The Corporate Bully...

[MrScorpio]

The Corporate Bully Whose Front Groups, Willful Distortions and Hate-Mongering Has Poisoned U.S. Politics
: Meet Richard Berman

November 24, 2013 |
“Why don’t we know who one of the most powerful people in America is? What he has done? Why '60 Minutes' called him Dr. Evil?” asks Saru Jayaraman, a leader in a growing national movement of restaurant workers demanding better pay and working conditions.

Dr. Evil is Richard Berman, a Washington-based lawyer-turned-hitman for Big Food who pioneered and still deploys many of the most intentionally deceptive, inflammatory and anti-democratic tactics used in corporate propaganda campaigns today. For nearly four decades, Berman’s attacks have tried to smear, discredit and destroy public-interest causes and groups by a toxic brew of industry front groups, distortion-filled attacks, ridicule and bullying to stoke prejudice and hatred as a means of turning the public’s attention and regulators away from his paymasters’ business practices.

Take his effort to cripple the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and defame the character of its CEO, Wayne Pacelle. He ran a television ad during the 2013 Academy Awards telling people not to give to HSUS. He created a YouTube video viewed 1.7 million times calling Pacelle “the Bernie Madoff of the charity world.” He set up a non-profit front group called Humane Watch to undermine donations intended for the HSUS and a website attacking its funding. He even threatened the Better Business Bureau to drop HSUS' accreditation under the business group's Wise Giving Alliance, and then attacked BBB when it refused to do so.

Astute observers have concluded that Berman is guilty of the sins he regularly accuses others of. Legitimate watchdog groups, such as CharityNavigator.org, have characterized his web of non-profit front groups, which take in millions in tax-deductible corporate donations, as the fake charities. Tax law experts contacted by Bloomberg.com said his operation was comparable to Madoff’s, a shell game of financial transfers enriching Berman that likely violated tax laws. Investigative reporters have even traced e-mails from front groups who deny they’re working with him back to his office.

http://www.alternet.org/corporate-accountability-and-workplace/richard-bermans-propaganda-wars-take-us-politics-gutter

This man is the ground floor of the Grand Central Station of Right Wing politics and it's marriage to rampant, regressive American corporatism.

[RKP5637]

1. American corporatism, disaster capitalism, American exceptionalism and the

controlling oligarchy are obsolete for 21st century ... exposing them is helpful to oust them from totalitarian fascist control. "We the people," often have less and less say, voting is rigged and corporate MSM controls many peoples minds. The question is how to gracefully change and move forward to a better financial model. The current model allows for greed, outrageous behavior and inequality, a core problem in today's America.

[DissidentVoice]

2. I never believed in any of those to begin with

American corporatism is the living, breathing, bloodsucking definition of Benito Mussolini's definition of fascism.

Disaster capitalism is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

American exceptionalism is the mindless chanting of "USA! USA! USA!" while completely ignoring the problems within our borders and the problems we cause outside them.

[Enthusiast]

4. +1 a whole bunch.......nt

[Enthusiast]

3. +1 a whole bunch.......nt

[loudsue]

6. Two things.....get rid of the existing supreme court members on the right

so we can overturn Citizens United, and reinstate the fairness doctrine. Those two things right there would go a long way toward reinstating democracy.

[RKP5637]

9. YES!!! They definitely would !!!!!!!!!

[loudsue]

10. Thanks!

[DissidentVoice]

11. But how do we do that? You're talking things that are going to take GENERATIONS

The Fairness Doctrine will take a Democrat (not Blue Dog/DLC) majority in both Houses and a non-DLC President.

"Citizens United"...you're going to have to wait for a hell of a lot of RW corporatist Justices to die off/resign and hope that Sen. Reid's quashing of the filibuster isn't overturned by a GOP Senate Majority Leader.

[loudsue]

12. It would take a true democratic president, as you say, not a DLCer or "new way" democrat

And some serious impeachment momentum.

[Enthusiast]

5. Kicked and recommended a whole bunch.....nt

[tblue]

7. Rachel did a few segments on him

years ago for wreaking havoc on exposés of high fructose corn syrup. Because people's health is 'meh' compared to the Almighty Dollar.

This man needs to be kept in the spotlight. How evil do you have to be to attack the Humane Socierty???!

[GeorgeGist]

8. Perfect career ...

for a sociopath.