as chief executive of a powerful Washington lobbying firm and Mrs. Clinton’s top strategist.

At the heart of the criticism are allegations that Mrs. Clinton espouses one set of values, while Mr. Penn’s company works on behalf of clients that undermine those values, such as Cintas, a food services company that has fought unionization efforts by its workers."

http://en.afrik.com/article13092.html

 

From the Associated Press about the Bush hand-picked President of Columbia, Uribe, singling out Obama (on Wednesday and again on Friday) – but not Clinton – for withering criticism, just two days after his U.S. Ambassador met with Penn. Now, remember that Clinton "claims" to have the same concerns about the killing of trade unionists in Columbia and anti-free trade agreement policy as Obama, but Uribe did not criticize Clinton at all, just Obama. Interesting, eh?:

Colombia's president sharply criticized U.S. presidential contender Barack Obama on Wednesday for opposing a trade deal with his country, calling the Democrat out of touch with the realities of the South American nation.

The White House is urging Congress to approve the agreement, which would remove most tariffs on American exports and cement Colombia's preferential trade status with the United States.

But Illinois Sen. Obama said Wednesday he would oppose the deal.

"I deplore the fact that Senator Obama, aspiring to be president of the United States, should be unaware of Colombia's efforts," President Lever Uribe said in a statement. "I think it is for political calculations that he is making a statement that does not correspond to Colombia's reality."

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g0QWd0hI_BMCPs0zeVkg0oenx6RAD8VQ2HJO0

 

From NarcoNews.com about the Clinton Columbian connection. After reading it, one can see that Penn was not just representing Burson-Marsteller (whose unsavory clients have included Blackwater among others), but was there representing the Clinton campaign – whatever their now pro forma denials to the contrary:

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe revealed his worry about the US presidential contest this week to the Bogotá daily
El Tiempo: "I deplore that Senator Obama, aspiring to be president of the US, ignores Colombia’s efforts."

By "efforts," Uribe referred to his administration’s public relations campaign to improve Colombia’s deserved reputation as the hemisphere’s worst abuser of human rights, particularly as they apply to workers and unions. Senator Barack Obama, on Wednesday, had cited "the violence against unions in Colombia" as his primary reason for opposing a proposed US-Colombia "free trade" agreement.

That Uribe singled-out Obama is revealing: the Illinois senator’s rival for the Democratic nomination for president in the United States, Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, also says she opposes the US-Colombia "free trade" pact. That clearly doesn’t worry Uribe: the Clinton organization has a long history of backing – politically and economically – the Colombian far right, its narco-politicians and paramilitary death squads, of whom Uribe is supreme leader. In 2000, then-US president Bill Clinton went on Colombian national TV to announce "Plan Colombia," the multi-billion dollar US military intervention that keeps Uribe and his repressive regime in power to this day.

The
Associated Press has now run with the story in English, a reaction to Obama’s statement yesterday before the AFL-CIO of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia:
"I will oppose the Colombia Free Trade Agreement if President Bush insists on sending it to Congress because the violence against unions in Colombia would make a mockery of the very labor protections that we have insisted be included in these kinds of agreements."

More extensively quoted in The Philadephia Bulletin, Obama added:

"So you can trust me when I say that whatever trade deals we negotiate when I’m president will be good for American workers, and that they’ll have strong labor and environmental protections that we’ll enforce."
The Uribe regime, after all, continues a chummy friendship with Bill Clinton, granting him the government’s

"Colombia Is Passion" Award last June. That, during the same 2007 spring when former vice president Al Gore cancelled his appearance at a Miami environmental conference because he did not want to share a podium with Uribe, the hemisphere’s poster boy for state-sponsored terrorism, narco-trafficking, and assassinations of opposition political, labor and social movement leaders. Angela Montoya, representing the awards committee, told AP that former president "Clinton is Colombia’s best tourism minister because every time he opens his mouth to talk about the country he’s helping to improve our country’s image without even realizing it."

Bill Clinton returned the favor by hosting Uribe as a "featured attendee" at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York last September.

http://www.narconews.com/Issue52/article3055.html

 

From the Wall Street Journal about Obama telling Uribe to stop letting the right wing militias get away with murdering unionists, after Uribe denounced Obama following the Colombian meeting with Penn. Also please note Hillary Clinton’s comment at the end of the story. (It is even more ironic, because although the Wall Street Journal doesn’t get it right in this story. It turned out that a Clinton staff member had talked directly with the Canadian government via telephone to Ottawa, telling them not to worry about her anti-NAFTA campaign comments, and that the conservative Canadian government apologized for blowing up the consular meeting with an Obama aide in Chicago. Furthermore, the subsequently released "First Lady" schedule confirmed that she had played a role in championing NAFTA):

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.

Free trade remains particularly unpopular among the blue-collar Democratic voters that will play a critical role in upcoming primaries in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Indiana, where Obama campaigned on Friday. Both Obama and rival Sen. Hillary Clinton have sought to portray themselves as the most stalwart trade deal critics.

