Is WPP trying to purchase our country?

I have been meaning to blog about two more lobbyists that are some of John Mccains top fundraisers. I have been putting it off but today's events made me a lot more motivated.

They are John Green, and Wayne Berman from Ogilvy Government Relations. Here is a description of themselves from their own website.

John Green, co-founder of Ogilvy Government Relations, was executive director of the New Republican Majority Fund political action committee before creating the company. In that capacity, he raised almost $6M, while developing and maintaining an extensive grassroots network. Prior to his position at the New Republican Majority Fund, Mr. Green served as campaign manager for Congressman Chip Pickering’s successful run for an open seat in the United States House of Representatives. He directed the transition to a fully functioning congressional office.
Mr. Green also served in various capacities for U.S. Senator Trent Lott, working as a legislative aide and eventually becoming Senator Lott’s deputy chief of staff. He worked on various legislative issues, including the food quality act, the farm bill, the telecommunications reform act of 1996 and various appropriations bills.
Mr. Green counts many legislative victories his credit, including amending the statute on mandatory source preference for the Federal Prison industries, to allow private companies a level playing field when purchasing off GSA schedule.
Mr. Green remains active in Republican politics. He served as the national finance committee chairman for the successful 2004 Senate campaign of then Congressman Richard Burr of North Carolina.
Mr. Green holds a Bachelor of Public Administration from the University of Mississippi.[1]


The second lobbyist is Wayne Berman. After more than 25 years in the nation’s capital, Wayne Berman holds an almost unmatched position at the crossroads of policy, politics and campaign finance.
Berman’s government service helped establish him as one of Washington’s quietly influential insiders on both domestic and foreign policy. President George Bush appointed Berman Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Policy in January 1989, a post from which he was the principal adviser to the Secretary of Commerce, served as the official US liaison to foreign business groups and oversaw more than 60 projects that resulted in new export orders for US goods.
Berman spent his time out of government building his own business and managing others. He is the founder of Berman Enterprises, a lobbying and business consulting firm, which merged with Ogilvy Government Relations in January 2004. He is the Vice Chairman of JLT America, a London based international insurance brokerage. In the early 1990s, he served as a managing partner of America Mercantile Group, a private merchant bank. And he was the managing partner of a Washington consulting firm from 1985 to 1988.
Berman has played a substantive political role in just about every Republican presidential campaign of the last generation. He was a senior advisor to the Bush/Cheney transition in 2001, the vice presidential campaign director for Dole/Kemp and deputy director of the Republican National Convention in 1996, director of congressional relations during the Bush/Quayle campaign in 1988 and a deputy director of the Bush/Reagan transition team in 1981. He has served in a variety of fundraising capacities in every Republican presidential race since 1992.
Berman has served on the board of trustees for the Library of Congress, the Center for Strategic and International Studies as well as the Center for the Study of the Presidency and helped lead campaigns for So Others May Eat, (SOME). He has appeared on CNN and CNBC.
A native of Rochester, NY, Berman received his BA from the University of Buffalo and attended graduate school at Georgetown.

So what does Ogilvy Government Relations do? Well once again I will refer to their own website

For more than a decade, the principals and staff of Ogilvy Government Relations have effectively represented leading corporations and institutions with legislative and regulatory concerns in Washington, DC.

The two critical factors in this effective representation are knowledge and experience. Through high-level service on congressional staffs, in agencies and the Executive branch, Ogilvy Government Relations team members are deeply knowledgeable about the way government actually works, day in and day out.
When that experience is coupled with an understanding of the new complexities of making public policy and managing political risk, the result is superior representation of client interests.

And as an Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide company since 2005, Ogilvy Government Relations can offer clients a complete battery of public affairs and communications disciplines to further strengthen their voice in Washington.
In a city where many competing voices are constantly clamoring to be heard, Ogilvy Government Relations has the keys to successful results.

Ogilvy Government Relations approaches government relations from a simple premise: actions by federal institutions have the power to either hurt or help clients. These actions may take the form of high-profile legislation that earns front-page coverage in major newspapers. Or they may be arcane regulatory or policy implementations at the agency level. At either extreme, it is vital to have representatives in the Nation’s Capital who can help clients both reduce the risk to their organizations and manage legislation and regulation in an opportune manner. In order to accomplish these objectives, Ogilvy Government Relations concentrates on four key disciplines.

Legislative and Executive Advocacy Through long-established professional relationships on Capitol Hill and in the Executive branch, Ogilvy Government Relations is able to precisely identify and reach out to the appropriate offices and individuals to express a client’s viewpoint on pressing legislative or regulatory matters. Moreover, expertise in message management allows Ogilvy Government Relations to express that viewpoint in a concise, consistent manner for maximum impact.

Image and Relationship Building Federal entities and decision makers should be approached in a businesslike fashion; i.e., relationships in Washington should be formed with an eye toward continuity in order to build working partnerships. A client’s viewpoint, interests and professional and business practices are known and established in advance, which acts as an immediate and effective counterweight to misinformation. By continually communicating the value a corporation or institution provides to the public at large, Ogilvy Government Relations helps build a reservoir of goodwill and respect for clients throughout the federal government.

A Disciplined Business Approach To build effective partnerships with its clients, Ogilvy Government Relations embraces an approach to advocacy that has a strong business framework. While each engagement is unique, this framework is based on four key activities:
1) Resource Overview Working with the client, team members conduct a complete assessment of strengths, weaknesses, goals and problems.
Through interviews with client leaders and key staff members, an inventory outline of tasks is created.
2) Project Development ReportUsing data gained from the Resource Overview, a strategy is developed and recommended projects are formulated.
A timeline for putting projects into action is created.
3) Goals and Benchmarks. These are defined early in the engagement so successes can be gauged as early as possible and strategic adjustments made, if necessary, to meet goals.
4) Continuous Communication. By continually and openly exchanging ideas and judgments, clients and Ogilvy Government Relations team members build a strong working relationship with each other—and with Capitol Hill and federal agencies.

Once again the lobbyists are trying to buy and sell government favors that is causing many of Americas failed policy in order to make a profit. However it gets worse.

Today a Company called WPP made a hostile bid for Ogilvy Group, and investors gave a warm welcome yesterday to a hostile takeover bid from the WPP Group of London. They offered a 52% increase over the stock price and plans on raising its bid. [4]

Now what makes this big so odd is that WPP already owns a few lobbyist firms. One of the big Firms they also own is Burson - Marsteller. The same company that Mark Penn, Hillary Chief Strategist, is the CEO of, and also owns BKSH which Charlie Black, one of Mccains top lobbyists, is a chairman of. [5]

They have had such clients as Countrywide Financial, Black Water, and Dubai Investment bank.

Why is WPP trying to monopolize the lobbyist firms in America? Is WPP trying to purchase our country?

Say no to lobbyists. Vote for the candidate rejecting the lobbyist support.