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DEAN BARKLEY: HE WAS A TOBACCO LOBBYIST AND HE IS A HYPOCRITE
By Michael B. Brodkorb | October 18, 2008
It’s been interesting listening to former U.S. Senator Dean Barkley, the latest in a line of candidates who want to run an anti-establishment campaign for public office by attacking government, Democrats and Republicans and “special interest†groups.
Barkley’s anger at recent debates is of particular interest as he tries to amp up the criticism of both candidates by saying they are in the pockets of the special interest groups. WCCO’s Esme Murphy called a recent attack on U.S. Senator Norm Coleman from Barkley the “lowest blow.”
What Barkley neglects to point out to Minnesotans is that after he left the Senate, he went to work as a lobbyist for big tobacco and the Southwest Casino and Hotel Corporation. Barkley also represented Allied Waste/Browning-Ferris Industries (see below: “the nation’s largest trash hauler”) as a lobbyist.
Based on public statements in past news articles, Barkley said that he expected to collect about $60,000 from his lobbying contracts. But Barkley’s campaign has not released any documents related to his work as a lobbyist so Minnesotans can verify the previous public statements he has made about his compensation related to lobbying contracts. In fact, Barkley’s bio page on his campaign website fails to list Barkley’s previous work as a lobbyist.
Barkley’s past work as a lobbyists for big tobacco and other clients have caused him trouble in the past.
“The campaign manager hired by gubernatorial candidate Arianna Huffington, who frequently blames ‘high-priced lobbyists’ and ‘special-interest money’ for California’s ills, is himself a lobbyist for major tobacco, gambling and waste hauling firms in his home state of Minnesota.
Dean Barkley, who helped put Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura on the political map and is now directing Huffington’s campaign, collects $3,000 a month as a lobbyist for Lorillard Tobacco, one of the nation’s largest cigarette producers.
His other current or recent clients include AOL Time Warner Inc.;Â Allied Waste/Browning-Ferris Industries, the nation’s largest trash hauler; and Southwest Casino and Hotel Corp., which is seeking approval of a harness racing track in the Minneapolis area.” Source: Los Angeles Times, Aug. 16, 2003
My issue with Barkley isn’t that he is a former lobbyist. Rather, my gripe is that Barkley complains about special interests, while hiding from the fact that he was a lobbyist….for big tobacco.
Due to Barkley’s debate rhetoric and attacks on his opponents for their connections to “special interests”, I think he should answer the following questions:
- Was Barkley ever in discussions with his clients while he still served in the United States Senate? I believe that if you are a U.S. Senator, you have some obligation to tell someone that you are actively engaged in employment discussions with a potential employer.
- Who approached who about becoming a lobbyist? Did Barkley approach his clients? Did his clients approach him? Why? What special talents or connections did a former U.S Senator of less than two months have lobbying on issues before the Minnesota Legislature that at the time had a grand total of ZERO members of the Independence Party serving in either body?
In 2003, the Star Tribune wrote that Barkley himself claimed that while Ventura might have said nasty things about lobbyists, he always thought about lobbying as a profession and that lobbyists to be honorable.
“Barkley contends that whatever Ventura might have said about lobbyists, neither the Independence Party nor Barkley himself ever officially condemned lobbying itself. He said he has always considered lobbying and lobbyists to be honorable.” Source: Star Tribune, December 29, 2003
This is an astonishing statement coming from a guy who spent the last three debates attacking his opponents as being in the pockets of special interest groups. Barkley’s trying to claim the mantle of being an independent outsider who can fight the system. The reality is that Barkley is a former U.S. Senator, appointed by a governor, to fill out 62 days of Paul Wellstone’s term of office.
Please check back to Minnesota Democrats Exposed for more information on this developing story.
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14 Responses to “DEAN BARKLEY: HE WAS A TOBACCO LOBBYIST AND HE IS A HYPOCRITE”
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October 18th, 2008 at 6:44 PM
2 anti-Barkely posts in a row??!?
Hmmm — I wonder how many votes Barkely is taking from Coleman?
October 18th, 2008 at 7:08 PM
I talked about this during today’s radio show…I was fired up at Barkley after his comments at the Duluth debate.
October 18th, 2008 at 7:09 PM
I love how Michael had post after post about how Franken must be In trouble because he thought he launched an attack on Barkley. Now Team Coleman has gone full tilt against Batkely.
Coleman senses a loss.
October 18th, 2008 at 7:12 PM
it’s nice to see reality has set in, and Norm now realizes he is in a tight race with Barkley to avoid third place.
October 18th, 2008 at 7:51 PM
It was nice to hear Laura FRAUD today. Perhaps, after she gets off her soapbox, preaching about disenfranchising voters, she can explain how she SAT BACK AND VOTED TO ALLOW THE TAXPAYERS OF HENNEPIN COUNTY TO BE SOLD DOWN THE RIVER AND HAVE OUR VOTE TAKEN AWAY FROM OUR WITH THE TWINS STADIUM BILL!
