Rachel Maddow Takes On Controversial P.R. Man Rick Berman

[democracy1st]

Run time: 10:20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMSVnTiw97U   Posted on YouTube: October 07, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: October 07, 2009 By DU Member: democracy1st Views on DU: 1391

 
Rachel Maddow Takes On Controversial P.R. Man Rick Berman

Interview only

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XNxPDX7xlY

http://www.bermanexposed.org/#

Rachel Maddow Takes On Controversial Pro-Business Public Relations Head Rick Berman - 10/06/09

[LaPera]

1. This was a tough one for Maddow, but in the end her points were well made......

The slimy republican Rick Berman is a paid corporate spokesman paid to trash every liberal organization possible while any corporate sponsors can hide & have this right-wing clown Berman develop a website & pontificate on whatever republican forum available, to smear & distort the facts...all the republican(s) who wants to lie & trash the facts has to do is pour some money into Berman''s "non-profit" coffers and Berman will peddle the highly suspect disinformation via the Internet & media avenues and the republican "sponsors/donors" remain anonymous...

[Sky Masterson]

2. I bet she gets at least two shows worth of information to debunk from this

Like the acorn below minimum wage claim.
:) I thought she was professional and fair.
And he was at least respectful to her(Even though he is lying snake).

[Turborama]

3. K&R Thanks for posting (Tanscript below)

MADDOW: So this is MSNBC, right? This is the place for politics.

And usually when we‘re talking politics, we‘re talking about who‘s got the majority in which house of Congress. We‘re talking about who‘s running for president. It‘s usually red v. blue, electoral politics. That is the above board, “everyone can see it” part of the American politics. That‘s the part that sometimes feels like sports.

Well, here‘s a little story about what‘s happening in American politics beneath the surface. The part that‘s really not at all like sports and is more about what the country is really like and why it can‘t ever seem to change in substantive ways.

In 2007, the company Smithfield Foods was engaged in a legal battle with the UFCW, the United Food and Commercial Workers union. The UFCW wanted to unionize one of Smithfield‘s plants. Smithfield did not want their employees to be in the union. Smithfield ultimately filed a lawsuit against the UFCW, and at some point during that legal battle, Smithfield reportedly retained the services of a D.C. public relations firm called Berman and Company, which is headed by a man named Rick Berman.

And right around the time that Smithfield hired Rick Berman for their legal battle against UFCW, up popped a Web site, UFCWExposed.com. It‘s a Web site dedicated to telling you how horrible the UFCW is. Now, that Web site happens to be run by a nonprofit, a nonprofit that is also headed up by—Rick Berman.

Now, nonprofits, of course, don‘t have to disclose who their donors are. But it‘s an interesting confluence of events, right? Smithfield sues UFCW, Smithfield hires Rick Berman, and then Rick Berman‘s nonprofit group goes after UFCW, without having to say who‘s funding them to do so.

Now, that may be a mere coincidence. But if you follow the career path and accomplishments of Rick Berman, the odds of that being mere coincidence don‘t seem very good.

Take, for example, another Web site, FishScam.com, which assures you that the mercury in your fish really isn‘t that bad for you. FishScam.com is headed by Rick Berman.

Or there‘s SunlightScam.com, which tells that you tanning beds really aren‘t that dangerous for you. SunlightScam.com is headed by Rick Berman.

How about SweetScam.com, which tells you high-fructose corn syrup is, hey, not all that bad. Feed it to the baby. SweetScam.com—headed by Rick Berman.

There‘s also AnimalScam.com, which gives you the, quote, “truth behind the animal rights movement”—headed by Rick Berman.

TransfatFacts.com tells you that trans fat can actually unclog your arteries—headed by Rick Berman.

Also attributable to Rick Berman—if you go to the Web site LivingWage.com right now—just type it in, it will make him happy. LivingWage.com, type it in, you will be redirected to Web site of the Employment Policies Institute, another Rick Berman joint that is not at all about the living wage movement. And again, this is a nonprofit, so it doesn‘t disclose donors, but this Web site is there to tell you how bad it is to raise the wage level for the worst-paid people in the country.

Along these lines, Mr. Berman also runs a Web site called
RottenACORN.com which goes after the community activist group ACORN, which works towards raising the minimum wage, among other things.

All of this stuff is done by Rick Berman. And because he does it through nonprofit organizations, he doesn‘t have to tell you who pays him to do it. He doesn‘t have to tell you if—say, the seafood industry is behind FishScam.com. I don‘t know if it is. It‘s a question.

I also have a question as to whether or not agri-business is behind SweetScam.com and its praise for high-fructose corn syrup.