But Clinton’s position could be compromised by the fact that her top campaign strategist met with the Colombian ambassador earlier in the week to discuss the trade deal. Our colleague, Susan Davis
reported that the campaign’s chief strategist, Mark Penn, met in his capacity as chief executive of Burson-Marsteller Worldwide, an international communications and lobbying firm that has a contract with Colombia to help get congressional approval of the trade deal. Ahead of last month’s Ohio primary, a leaked memo from the Canadian government suggested that Obama’s top economic adviser had raised doubts with Canadian officials over Obama’s opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement. At the time, Clinton argued that the press should aggressively pursue the story. "Just ask yourself [what you would do] if some of my advisers had been having private meetings with foreign governments," she said.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/04/04/obama-refutes-colombian-president/?mod=WSJBlog

 

Needless to say, many of the unions are furious with Colombia’s tolerance for the killings of union leaders and members and the Teamsters denounced the Clinton friendly Columbian government:

"Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said Friday he is shocked but not surprised that Sen. Hillary Clinton's chief strategist, Mark Penn, met with Colombian officials about promoting a trade deal with that country.

Clinton said she is against a proposed Colombian Free Trade Agreement. That stance has been severely undermined by the actions of Penn, a highly paid and influential figure in her campaign.

"How can we trust that a President Hillary Clinton would stand strong against this trade deal when her top advisor is being paid by Colombia to promote it?" Hoffa said. "To support this so-called 'free trade agreement' is anathema to the labor movement and to anyone who supports working people, social justice or the environment."

"This has caused us to question Clinton's stated stances on everything from human rights and environmental issues to very basic labor issues," Hoffa said.

This isn't the first time Penn has advocated policies that contradict stances taken by Clinton, arguably his most important client. Penn is the chief executive of Burson-Marsteller, an international communications and lobbying firm with a long history of defending and advocating for union busters.

"It speaks volumes of Sen. Clinton when she retains as chief strategist a man who has collaborated in assaults on workers' rights at companies like Cintas Corp, one of the nation's worst employers," Hoffa said.

"Someone like Mark Penn should not be dictating strategy, and possibly legislation, for a Democratic candidate for president," Hoffa said.

Though all of the trade deals since NAFTA have harmed American workers, the proposed deal with Colombia is especially repugnant to U.S. labor unions.

Colombia is the most dangerous country in the world for union members. More than 2,500 union members have been murdered by Colombian death squads since the 1980s. 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.

http://sev.prnewswire.com/banking-financial-services/20080404/DC1861404042008-1.html

 

To complete the script for the week, the Colombian government pretended to act miffed that Penn "apologized" for meeting with them about "business" when he was running Clinton’s campaign, but that is all phony baloney. He was meeting with them about the campaign, because the Clintons are tight with Colombia and Hillary is only opposing a Colombian free trade agreement because she needs blue collar votes. So, we assume at the request of the Clinton campaign, Colombia "fired" Burson-Marsteller because Penn thought his meeting would be private, and Senator Clinton needed Colombia to fire Burson from the account so then she could say there was no longer a conflict of interest and not have to fire Penn, ergo this article from The Hill:

The government of Colombia has terminated its contract with Mark Penn’s lobbying firm one day after the senior strategist to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) said it was a mistake to meet with the government’s officials about a pending free trade agreement.

Colombia said Penn showed "a lack of respect for Colombians" that was "unacceptable" when he said the meeting earlier this week was "an error in judgment." The remarks were made in a statement released by Colombia’s embassy.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/colombia-sacks-mark-penn-2008-04-05.html

If you’ve gotten this far, you’ve done your BuzzFlash homework for tomorrow.

Ciao!

BuzzFlash Update at 7 EST April 6:

The Clinton Campaign Must be Reading the BuzzFlash Editor's Blog. Senator Clinton Finally Gives Mark Penn the Heave-Ho After He Gets Caught Talking with the Colombians Who Just Happen to Then Attack Obama, While Penn is Also Getting Paid to Promote a Free Trade Pact with a Country in Which Union Members and Leaders are Being Murdered by the Dozens.

BUZZFLASH EDITOR'S BLOG

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watch this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCHfrLkGYlM

Is this man an Idiot?

Obviously all the people that believe Hillary does not believe in what she has been saying are a bunch of idiots who becasue she is a woman dare to acuse her, kick her around and say lies about Hillary. Sometimes you just can't kick someone out, there is nothing worse than a disgruntal employee! Somehow there is suspicion that Mark Penn is acting on behalf of others...just a thought and lets not put it past anyone!!! Whats more important is that people are supporting Obama an Anti-American supporter. For Twenty years he has supported Wright, a Varmit that vomits hatred towards America and it people. I don't need to remind you all of the Anti=Americanism this man has yelled, yet Obama continues supporting this man. If this is not bad enough, he continues to support and associate WRight, Farrakhan, who have gone to Kadafy our enemies..Now we find out Obama has been friends with William Ayers a underground radical American Terrorist. Are we going to put Obama in the most powerful position?? Please lets not! Obama is a lier who the media has been giving him a free pass and have not reported the multitude of lies he has been feeding the American People! Not bad enough his association with these Anti-American for TWenty years now its been found out his association with William Ayers..and the media continues to give him a free pass... Open up your eyes America better now than when he gets the power of our Country!

Clinton, Uribe, et. al.

Good expose, buzz, but you're preaching to the choir, here. Question is how do you get this information to the Clinton faithful without looking like chicken little?

Suggestion

Write it on the back of a campaign contribution check.

For the Clintons, only money talks.

