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This story puts the 1% in perspective, but also how dangerous the national Occupy movement is seen to be to insiders and establishment players. The plans by a connected lobbying firm to undermine the power building in Occupy is the latest example of how uncomfortable the protesters are making corporate players.
From Chris Hayes, who broke the story on his MSNBC weekend show:
A well-known Washington lobbying firm with links to the financial industry has proposed an $850,000 plan to take on Occupy Wall Street and politicians who might express sympathy for the protests according to a memo obtained by the MSNBC program “Up w/ Chris Hayes.”
The proposal was written on the letterhead of the lobbying firm Clark Lytle Geduldig & Cranford and addressed to one of CLGC’s clients, the American Bankers Association.
CLGC’s memo proposes that the ABA pay CLGC $850,000 to conduct “opposition research” on Occupy Wall Street in order to construct “negative narratives” about the protests and allied politicians. The memo also asserts that Democratic victories in 2012 would be detrimental for Wall Street and targets specific races in which it says Wall Street would benefit by electing Republicans instead.
From the Public Campaign Action Fund we get more details of the lobbying firm behind the Occupy smear campaign, Clark Lytle Geduldig & Cranford.
A partial list of the lobbying firm’s clients and amounts they received over the past five years shows significant businesses and associations:
Client
Payment 2007-2011
American Bankers Association
$710,000
American Institute of CPAs
$550,000
AT&T
$170,000
Bloomberg LP
$201,000
Electronic Payments Coalition
$540,000
Investment Co Inst
$540,000
Mastercard
$320,000
US Chamber of Commerce
$598,500
Verizon
$250,000
The four principal lobbyists at the firm have donated $452,250 over the past five years to federal candidates and political party committees. The lionshare of that funding has gone to Republicans (95.3 percent) with just a small amount (4.7 percent) donated to Democrats.
Lobbyist
Donated 2007-2011
Steve Clark
$147,350
Jay Cranford
$1,750
Sam Geldudig
$295,950
Gary Lytle
$43,300
Two of the lobbyists – Cranford and Geldudig – worked for House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).
Ah yes, the revolving congressional door strikes again and as usual the 99% are the target.
You’ll recall the other day I did a piece about how the right was trying to undermine Occupy Wall Street, with negative PR bubbling up as a result. Smearing the Occupy protests is critical to dislodging the movement from its righteous moorings, making it unseemly to be part of what’s being felt by the 99%, which is represented in the protests, even if people cannot relate to the protesters themselves.
The message Occupy is carrying resounds.
What Chris Hayes unearthed points to something far bigger and reveals just how successful the Occupy protests have been, with the threat of their power growing seen as a threat.
Afflicting the comfortable is always a good thing, but it’s never easy and usually ugly.
That a powerful and connected lobbying firm couldn’t figure out any way to respond to the protesters except to smear the people peacefully demanding economic fairness says something fundamental about what’s going on in this country today.
It’s party of why there are Occupy protests in the first place.
I don’t recall off hand which President said it but it was something to the effect that you should wear your enemies names as badges of honor.
This is shameful but so is BO’s silence on the pepper-spraying of the students at UC Davis. He will comment when it’s his buddy Henry Louis Gates or protesters in another country. He will remain silent on this one. He is voting present yet again.
If Barack does speak, he will call on both sides to use restraint. Mark my word. #ows #cowardlypresident
What it really puts into perspective is how dangerous the one percent are. It has reached a point, through endless merger’s, media consolidation ( which continoues today ) , revolving door government, tax loopholes, non profit foundations that are fronts for political action, consultants ( aka lobbyists ) and the unseemly corruption and blatent criminality of congress, where the opposition ( us ) are actually fighting a form of mafia. These people, highly organized, with tentacle’s reaching into every sector of the country, armed with money, financial weapon’s and propaganda and a fully equipped military force to do their bidding ( the police ) , are about as dangerous to this democracy as any organized crime family. If Baucus gambling on the economy of his own country crashing is not a criminal act then what is. The point I am trying to make here is the seriousness of the unethical, immoral, unholy alliance between our government , corporate america and the financial industry. These entities , thru ten years of Bush, have become accustomed to a certain way of life, a certain zeal for power and control which they cannot give up. It is now or never. Soon it will be too late to stop them without armed insurrection.
It took them a few weeks, but the 1% types figured out that ignoring Occupy wasn’t going to work. And while Fox and company continue with the daily barrage of over-used disdainful labels, this story reveals a “damn, maybe this is serious” flicker of recognition.
Hey all.
When the right is squealing as loud as they have been, ranting about Occupy protests are less than the Tea Party, which is an entirely different group with a lot of institutional & 1% type GOP backing, you knew the right was worried.
This story reveals why the PR onslaught to discredit Occupy was joined by the right.
“When the right is squealing as loud as they have been, ranting about Occupy protests are less than the Tea Party, which is an entirely different group with a lot of institutional & 1% type GOP backing,”
And every time, every single TIME the teabaggers lied about how many of their fellow racist wingnuts showed up. And the corporate media went right along with them until John Stewart brought a little reality and fact checking to the table. OWS has consistently had WAY more people in the streets in FAR more places for FAR longer then the SS and medicare crowd that are the teabaggers. KEEP IT UP!!!!! They are scared, REAL scared!
Chris Hayes has the best,smartest and most respectful to it’s viewers political talk show on television by far.
Fox News and conserative blogs and newspapers are going after OWS big time. They are worried, but the scary part is when they feel backed against the wall, what will the 1% do, they have so much power and money that this could be only the begining, when they think something threatens their status quo, they will do anything to stop it. I just hope that OWS is prepared for anything, and hope everything is peaceful, but from what I have been reading about what the police are doing as well as lawmakers, this could get worse, thats my fear.
Let it get worse, and let’s make sure we are out there with them. This is long overdue.
In 2012, OWS is the new Acorn for the right to attempt to destroy.
Douglas Rushkoff @ OWS for a Teach-In