This development seems ill-timed from Bob Massie‘s perspective.
The latest political operative to sign on as a public relations guru for the Persian Gulf kingdom of Bahrain is former Howard Dean for president campaign manager Joe Trippi.
Bahrain’s Information Affairs Authority will receive “strategic communications counsel, media relations, and third party outreach support” from Trippi as well as Sanitas International, a Washington public relations firm.
Since violently suppressing a Shia protest movement earlier this year, Bahrain’s Sunni ruling family has retained at least two pricey Washington lobbying and law firms to help it beat back negative attention. The Trippi/Sanitas deal marks the third such contract in recent months.
While the hottest period of the confrontation between the government and the protesters was earlier this year, the situation has not cooled down entirely. Bahrain’s regime has recently made headlines for shutting down the local office of Doctors Without Borders and for the death this week of a 14-year-old boy at a demonstration after he was reportedly hit by a police tear gas canister….
“This is one of the progressive countries in the Middle Eastern Gulf,” said Trippi, when asked about criticisms of Bahrain by human rights groups. “I have no problem working for them.” …
Trippi is also currently working for Massachusetts Democratic Senate hopeful Bob Massie.
Ugh. I mean, really, ugh. What is Trippi thinking – right after the Cambridge-based Monitor Group just got publicly humiliated for its work in support of the Qaddafi regime, he signs on with Bahrain? I mean, Bahrain is not Libya, but some pretty bad stories came out of there this year. Trippi filed with DOJ on August 23, a week before a 14-year-old boy died in a protest – awkward timing. Must be an awesome hourly rate, though.
I have asked the Massie campaign for comment, and will update if/when I hear back.
This makes him a distraction, too. Bob — from someone who’s admired you for a long time now… you don’t need him. I’m sure you can get multiple staffers for his price, including a few of them who’ve been around the block a few times — even if they haven’t done a US Senate race before. That’s money better spent, particularly when money is scarce.
Remember, Bob, there’s little genius behind winning political campaigns — just hard work, great lists, a good message and the ability to stick to it. The hard work you have in spades, great lists are relatively easy to have nowadays with all our technology, and you practically are your message, so now it’s down to keeping up with the message until everyone hears it.
No one needs high-priced consultants with big names to do any of the things on these lists, and they’re only helpful if they’re actually committed — not the types who have been known to hop on campaigns, using their big names, delivering little.
Trippi’s reputation is already as a hired gun that does little to improve upon the campaign — and who knew Trippi would take “hired gun” so literally? Ugh is right.
Bob — this race is better and far more dynamic with you in it. You don’t need Trippi as a consultant to stay in this, just people who have some understanding of real campaigning and who know Massachusetts.
I wouldn’t go out of your way to publicly fire Trippi, as that would just make this an even greater distraction, but I do suggest politely and quietly dumping him from the payroll, and looking to find staffers who can make sure you’re booked every hour of the waking day from now until the primary to meet with democratic activists around the state and collect their names and info, then organize them into volunteers to start identifying voters.
That’s the course forward, right there. This thing is still wide open. You’ve just got to use your resources as wisely as possible, and Joe Trippi isn’t it, not unless he’s providing real work and doing it for free.
I’m told by the campaign that Trippi is an unpaid advisor. So, there’s that.
Still not a fan of Trippi, though at least I’m happy to hear Bob’s not wasting money on him.
These campaign consultants must have some other function we don’t know about, they must spread the walking-around money in some way under the surface, because they are so extremely expensive. In campaigns I have worked on they are useless and even harmful. Can you imagine that people of both parties are writing checks of $25 that go to pay these guys $20K! It’s appalling.
Most of the time Americans speak with little authority or understanding of what is going on in the middle east. We have no idea who our friends are and are not in this area…our own government prefers that we don’t know sometimes…American consultants/contractors are encouraged and enticed to work for foreign governments by the CIA and the Defense and State Departments as a vehicle for added influence. A good read this summer is “Rock the Casbah” by Robin Wright who actually has a first-hand understanding of the area and the US place in it…
I hadn’t heard of it; I am working my way through “No Ordinary time” but will check this one out of the library next. See http://books.simonandschuster.com/Rock-the-Casbah/Robin-Wright/9781439103166