Hillary: Blackwater & lobbyists

So with all the news about the mercernary group Blackwater operating in Iraq above the law, murdering civilians and the like, it turns out that Hillary's pollster and message guru Mark Penn not only engages in union-busting on the side, but that his firm Burson-Marsteller also represents Blackwater. See DailyKos for more discussion on this.

This is more disturbing that a rogue bundler on the lam. Penn isn't just some guy who endorsed her, or fundraised for her. Penn is one of her top advisers, and should she win the Presidency, he will almost surely hold a key role in the Hillary Clinton White House. For those of us who feel we need REAL change to get away from backwards-ass policies of the current crew of Republicans, Penn's clients sound obvious warning bells. Penn almost certainly had a role in Hillary voting yes on the insane Lieberman-Kyl amendment that deemed the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization, thus giving Bush justification should he so choose (and, ah, we know he would so choose) to invade Iran under those premises.

One of the comments in the DailyKos diary harkened back to August at the Yearly Kos Convention, where Hillary talked about why she still takes money from lobbyists. I was able to attend that in Chicago, and yes, I'm one of ones who was booing.



The awesome Democratic campaign strategist Cliff Schecter has more on this "lobbyists are people too" moment. Type in his name on YouTube to see him make mince meat of GOP strategists on MSNBC last year, leaving them with a look on their faces like someone farted into their morning coffee. (If you're wondering what his credentials are, he worked as a pollster for Bill Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign, and also for Mark Warner's successful campaign for Governor of Virginia in 2001, and Ned Lamont's successful primary challenge to Joe "Turncoat" Lieberman.)