Future News Reported Now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCHfrLkGYlM

Who are these people?

The Mark Penn affair exposes the Clintons for who they really are--inhabitants of a political world that is dominated by large corporations and their paid lobbyists. In this world, what is good for big business is good. So deeply embedded is this assumption that no further examination of facts is ever necessary. It is highly likely that Hillary knew of Penn's efforts on behalf of the Colombian government, but even if she did not, she would have seen no reason to disapprove of them. The problem arose only after the Penn-Colombia relationship was publicly exposed and thus became politically embarrassing. Hillary and Bill Clinton are frauds on many levels. It is good that people can now see them stripped bare of the hype and mythology.

This is all wrong!

Obama has relationship with anti-American like the likes of Wright, Farrakah, and now William Ayers and we are pointing the finger..at Hillary???? Give your Country a brake People, give yourselves one too. Watch out what you wish for ..you might just get it! William ayers is an American Undergrown radical terrorist !!! Wright and Farrakhan have gond to Lybia and visited Kaudafy who hates America and has or will again hurt us... You be the judge? Are you willing to risk the danger this represents? Are you willing to drink the kool aid Obama has pushed down our throats with his empty words and lies ? the media has covered up by giving him a free pass..Not bad enough that Obama has sorounded himself with Anti-Americans, his lies have also only been covered very lightly with the intent of keeping the American People Blind-sighted. Here are a few of Obama's lies- 1.) Selma Got Me Born - LIAR, your parents felt safe enough to have you in 1961 - Selma had no effect on your birth, as Selma was in 1965. 2.) Father Was A Goat Herder - LIAR, he was a privileged, well educated youth, who went on to work with the Kenyan Government. 3.) Father Was A Proud Freedom Fighter - LIAR, he was part of one of the most corrupt and violent governments Kenya has ever had 4.) My Family Has Strong Ties To African Freedom - LIAR, your cousin Raila Odinga has created mass violence in attempting to overturn a legitimate election in 2007, in Kenya. It is the first widespread violence in decades. 5.) My Grandmother Has Always Been A Christian - LIAR, she does her daily Salat prayers at 5am according to her own interviews. Not to mention, Christianity wouldn’t allow her to have been one of 14 wives to 1 man. 6.) My Name is African Swahili - LIAR, your name is Arabic and ‘Baraka’ (from which Barack came) means ‘blessed’ in that language. Hussein is also Arabic and so is Obama. 7.) I Never Practiced Islam - LIAR, you practiced it daily at school, where you were registered as a Muslim and kept that faith for 31 years,until your wife made you change, so you could run for office. 8.) My School In Indonesia Was Christian - LIAR, you were registered as Muslim there and got in trouble in Koranic Studies for making faces (check your own book). 9.) I Was Fluent In Indonesian - LIAR, not one teacher says you could speak the language. 10.) Because I Lived In Indonesia, I Have More Foreign Experience - LIAR, you were there from the ages of 6 to 10, and couldn’t even speak the language. What did you learn, how to study the Koran and watch cartoons. 11.) I Am Stronger On Foreign Affairs - LIAR, except for Africa (surprise) and the Middle East (bigger surprise), you have never been anywhere else on the planet and thus have NO experience with our closest allies. 12.) I Blame My Early Drug Use On Ethnic Confusion - LIAR, you were quite content in high school to be Barry Obama, no mention of Kenya and no mention of struggle to identify - your classmates said you were just fine. 13.)An Ebony Article Moved Me To Run For Office - LIAR, Ebony has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn’t, and never did, exist. 14.) A Life Magazine Article Changed My Outlook On Life - LIAR, Life has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn’t, and never did, exist. 15.) I Won’t Run On A National Ticket In ‘08 - LIAR, here you are, despite saying, live on TV, that you would not have enough experience by then, and you are all about having experience first. 16.) Present Votes Are Common In Illinois - LIAR, they are common for YOU, but not many others have 130 NO VOTES. 17.) Oops, I Misvoted - LIAR, only when caught by church groups and democrats, did you beg to change your misvote. 18.) I Was A Professor Of Law - LIAR, you were a senior lecturer ON LEAVE. 19.) I Was A Constitutional Lawyer - LIAR, you were a senior lecturer ON LEAVE. 20.) Without Me, There Would Be No Ethics Bill - LIAR, you didn’t write it,introduce it, change it, or create it. 21.) The Ethics Bill Was Hard To Pass - LIAR, it took just 14 days from start to finish. 22.) I Wrote A Tough Nuclear Bill - LIAR, your bill was rejected by your own party for its pandering and lack of all regulation - mainly because of your Nuclear Donor, Exelon, from which David Axelrod came. 23.) I Have Released My State Records - LIAR, as of March, 2008, state bills you sponsored or voted for have yet to be released, exposing all the special interests pork hidden within. 