Mr. Berman is allowed to create all of these grassroots-looking Web sites and not tell you who‘s footing the bill. He‘s totally allowed, totally legal.

And American politics right now is littered with groups like this right now. All of these purportedly grassroots organizations that say they stand for regular, run-of-the-mill Americans, but we‘re not allowed to know who‘s putting up the money. And sometimes, you find out that fake grassroots groups like Americans for Prosperity were founded by an oil baron, and then you think, “Hey, maybe that‘s why they‘re campaigning against climate change legislation.”

Sometimes you find out that the people who are sponsoring the big 9-12 tea party march on Washington is a group that‘s run by a lobbyist who‘s charging tens of thousands of dollars to other firms to gain access to that grassroots podium at that march.

Just because someone calls themselves “grassroots,” someone calls themselves “nonprofit,” does not mean they are not selling you corporate-funded P.R. spin. The target for what these folks are doing is us, the American people.

So when you hear from a Rick Berman-headed Web site that trans fats might secretly be great for you, wouldn‘t it be nice to be able to ask him who is paying him to say that?

Well, joining us now is Rick Berman, who‘s president of the P.R. firm Berman and Company, and founder of a bewildering number of pro-business, nonprofit organizations.

Mr. Berman, I commend you for wanting to come on this show, knowing exactly what this conversation was going to be like. Thank you for being here.

RICK BERMAN, PRESIDENT, BERMAN & COMPANY: Thank you for letting me come on.

MADDOW: All right. So, tell me what I just said there that is not true. I want to give you a chance to correct the record first.

BERMAN: Well, first of all, I don‘t know if I have enough time to do that.

MADDOW: OK.

BERMAN: But I brought some notes because I listened to some of your commentary on previous nights.

MADDOW: Well, I don‘t want to say anything that‘s actually untrue.

So, tell me if I‘m.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: Well, I don‘t know if you say things that are factually untrue as much as with a healthy dose of sarcasm.

MADDOW: Yes.

BERMAN: And with taking things out of context, you make them seem a lot worse than they are. Let‘s go to trans fat.

MADDOW: OK.

BERMAN: Everybody used to use saturated fat. Then there was a group that is commonly called the “Food Police,” called the Center for Science and the Public Interest.

MADDOW: Well, you call them the “Food Police.”

BERMAN: Well.

MADDOW: Nobody else commonly calls them that.

BERMAN: Well, actually, more and more people are starting to call them that.

MADDOW: Because you‘re doing a good job.

BERMAN: Well, thank you. But they said saturated fats are terrible. We need to go to trans fats. And they counseled the industry and they counseled the government and they counseled the media that we needed to move to trans fat. Over time, they decided, “No, no, no, trans fats are bad. We have to go back to saturated fats or some other fats.”

Now, the point is, that trans fats are not particularly bad compared

to saturated fats or vice versa. And trans fats—most people who get

connected to trans fats, get connected to it by putting margarine on their

bread. That‘s what trans fats are.‘

And when I see people say that trans fats—and we‘ve seen legislators say trans fats are like lead in paint with kids eating lead chips. We have seen legislators say that they‘re just like rat poison. I put out a Web site and I say, listen, there‘s needs to be some balance in this conversation. Trans fats may not be good for you. You may not—you shouldn‘t eat them in great amounts, but they are not rat poison.

MADDOW: When you put out that Web site, though, what I want to know is—in order to assess the credibility of what you‘re saying, and when I see the ads that you‘re doing, and look at the Web site—what I want to know is: are manufacturers of foods that contain trans fats are paying you to say it?

BERMAN: Great question. I know where you‘re going. Listen, what you were saying before about nonprofits not disclosing their donors is something that is well-known to people on the left, on the far left, and on the right. All through politics, people have nonprofits that are advocacy nonprofits, and they all are refusing to submit donor lists, because people don‘t want to have their right to free speech curtailed by people coming at them.

You know, the original case that went to the Supreme Court.

MADDOW: But wait, before you do that, though.

BERMAN: Well, let me tell you this.

MADDOW: Before we talk about the Supreme Court, you just—without me interrupting you like I did just now—you just gave this sort of soliloquy on why trans fats aren‘t so bad. In order for my viewers to know whether or not that was a paid-for testimonial by people who have a vested financial industry in trans fats being purchased and consumed by a lot of Americans.

BERMAN: Sure.

MADDOW: . I want to know if somebody who makes trans fats or profits from them paid you to say it?

BERMAN: Go on—go on the Web site and look at the science. What I always.

(CROSSTALK)

MADDOW: You just—are you saying that you won‘t tell me?

BERMAN: Yes, of course.

MADDOW: OK.

