Thursday, July 05, 2007

Wake Up Wal-Mart has two empty bunks

The John Edwards campaign has added Paul Blank and Chris Kofinis to its campaign staff.

Blank was the political director of Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign who went on to become the chief organizer of Wake Up Wal-Mart, an anti-Wal-Mart organization funded by the United Food & Commercial Workers union.

Kofinis was Wake Up Wal-Mart's chief spokesman--you may have seen him on one of those "talking head" shows bashing the retail king. Blank, according to Marc Ambinder's blog, will take over day-to-day operations of the Edwards campaign. Kofinis will probably work for Edwards in a role similar to the one he had with the anti-Wal-Mart group.

Former Detroit-area congressman David Bonior keeps his title as campaign manager, but it looks like he's been pushed aside somewhat.

From Ambinder's blog:

Blank and Kofinis will also beef up the presence of Democratic operatives with ties to labor; another Edwards senior political adviser, Chris Chafe, is a former chief of staff for UniteHere, a powerful textile and service union.

Interesting. Bonior was hired for his links to labor. Unfortunately for Edwards, he has other connections that the Edwards campaign prefers to be kept in the shadows.

Ready for more irony? Like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, John Edwards has shown himself to be a hypocrite in regards to Wal-Mart.

Hat tip to Marshall Manson of Edelman for the story.

Related posts:

John Edwards' odd choice to run his campaign: David Bonior

Michelle Obama quits board of big Wal-Mart supplier

My book report: The Wal-Mart Revolution: How Big Box Stores Benefit Consumers, Workers, and the Economy

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