24.) I Took On The Asbestos Altgeld Gardens Mess - LIAR, you were part of a large group of people who remedied Altgeld Gardens. You failed to mention anyone else but yourself, in your books. 25.) My Economics Bill Will Help America - LIAR, your 111 economic policies were just combined into a proposal which lost 99-0, and even YOU voted against your own bill. 26.) I Have Been A Bold Leader In Illinois - LIAR, even your own supporters claim to have not seen BOLD action on your part. 27.) I Passed 26 Of My Own Bills In One Year - LIAR, they were not YOUR bills, but rather handed to you, after their creation by a fellow Senator, to assist you in a future bid for higher office. 28.) No One Contacted Canada About NAFTA - LIAR, the Candian Government issued the names and a memo of the conversation your campaign had with them. 29.) I Am Tough On Terrorism - LIAR, you missed the Iran Resolution vote on terrorism and your good friend Ali Abunimah supports the destruction of Israel. 30.) I Am Not Acting As President Yet - LIAR, after the NAFTA Memo, a dead terrorist in the FARC, in Colombia, was found with a letter stating how you and he were working together on getting FARC recognized officially. 31.) I Didn’t Run Ads In Florida - LIAR, you allowed national ads to run 8-12 times per day for two weeks - and you still lost. 32.) I Won Michigan - LIAR, no you didn’t. 33.) I won Nevada - LIAR, no you did not. 34.) I Want All Votes To Count - LIAR, you said let the delegates decide. 35.) I Want Americans To Decide - LIAR, you prefer caucuses that limit the vote, confuse the voters, force a public vote, and only operate during small windows of time. 36.) I passed 900 Bills in the State Senate - LIAR, you passed 26, most of which you didn’t write yourself. 37.) My Campaign Was Extorted By A Friend - LIAR, that friend is threatening to sue if you do not stop saying this. Obama has stopped saying this. 38.) I Believe In Fairness, Not Tactics - LIAR, you used tactics to eliminate Alice Palmer from running against you. 39.) I Don’t Take PAC Money - LIAR, you take loads of it. 40.) I don’t Have Lobbysists - LIAR, you have over 47 lobbyists, and counting. 41.) My Campaign Had Nothing To Do With The 1984 Ad - LIAR, your own campaign worker made the ad on his Apple in one afternoon. 42.) My Campaign Never Took Over MySpace - LIAR, Tom, who started MySpace issued a warning about this advertising to MySpace clients. 43.) I Inspire People With My Words - LIAR, you inspire people with other people’s words. 44.) I Have Passed Bills In The U.S. Senate - LIAR, you have passed A BILL in the U.S. Senate - for Africa, which shows YOUR priorities. 45.) I Have Always Been Against Iraq - LIAR, you weren’t in office to vote against it AND you have voted to fund it every single time, unlike Kucinich, who seems to be out gutting you Obama. You also seem to be stepping back from your departure date - AGAIN. 46.) I Have Always Supported Universal Health Care - LIAR, your plan leaves us all to pay the 15,000,000 who don’t have to buy it. 47.) I Only Found Out About My Investment Conflicts Via Mail - LIAR, both companies you site as having sent you letters about this conflict have no record of any such letter ever being created or sent. 48.) I Am As Patriotic As Anyone - LIAR, you won’t wear a flag pin and you don’t put your hand over your heart during the Anthem. 49.) My Wife Didn’t Mean What She Said About Pride In Country - LIAR, your wife’s words follow lock-step in the vein of Wright and Farrahkan, in relation to their contempt and hatred of America. 50.) Wal-Mart Is A Company I Wouldn’t Support - LIAR, your wife has received nearly a quater of a million dollars through Treehouse, which is connected to Wal-Mart. 51.) Treehouse Is A Small Company - LIAR, the CEO of Treehouse last year, made more than the CEO of Wal-Mart, according to public records. 52.) University Of Chicago Hospital Pay Is Fair - LIAR, your wife’s pay raise was nearly 150% her already bloated rate and the hospital is a Non-Profit Hospital, which made $100,000,000 in the last 3 years. They overcharge blacks VS whites for services, and overcharge everyone in general by 538%! 53.)I Barely Know Rezko - Only 5 Billed Hours - LIAR, you have known him for 17 years, and decided to do a real estate deal with him during a time when he was proven to be under investigation. Despite this, you divided your property and had them take off $300K before the mortgage problems started. Then Rezko’s wife buys the lot beside it that you can’t afford, saving you $625,000. 54.) My Donations Have Been Checked Thoroughly - LIAR, you only gave back Hsu ($72K) and Rezko (first $66K, then when caught lying $86K, then when caught lying again $150K and now caught lying YET AGAIN OBAMA, it’s $250k) their money when publically called on their involvement in your campaigns. 