BERMAN: And I‘m just like all of the groups on the left who won‘t tell you either. In fact, you put up one Web site about ACORN, RottenACORN, the only thing wrong with that Web site home page is that it‘s now been changed as of tonight, because you had Melanie Sloan on—Melanie Sloan from CREW.

MADDOW: That‘s correct.

BERMAN: And she has been attacking me over the years for one thing or another. And so, tonight, I put up, if you go to RottenACORN.com, you will see an expose of Melanie Sloan and CREW not wanting to disclose her donors. This is something on the right and the left.

MADDOW: This is fair enough. But I want it—but it‘s—and you can—if you‘re going to attack Melanie Sloan for not disclosing her donors, and I know that ActivistsCash.com is another one of your vehicle by which you attack groups on the left and try to expose who their donors are, why do you feel justified in doing that when you won‘t say who yours are?

BERMAN: If I get money from NBC, and NBC says, “I don‘t want my name disclosed,” it‘s not up to me to disclose it.

MADDOW: Yes, but I want—why do you expect anybody to believe you on matters of science and research if we don‘t know if you are being paid to say it by people who have a vested interest, literally, a financial interest in you being persuasive? Don‘t you think that‘s kind of evil?

BERMAN: Here‘s why. Because I can‘t make a persuasive case just because it‘s my opinion, and if you go to those Web sites, there‘s science on there. When you go to the Web site about MercuryFacts or FishScam, what you will see is that the Harvard School of Public Health says that the risks of mercury from eating fish are far more outweighed than the benefits of eating fish.

MADDOW: OK.

BERMAN: So, if I got Harvard saying it, I don‘t have to tell you who gave me any money to publicize their point of view.

MADDOW: On that point, you took on Harvard specifically. And this—

I‘m sure you‘ve thought about this a lot because it got a lot of attention for your company and for your nonprofits. You took on Harvard on an obesity study.

There was a study about obesity that you said was junk science. It was about whether or not soda is bad for you and contributed to childhood obesity. I looked into a lot of your campaigning around that. And I saw, for example, your research director testifying to the FDA, was it, about that? Your research director.

BERMAN: Sending a letter.

MADDOW: OK. It was written testimony. It was on your Web site, written testimony there.

BERMAN: Sure.

MADDOW: David Martosko was his name.

BERMAN: Yes.

MADDOW: Is he a scientist?

BERMAN: No, David repeats other people‘s science. That‘s not the point.

MADDOW: Is he a doctor? Or is he.

BERMAN: David is a Dartmouth graduate. He‘s one of the smartest guys in Washington about this stuff. He‘s been studying it for many, many years.

MADDOW: It‘s been—I want to ask you this because I think it‘s important to know.

BERMAN: Sure.

MADDOW: When you‘re talking about your credibility on these issues, it has been reported that David Martosko, before he got this gig as your research director, he—his experience was that he was a producer in AM talk radio. That was his previous job.

BERMAN: David had several jobs. David had several jobs. But.

MADDOW: And his academic credential may be from Dartmouth but it‘s a degree in music, is that right?

BERMAN: Here‘s my whole point, David doesn‘t come on and say, “I have done the research and this is what the research says.” David finds the research and publicizes it, and he gives people the opportunity to look at a balanced point of view.

MADDOW: You should have him set it to music.

BERMAN: Well, perhaps so.

MADDOW: All right. This is going to be more fun after the commercial. You stick around, or you can—you can leave now if you want. But I‘d love for you to stick around.

BERMAN: No, no, no. I want to stay the whole show if I can.

MADDOW: All right. Rick Berman, thank you very much for being a great sport to being here. We‘ll be right back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MADDOW: We‘re back with Rick Berman. He is president of the PR firm Berman and Company, as well as founder of a number, a great number of pro-business nonprofit organizations. Mr. Berman, thanks for sticking with us.

BERMAN: Glad to be here.

MADDOW: All right. You have received a lot of attention over the years for your efforts. CBS memorably christened you “Dr. Evil,” a term you seem to really relish. And I know you said in an interview about 10 years ago in a trade magazine, you said that your strategy was to, quote, “shoot the messenger. We‘ve got to attack their credibility as spokespersons.”

BERMAN: Right.

MADDOW: Was that your intent? Was that the strategy behind “RottenACORN.com” to go after them as messengers for raising the minimum wage and the other kinds of things that they worked on?

BERMAN: You know, most of the people that go after ACORN are certainly in the crosshairs about this are people who are hypocrites, people who say one thing and do another, people who are duplicitous.

When I first found out about ACORN, it was because I had a long

history of working on the minimum wage. And I -

MADDOW: Against raising the minimum wage?

