A Front Group Affront

Share this

An American Prospect article on Rick Berman of the front group Center for Consumer Freedom notes, "Berman's strategy turns on a simple rhetorical gimmick: By employing the language of consumer freedom, he protects his client industries by demonizing (and, hopefully, discrediting) their critics." Berman "stands out, if only for the sheer, unparalleled audacity with which he's straddled his dual roles as consumer 'advocate' and industry lobbyist. ... In addition to running the Center for Consumer Freedom," Berman is "the founder and president of an influential Washington lobbying firm, Berman & Co." The firm "has performed for-profit lobbying for - you guessed it - many of the same industries served by the center," including restaurant chains and alcohol companies.