55.) My Church Is Like Any Other Christian Church - LIAR, your church is so extreme, the pastor who married you, Rev. Wright, just got done blaming the US for 9/11 and named Louis Farrahkan their person of the year. 56.) I Disagree With My Church All The Time - LIAR, you still have yet to repudiate Wright, who married you and your wife, and you still donate large sums of money to assist the church in furthering its message - hatred and revenge. You donated in 2006 alone, $22,500 to the church that you so terribly disagree with. That is nearly $500 PER WEEK - that sure is disagreement, Senator Obama. 57.) I Have Clean Connections Despite Rezko - LIAR, you are not only connected to Exelon and Rezko, you are also connected to Hillary PAC supporter Mr. Hsu, AND an Iraqi Billionaire of ill repute, Nadhmi Auchi, who ripped off people in the Food For Oil, Iraqi deal. Seems Mr. Auchi may have helped Obama buy his million dollar property long before Obama had millions of dollars. Wonder what favors Mr. Auchi expects, when Obama leaves Iraq free to be taken over by special interests such as him. 58.) I never heard sermons like Rev. Wright’s, that have been in videos all day, You Tube - LIAR! 3 days later during your Mea Culpa BS speech you said “Did I hear controversial statements while I sat in that church? Yes I did.” 59.) The Passport Invasion is a conspiracy to find dirt on me! - LIAR. Your own Campaign Foreign Policy Advisor is the CEO of the company that looked into your records. PS - You had them look into yours to hide the fact you looked into Clinton’s and McCain’s more than a year before! 60.) Rev. Meeks has nothing to do with my campaigning - LIAR. Rev. Meeks appeared in ads for your Senate Campaign, donated to you, and helped raise money, then AND NOW. PS - He also seems to despise America. 61.) My wife didn’t mean America is ignorant, she was just using a phrase - LIAR. Again, MicHELLe’s comments perfectly sync with Wright’s, Meeks’, and Farrakhans, both in language, anger, and direction. 62.) I am very Anti-Terror - LIAR. [03/30/2008] One of your good pals is long time radical and terrorist William Ayers, with whom you have been seen in the last 12 months and who has helped the now jailed khalidi, Professor at Columbia who invited Ahmadinejad to the University, to raise money for Palestinian terrorism attacks against Israel. PS - Your church published a pro Hamas Manifesto - guess you weren’t there on THAT Sunday either? How lucky for you. 63.) I have the best plan to cure the Mortgage Crisis - LIAR. [03/30/2008] You and your campaign buddy Penny SubPrime Bank Collapse Prizker have had your little fingers full of subprime cash - Obama has taken $1,180,103 from the top issuers of subprime loans: Obama received $266,907 from Lehman, $5395 from GMAC, $150,850 from Credit Suisse First Boston, $11,250 from Countrywide, $9052 from Washington Mutual, $161,850 from Citigroup, $4600 from CBASS, $170,050 from Morgan Stanley, $1150 from Centex, and last but certainly NOT LEAST - Obama received $351,900 from Goldman Sachs. I am sure that cash all came from folks who knew the subprime loan they had was a dream, eh? 64) I played greater role in crafting liberal stands on gun control, the death penalty and abortion - LIAR - [03/31/2008] It was found that Obama — the day after sitting for the interview — filed an amended version of the questionnaire, which appears to contain Obama’s own handwritten notes added to one answer. Read Obama had greater role on liberal survey 65) I did NOT play the race card: - LIAR - [03/31/2008] Obama was the first to play the race card. According to Phialdelphia Inquirer, Quietly, the storm over the hateful views expressed by Sen. Barack Obama’s pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, has blown away the most insidious myth of the Democratic primary campaign. Obama and his surrogates have charged that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has deliberately and cleverly played the race card in order to label Obama the “black” candidate. Read more here 66) I did not take money from oil companies: - LIAR - [03/31/2008] THE FACTS: True enough, Obama does not take money from oil companies. No candidate does. It is illegal for corporations to give money to politicians. Corporations, however, do have political action committees that collect voluntary donations from employees and then donate them to candidates. Obama doesn’t take money from PACs. He also doesn’t take money from lobbyists. But he does accept money from executives and other employees of oil companies and two of his fundraisers are oil company executives. As of Feb. 29, Obama’s presidential campaign had received nearly $214,000 from oil and gas industry employees and their families, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Clinton had received nearly $307,000 from industry workers and their families and Republican Sen. John McCain, the likely GOP presidential nominee, received nearly $394,000, according to the center’s totals. Two of Obama’s fundraisers are Robert Cavnar, the chairman and chief executive of Houston-based Mission Resources Corp., and George Kaiser, the president and CEO of Tulsa-based Kaiser-Francis Oil Co. Source: Associated press via Yahoo News This is the LAUNDRY LIST OF LIES. Updated to reflect new dishonesties.