BERMAN: Against raising the minimum wage, which is a position that is consistent all the time. Whenever they do these surveys, 75 percent to 80 percent of economists in this country say that raising the minimum wage is no longer a good antipoverty measure. There are all sorts of studies that. If you want to know more about it, you go to “MinimumWage.com” which is run by Rick Berman.

MADDOW: Which is run by Rick Berman. And the idea that raising the minimum wage hurts poor people is going to make people laugh all around the country.

BERMAN: Let them laugh, but the point is that economists who have no dog in the fight say this because when you see that the average income, the average family income of a minimum wage worker today is approximately $50,000.

MADDOW: You know, but that‘s -

BERMAN: But Rachel, let me finish about ACORN, OK?

MADDOW: OK.

BERMAN: It‘s important. The reason I got involved with ACORN is that I saw that ACORN had filed a brief in the California Court of Appeals saying they wanted to pay their own employees less than the minimum wage. They wanted to be exempted from the minimum wage.

And one of their arguments was that they wouldn‘t be able to hire as many workers if they raise the minimum wage on them. And, they said, and this was really incredible, they said that if they can pay their workers less than the minimum wage, they would be poor and they would be better able to identify with their poor clients.

Now, the judge threw the case out, said that this was the most hypocritical thing he had ever seen. And this was an appellate court brief. This was not some local person.

MADDOW: Who funded your website, RottenACORN.com? Who gave you the money for that?

BERMAN: I did it.

MADDOW: You did it yourself personally?
BERMAN: Yes. I start a lot of these myself because I believe in them. And then, I go to people and I say, “Listen, this is what I‘m doing. If your beliefs are consistent with mine, will you help me get this thing out?” It doesn‘t cost anything to put a Web site up.

MADDOW: Right. But who - on the ACORN - so nobody ever else supported that. That was out of the goodness of your heart?

BERMAN: Yes.

MADDOW: The problem with that is that I can‘t prove it one way or another because you don‘t have to disclose it. And so I have to take your word on that, and I will. There‘s no reason not to.

But in general, your strategy not to say, “I, Rick Berman, am being paid to tell you that the efforts to stop you from eating fish or stop eating trans fats or stop smoking cigarettes, whatever they are, I‘m being paid to tell you that these things are a bad idea.”

BERMAN: I don‘t do things that I don‘t believe.

MADDOW: OK. But you are being paid to say them as well by people who have a vested interest in what you are arguing. And you don‘t argue - you don‘t argue from the truth of it, the fact that you‘re being paid for it. You argue that the people who advocate against cigarette smoking, the people who advocate for raising the minimum wage, you advocate they‘re bad people and can‘t be trusted.

BERMAN: I never argued -

MADDOW: You‘re against Mothers Against Drunk Driving. You‘re against PETA. You‘re against ACORN.

BERMAN: Wait, wait, wait. Wrong. Listen. The woman -

MADDOW: You‘re shooting the messenger. You said it‘s your own strategy.

BERMAN: The woman who started Mothers Against Drunk Driving came to

work for me because she believed that the MADD organization had been

hijacked -

MADDOW: Yes. And then she left in a bad way in your organization.

BERMAN: She left because she had been hounded for doing it. That‘s

why. But the point is that she agreed with me and there are lots of people

· traffic safety people - who agree that MADD used to be against drunk driving. I was the only consultant to MADD - the only corporate consultant to MADD. I was trying to do something about drunk driving. The organization was consistent with our views.

But then, they went about trying to go after any drinking and driving. So now, they‘re trying to put breathalyzers in all cars as original equipment.

MADDOW: And restaurants and bars and other industries that sell alcohol.

BERMAN: Yes, but -

MADDOW: And they‘re worried about it. They have an interest and they‘re paying you to say it. If you admitted that ...

BERMAN: But of course -

MADDOW: ... nobody would call you Dr. Evil anymore. They‘d just call you a PR guy.

BERMAN: No, no, no -

MADDOW: The reason you‘re on this show is because you don‘t disclose who‘s paying you to say the things that you‘re saying.

BERMAN: Well, then you can‘t have anybody on your show from the left or right who‘s connected to these nonprofit organizations because they won‘t tell you who‘s funding them.

MADDOW: And think that‘s wrong?
BERMAN: I think that they‘re entitled to do that. They‘re entitled to keep their donors quiet. I think that‘s up to them.

MADDOW: Rick Berman, president of Berman and Company, my sincere thanks for coming on tonight. I look forward to you taking down the Web site attacking CREW for not disclosing their donors, because you‘ve had your change of heart right here on set with me.

BERMAN: Hardly, hardly.

MADDOW: It doesn‘t matter what you think. It‘s what works for your business. I understand. I hope you‘ll come back. I hope you thought you were treated fairly.

BERMAN: I was and I look forward to coming back.