COME ON MICHAEL! HOW’S ABOUT WE STOP BEING A LAPDOG AND CALL LAURA FRAUD ONTO THE CARPET WHEN SHE START THIS HIGH-AND-MIGHTY BULLSH-T ABOUT PROTECTING VOTERS RIGHTS WHEN SHE COMPLETELY WIPED OUT MY RIGHT TO VOTE ON THE TWINS STADIUM BILL?!?!?!
I await your response.
October 18th, 2008 at 8:15 PM
What do you think about the fact that Governor Ventura did ad’s for Pig’s Eye beer.
Lets face it Republican’s have given us smoking bans cigarette tax’s it’s even illegal to do an otherwise legal activity at a bus stop.
We don’t hate lobbyist, we hate the gutless way Republicans and Democrats play to them. All sides of all issues deserve to be promoted by supporters. You as a Republican know this as well as anyone.
Smokers, and freedom lovers come on over to Dean Barkley, the Republican party has left you behind.
October 18th, 2008 at 8:20 PM
That smell?
It’s the final few drops of desperation pooling on the corpse of Norm Coleman’s once dominant campaign.
October 18th, 2008 at 11:34 PM
Great post demonstrating the irony of Barkley’s statements.
I’d love to get answers to those questions.
Another thing about Barkley is his naive anti-war stance.
I can’t say I have respect for anyone at the upper levels of Allied Waste. Allied Waste Services surreptitiously jacked up my condo’s fees
over the course of a year, and then double billed us to boot. When we tried to get third party bids we discovered at least one of the locally owned waste professionals (perhaps the only one brave enough to respond to our request for a bid) was so intimidated by Allied Waste that they asked us not to disclose their identity to Allied Waste.
Other local professionals simply did not respond.
And the bid was hundreds less then what we paid Allied.
This was immediately after the name change.
October 19th, 2008 at 6:20 PM
[...] Team Barkley issued a press release in response to my post exposing Barkley’s hypocrisy for attacking special interests while hiding the fact that he was a lobbyist for big tobacco. Team Barkley’s press release was really bizarre and didn’t answer any of the questions I asked. [...]
October 19th, 2008 at 8:35 PM
[...] that he has never taken a dime from special interests. But the truth is completely different, as Barkley’s is former lobbyist for big tobacco and has previously accepted campaign contributions from [...]
October 20th, 2008 at 8:34 AM
Dean Barkley taking $3K per month from “big tobacco” doesn’t necessarily make him an advocate or friend of Minnesota smokers. I have been following the 2005 Minneapolis and then Minnesota bar smoking bans at my http://freedomtoact.com
I don’t recall Dean Barkley’s name ever coming up. Big tobacco did little if anything to oppose the bar ban. The proponents of the ban were very heavily finances by Minnesota tobacco settlement money diverted from the Minnesota taxpayer and Blue Cross awards. (sort of like lobbying by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac)
October 20th, 2008 at 10:24 AM
Dean Barkley is a briber, investigation fixer, liar, lobbyist, money hungry lawyer, recently fired Met Mobility employee.
Barkley was Jesse Ventura’s campaign chairman in 1998 and he:
•Fixed the 1998 MN primary election registration by bribing Bill Dahn
•Fixed the ensuing investigation by bribing Charlie Weaver with a job and retaining former U.S. Attorney Thomas Heffelfinger to obtain a false affidavit
•Supported the lie that Ventura was a Navy SEAL
Ventura appointed Barkley as Director of Minnesota Planning for $97,300 yearly and Barkley accomplished nothing in four years.
Barkley was Ventura’s closest adviser so he is equally responsible for Minnesota’s multi-billion dollar deficit when they left office.
Dean Barkley was a registered lobbyist through 2007 and lobbied for:
• Lorillard tobacco (Newport, Kent)
• Southwest Casino and Hotel (horse track)
• Stinger Systems (taser gun manufacturer)
• Allied/BFI (garbage haulers)
If Barkley gets elected he will take money from ALL his lobbyist buddies.
If you want an out of work briber, fixer and liar as senator…GO BARKLEY!
Leslie Davis
October 21st, 2008 at 9:38 AM
Crap Leslie Davis is still alive just die grumpy old man, and take your terrorist buddy Bill Dahn with you.
Freak
April 6th, 2009 at 10:08 PM
Like it or not.
Leslie Davis was telling the truth.
The video of Jesse Ventura and Dean Barkley “Bribing” Bill Dahn and James Kane in the 1998 MN. Governors Race.
.
http://www.BillDahn.com
.
Bill Dahn for St.Paul’s Mayor.