No way she didn't know

I can't even begin to entertain the idea that Clinton didn't know about Penn's client Colombia. He's been with her for nearly a decade. She knows what types of clients he gets, what he does for a living. People in DC talk about who's lobbying for who -- they know who's lobbying for who. If she couldn't see that conflict of interest coming from 50 miles away, she's not much of a strategic thinker herself. In her campaigning, she seems to have proven herself to be a tactical person -- she does the tasks as prescribed by the strategic thinkers. Personally, I'd rather have a strategic person for president.

Warning: Lying may be addicting and hazardous to our health

Hillary Clinton's dependency on deceit is consistent with her choice of Mark Penn to guide her political campaign. He is CEO of one of the most scurrilous PR firms in modern history. Burson-Marsteller was the principal PR firm behind the tobacco industry's efforts to deceive the public about the dangers of second-hand smoke. (It still represents the world's largest tobacco company.)

Here, for an example, is a fraudulent news story created in 1981, by the Tobacco Institute (TI) and Burson-Marsteller. Entitled "News For the Non-Smoking Woman." It was intended to create more doubt in the minds of non-smokers about the health effects of secondhand smoke on non-smoking spouses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBTGFzQyIXs

And here's a journal report on how Burson-Marsteller helped the tobacco industry infiltrate and spy on public health groups in order to neutralize their public health anti-tobacco programs:

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1447494

And here's a corporate profile that identifies some of the most brutal repressive dictatorships that Burson-Marsteller has represented, along with other unsavory clients, to help them fight efforts to control environmental pollution, global warming, and other public health programs:

http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=395

You know, helping your client convince parents that it's safe to smoke around their children (resulting in millions of acute and chronic illnesses and the deaths of thousands of children over the past quarter century) is pretty bad. Sadly, the CEO of that PR firm is exactly Hillary's kind of guy. By comparison, her "ducking under enemy sniper fire" doesn't look quite so bad. No children died because of that lie.

she sees no conflict!

I believe her when she says she saw no conflict of interest. It is her lack of ability to see any interest but her own that disqualifies her for the position she seeks.

Thanks for that, Buzz:

<< Despite all the ongoing Mark Penn apologies, HE's THE POSTER BOY for the CORPORATE LOBBYIST DESTRUCTIVE INFESTATION of OUR government – and he is Clinton’s lead strategist. Clinton can’t ever distance herself from Penn, because she chose to put a guy so compromised that he represents some of the worst corporate violators in the world as head of Burson-Marsteller as the chief strategist of her campaign. As Senator Clinton keeps telling us, actions speak louder than words. And the Senator fired Patti Solis Doyle and kept Mark Penn on in her campaign, to this day. >> Thanks for that, Buzzflash. We voted for the Clinton(s) in 1992 because they were OUTSIDE of Washington, and held out the promise of doing things to help "the little folks". To his credit, Bill Clinton's "media honeymoon" ended the second he tried to make good on his "gays in military" campaign pledge.... but from that moment on, Clinton seemed to put getting along with R's (and establishment DC "Democrats") as a higher priority than defending the little people. I don't mean to sell Pres. Clinton's accomplishments short - he ended the Bush1 recession, put thousands of cops on the street (reducing crime rate, which are now probably soaring), and helped create jobs and economic opportunities for millions of Americans. But with his (and her) relentless ability to shoot-self-in-foot (two of the more benign examples comes to mind: Hillary's "I'm not Loretta Lynn, I'm not going to just stand by my man", and Bill Clinton's legs-akimbo photo, from crotch height, of him sitting in a chair, on GQ magazine cover (?) - while Al Gore was trying desperately to connect with voters to win election 2000), both Clinton's MISSED the opportunity to DEFINE and BUILD ON the _100 YEAR_ history of ever more Democratic, Populist, progressive, enfranchisement in America. From 15th Amendment ("right to vote SHALL NOT BE ABRIDGED") to women's vote, to Voting Rights act (necessary because the 15th amendment was NOT being enforced), to making 18 the age for voters... ....the Clinton's inability to brush off Republican faux-scandals (many self-inflicted) resulted in the "major media" narrative joining the Right in dismissing (if not denigrating) those 100 years of programs, policies, and progress that defined America - of upward mobility, of education and intelligence vs rote theocracy, of the GI bill, Social Security, federal insurance of bank accounts, and federal oversight of pension funds - of surpassing even the most audacious challenges, instead of making money and mamon king. In hiring David Gergen, Dick Morris, (and in Hillary's health-care debacle empowering unpopular back-bench bomb-thrower Newt Gingrich to capture the majorities in both House and Senate), unfortunately the Clintons helped the Right make the words "liberal Democrat" into (almost) a curse for the next 10 years.

hmmm

so nothing from robertjones this time? oops my bad, at least nothing pertaining to the topic.

One question

So, someone needs to ask Hillary if she was aware that Penn and his firm were working on behalf of the Colombian government to gain passage of the trade treaty. She is cooked either way. If she was aware, then why was he retained as her chief strategist? If she claims she was not aware, I'll bet she is lying.

Hillary is lying

Hillary probably knew of Mr. Penn's meeting. The fact that Colombian president Uribe criticized Obama but not Hillary implies that Hillary's opposition to the colombian trade deal is just campaign rhetoric. Mark Penn probably went to that meeting to assure the Colombian of Hillary's support. That's why Uribe criticized Obama following that meeting.

Will the Clinton lies stop now that Penn's gone?

She's lying again today:

For her part, Clinton reaffirmed her vote to authorize the U.S. invasion of Iraq, saying she believed at the time it was a vote to send in weapons inspectors rather than to launch immediate military action.

"I'm more than willing to be held accountable for it, because that's the way it is life. You are judged on your actions," she said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080406/ap_on_el_pr/clinton_rankin

Will the lies stop? No. And He's not gone!

Hillary said that elections are about choices. Some other things are too, Hillary.

You had a choice between Patti Solis and Mark Penn, chose Mark Penn.

You had the choice to vote for or against the invasion of Iraq. You chose war.

Your everyday choice is: to lie or not to lie!

You spoke about medical care for a woman who died. And, typically, you lied

And now Mark again, and you put out a story about your chief strategist: he's fired! But he will be kept on as a pollster and adviser. He deals with Colombia on the free trade you say you oppose, gets caught, but you merely change his position, keep him on.

What are we to believe? Colombia has issued two attacks on Obama, not one on Hillary. I could guess that they believe her words and her deeds are expected to be incompatible -- again.

I reckon I have a choice too. I can support a liar or not. I choose not.

I'm for Obama.

