Who's the Mystery Man Behind the Latest Pelosi Putsch? It's Mark Penn.

[octoberlib]

By David Dayen

A SMALL GROUP of billionaire-backed Democrats, part of the so-called Problem Solvers Caucus in Congress, has launched a last-ditch effort that threatens to derail Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s election as House speaker.They’ve framed their challenge to Pelosi, a California Democrat, in terms of good government and high-minded bipartisanship. Yet the force behind their campaign is one of the most toxic and notorious partisan warriors the Democratic Party has produced in the past three decades: political and corporate consultant Mark Penn.

The Problem Solvers Caucus is made up of 12 Democrats and 12 Republicans; nine of the Democrats have publicly committed to opposing Pelosi on the House floor if she doesn’t meet their demands for House rules changes largely aimed at legislatively empowering Republicans.

No Labels launched what it called “The Speaker Project” in this past June, proposing a sweeping set of rules changes that lawmakers should demand before agreeing to elect the next speaker, which by then was presumed to be a Democrat. The next month, the Problem Solvers Caucus embraced the plan. In September, Penn went on Tucker Carlson’s show on Fox News to talk up the project. “There’s a problem-solvers group that is looking to have some influence if the result is close, in terms of changing the rules and naming the speaker,” Penn said.

A lawsuit this summer by former No Labels contractors who alleged that they were bilked by the group claimed that Penn was was “calling the shots” at the organization. Penn, according to the Washington Post, has denied involvement with the operation of No Labels, and the group rejected the assertion that he was in charge. Neither No Labels nor Penn responded to The Intercept’s questions about Penn’s relationship with the group.

https://theintercept.com/2018/11/26/nancy-pelosi-speaker-no-labels-mark-penn/

[Bradshaw3]

1. I'll say this about Mark Penn

[octoberlib]

2. I know, right? Shit- stirrer.

[Bradshaw3]

3. He's as big a scumbag as any repub

[grantcart]

4. and just exactly why did this group of Einsteins not want to implement this with the Speaker Ryan?

Because the Republicans wouldn't do it.

They want the Democrats to turn and when the Speaker is a Republican they will abandon the project.

[msongs]

5. and how many times did the 12 republicans buck trump and vote with dems? nt

[saidsimplesimon]

6. Glenn Greenwald loves to

present Democrats in an unfavorable light. He is pals with Assange and Snowden, if memory serves.

I don't even bother to read his propaganda. imo

[octoberlib]

7. I don't like Glenn Greenwald. He didn't write this article. David Dayen, who did, is an excellent

investigative reporter who just happens to write for the Intercept. I follow him on Twitter , where I got the link for the article. WaPo and other sources have reported on the involvement of No Labels and Problem Solvers Caucus. It's not propaganda.

[Me.]

8. So, DEms Are Supposed To Fall In Line With What Penn & His Syncophants Want?

After losing HRC's bid for pres. has Penn won any other big elections?

“In September, Penn went on Tucker Carlson’s show on Fox News to talk up the project. “There’s a problem-solvers group that is looking to have some influence if the result is close, in terms of changing the rules and naming the speaker,” Penn said.

But aside from the claims of the contractors, there are also direct links between groups Penn owns and No Labels’s political activity. Penn is a minority owner of the consulting firm Targeted Victory, which the group contracted with for some of its 2018 campaigns. No Labels uses an affiliate, Victory Passport, for its online fundraising. Penn’s firm Harris Interactive does the group’s polling; SKDKnickerbocker, of which Penn is an owner, produces and places the group’s television ads, as it did in its campaign to support the re-election of Rep. Daniel Lipinski in Illinois, according to the lawsuit.

The New Center, a think tank launched by No Labels to house its 501c3 nonprofit operation, listed Mark Penn as a contact for inquiries about its invitation-only “ideas summit.” Penn is managing partner and president of the Stagwell Group, the holding company that owns SKDKnickerbocker. Penn regularly talks up the great work of No Labels during his appearances on Fox News."

https://theintercept.com/2018/11/26/nancy-pelosi-speaker-no-labels-mark-penn/

[octoberlib]

9. Yep. And you can bet when R's have the majority the favor won't be returned.

No Labels gets part of their funding from dark money conservative groups.

[Me.]

10. No Labels Will Be Changed To Our Labels

[Drunken Irishman]

11. Mark Penn is like herpes - he never goes away.

[dalton99a]

13. +1

[UTUSN]

12. I'm always gigged about my sources, but if TheIntercept sez something good, I'll go awright:

"The network of Super PACs linked to No Labels — which go by a variety of names, according to a Sun-Times investigation, including United for Progress, Citizens for a Strong America, United Together, and Govern or Go Home — spent millions in the 2018 midterms, mostly to help elect members of the Problem Solvers Caucus. Its most high-profile intervention came in defense of Lipinski, a conservative Democrat who faced a well-organized primary challenge from progressive Marie Newman, winning by just 2,000 votes. Pelosi backed Lipinski in the primary, and now he is part of the effort to block her speakership. The Daily Beast reported Monday that Jacobson considered Pelosi’s support of Lipinski insufficient, and the group considered making her a “bogeyman.” They ultimately settled on attacking Sen. Bernie Sanders instead."

Or this:

"PENN IS NOTORIOUS in Washington as the metaphorical devil on the shoulder, whispering toxic advice into the ears of Democratic candidates. Penn and Jacobson were both early players in the Democratic Leadership Council, a faction that emerged within the party in the 1980s to push it to align with corporate money and to move in a more conservative direction. He’s perhaps most well known for urging his client, Hillary Clinton, to attack Barack Obama as un-American during the 2008 presidential primary."

Or this:

"Jon Favreau, a longtime aide to Obama and a co-founder of Crooked Media, said that the No Labels/Problem Solvers Caucus focus on Pelosi makes little sense with Mitch McConnell in the Senate and Trump in the White House, given how little interest those two have shown in civility or bipartisanship. But an incoherent strategy was not terribly surprising coming from Penn. “You mean the guy who Laura Ingraham recently praised for sounding just like her?” Favreau said of Penn. “Sterling track record of success as a consultant. I’d rather light my money on fire than use it to hire him for literally anything.”