WaPo article on Penn leaving

The WaPo article Buzz links to on the home page, Penn Out as Clinton's Top Strategist, says that he quit (not, as the Buzz lede presumes, that Clinton fired him). In fact, the article is quite interesting in stating that Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams wrote in an announcement that Penn asked to give up his role of Chief Strategist, but he and his polling firm will continue to provide polling data "and advice" for the Clinton campaign. In other words, the Buzz lede couldn't be further from the truth. She has done nothing to dump this guy, at least according to her own campaign manager. He's walking out on his own.

This is what should concern people. Even after this, Clinton still wasn't prepared to issue a statement that said she asked him to leave (or fired him, or grabbed him by the neck and tossed him out of the building). This is so Bush-like in her inability to get rid of people who are causing her problems, sinking her chances, making her look like a fool or making her look like she doesn't know how to hire people. Only other explanation is that she did actually fire him and for some unknown reason they're putting it out there that he left on his own. Which makes absolutely no sense. So I'll go with what WaPo says -- she did nothing to separate herself from this guy. And that's a massive red flag. On top of other red flags, one after another, for the past several weeks.

Reply to Self

Uh, I've rethunk this position. Maybe it's a bad thing he's gone. I mean, who's going to keep screwing up her campaign for her?? Oh, that's right, he's not really gone. This is just another Clinton shell game before the PA primary, to try to fool the blue collar union folks.

Seems to me there are only 2

Seems to me there are only 2 areas where HRC really got any traction or advantage over Obama worth mentioning: the so-called scandals over his views on NAFTA and the whole farce involving Canadian officials (but we now know was actually instigated by parties connected to HRC), and the artificial and contrived offense at some remarks his pastor once made many years ago. So, since "pastorgate" has been milked dry, it was time to fall back on the only only other tactic that earned them any points in the polls. Canada last time, Colombia this time. Put a fork in it Hillary.

When is enough enough?

Do we need more evidence that Hillary Clinton will do anything, say anything, slime anything or anyone or use the most disgusting and reprehensible tactics in her totally unprincipled campaign for the White House? Have you ever heard a more rhetorical question?

Get informed!!!!

The only one we can not trust is Obama a man that supports Anti-Americans- Wright Farrakhan who went to visit our enemies that want to destroy our country. Do you know who Obama is? Not really no one knows who he is, all we know is that he is an Anti-American Supporter who tells his people to say God Damm America, who says we deserved the tragedy of 9/11 and that Americans have given black people drugs to put them in jail..How about Americans gave Black the HIV Virus, never mind that we have given our hard earn tax dollars to Africa Millions of dollars and may I also add that the Clinton Foundation has also given more than a Million dollars to Africa to help them with their epidemic of HIV aid....Ungreateful and pathetic men like Obama, Wright and Farrakhan who should really throw themselves on the thier knees to appologieze to the American people for such varmit vomit of hatred towrds America and the American People.Keep drinking his Kool Aid and don't complain after with the diariah of despair our country will suffer if Obama would be elected...Anyone that supports an Anti-American for Twenty Years makes this varmit Anti-American his religious campaign advisor, his friend and most importantly his MENTOR, SHOULD NOT BE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES... YOU KNOW WHY BECASUE WE AMERICANS THAT LOVE AMERICA SAY GOD BLESS AMERICA

OMG

STFU YOU FACIST TROLL! the clinton foundation is also the biggest contributor to the clinton library. go figgure. it's obama or bush 3. given the choice, YES WE CAN!

I AGREE!

Clinton is a pathological liar and a "Dirty Campaigner," in the mold of "Tricky Dick," Lee Atwater, Karl Rove, and the Bush Family. She and her husband are so used to lying that they don't know when they aren't anymore! It is in their DNA!!! They and their little "charity" are not to be trusted farther than they can be seen!!! Where is their list of donors for the library? I'll bet that it will never be found. I used to enable that bastard of a president, and helped him keep his numbers up!!! He has lost all of his supporters now, and his so-called legacy has turned to dust! He's no better than Bush, and either is she!!! They are the scum of the earth, and not fit to hold the office of dog-catcher!!!

RevoltingResponsibly2008 is a right-wing troll

This troll posts nothing but inarticulate hate speech.

OK, I got informed

I got at least a little bit informed about you, Mr. Pap (if that's really who you are). I’m not sure just what your purpose is here, so I decided to try to figure it out. Let's take a little journey through cyberspace, shall we?

Let's see, I found you being berated on another site for sock puppetry – you know, posting under two different names? You got caught posting a rant under the name VoteResponsibly08 -- a rant identical to the type you post here under the name of VoteResponsibly08 -- but then you posted the exact same rant under the name of Joseph Pap. (See http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/good_on_bill_and_hillary.php)

Continuing my search, I found the following post at http://www.vanessabyers.net/2008/03/politricks-doub.html. It's a bit confusing since it was posted by VoteResponsibly08, but seems to be answering a post by VoteResponsibly08:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by: VoteResponsibly08 | Saturday, March 08, 2008 at 04:06 PM

VoteResponsibly08, you're exactly wrong about that. Obama acted with integrity, a quality Clinton can't even define, much less emulate.
Obama will end the war, and that is what Power said. it's what he has said. He has also said he will end it in a way that keeps our troops safe. What's wrong with that?
Your intellectual dishonesty is definitely reflective of the Clinton campaign, even in the anonymous handle you use to post.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ooooh -- big Gotcha, huh? The only real explanation for this is that you posted under one name and forgot to switch identities before coming back to argue with yourself. And in defense of Barack Obama! Imagine my surprise! I can’t believe you wrote those words of praise about Obama! C’mon, 'fess up -- you’re really an Obamatron, right? Or is TROLL more like it?

Then I caught you bashing John Edwards on a Newsweek blog back in January; then back to the Obama bashing on an Ohio blog in February, and oh, I see you spend a lot of time on the Fox News site! Which, coincidentally, seems to be the only site where people actually thank you for your anti-Obama postings, whereas the other sites where you post seem to universally tell you to take your trolling elsewhere. Wait – I think I might see a pattern here! But geez, you do get around. I’ve been chasing you all over the Net and have found you on so many sites I had to quit. From conservative to progressive, from sites of interest to blacks, Native Americans, whites (I’m sure there’s an Asian site out there), and individual state interest sites – now I’m thinking that the pattern is maybe you’re from the Clinton camp -- a paid blog poster!

Whatever it is, I'm pretty tired of it, so I'll join the rising chorus I found on so many sites you visit and say: Take it elsewhere, Bub.

You admitted it yourself

ANYBODY can clip another person's statement and post it all over the web under pseudo names in an attempt to defame that person. Heck darlenem; it could have been.... YOU!

No, not really

I think the date and time stamps on the postings prove that it wasn't me. Yes, that possibility does exist that someone else, for the past several months, has done nothing for hours and hours each and every day but post false VoteResponsibly08 posts all over the Web in an attempt to defame whoever is the real VoteResponsibly08 -- an impossible task since you can't defame a pseudonym (at least not legally).

yes, you actually can

Darlene, you CAN defame somebody using his or her pseudonym, as long as others know who is using that pseudonym. For example, someone calling Mark Twain a lying thief a century ago may have gotten an invitation from Samuel Clemens to join him in court.

Likewise, if contemporaries of Lewis Carroll had commented on his obsession with young girls (including photographing them in the nude) -- the way modern authorities now do -- they would likely have been taken to court by the Oxford math lecturer Charles L. Dodgson.

Obviously, if no one knows who is using that pseudonym, its owner would not be able to prove his or her reputation was harmed, and therefore would not be able to establish one of the two essential "legs" required to prove a defamation case.

It's also important to note that people who use anonymous pseudonyms might be able to sue for invasion of privacy. If a person posts certain kinds of private information about an anonymous party, the poster may possibly be sued for invasion of privacy. Privacy laws are stricter than defamation laws. There are reasons laws allow the use of anonymous pseudonyms on the Internet.

Under the terms of service (TOS) of many web sites, users who post personal information about another user may be barred permanently. I don't know if Buzzflash has any TOS. (I couldn't find any listed.)

Well done!

Great job Darlene! But not much chance that this creep will scurry back and stay under his rock for long.

I agree

Well done, unfortunately this jerk will not rest and will try till doom's day to spread his nauseous blabber!

You are so-o-o-o-o influential, Mark

Yeah, the Clinton campaign must be reading your mindless blog, Mark, because no one is more influential in politics today than you. ha ha ha ha ha . You are so pitiful it is really sad. You have all sold out to Karl Rove's noise machine and many of your former supporters (like myself and many. many others) only come here now to marvel at how low you will go in service of Karl Rove's almighty buck$. I guess it beats selling over-priced DVDs to support your new high-rolling lifestyle.

Scraping the barrel bottom

Robertroll, you're proof that the John Birch Society has been forced to scrape the bottom of society's barrel to find new grass root workers.

It's pathetic; the late William F. Buckley once admired Welch, the founder of the society. Now look what's become of it, sending out idiots like Robertjones to fill blogs up with drivel.

Perhaps, that's what finally did Buckley in, seeing what's become of the conservative movement he helped to spawn. It's become a cretinservative movement.

whoops there ya are rj. nothing to do with the article tho huh?

the truth stings dosent it? if us obamabots are being duped by rove, then why does he (rove) favor clinton? (see the article in GQ) and why are all us obamabots still supporting Barack if our secret master wants us to vote for billary? dosent make sense does it? oh, wait, it's reverse psychology? do you work for limbaugh, or is it you? "rush"? Is rush a pseudonym for the oxycontin high?

Mark Penn-a little nothing of a man who sells out!

Mark Penn-a nothing..we will see what a back stabber he is, who will soon get his! He has probably been paid under the table to do all the things he has done by the Obama dirty pool people...Two of a kind Since way back, we have suspected this....

You're still here?

I thought that Darlene had tried to make you understand that you're not really welcome here. Get lost!

WOH WOH WOH WOH WOH

you keep posting voteconservatively, but all i hear is the teacher's voice from the charlie brown cartoons. ;-P

mother make it stop

Only because of Carl Ruve do we have to listen to all this facsists stuff like free speech. I wish that we could just have our own sight on the world wide internet so that we would never ever have to listen to this stuff from people we hate again. I hope Clinton's mother didn't see this.

Really?

Really? I thought those sounds were my dog passing gas.

Should have known it wasn't. Revoltsresponsibly's hot air is a whole lot more foul.