U.S. Chamber of Commerce Relaunches Capitalism (Take That, Obama!)

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce launched a highly political nationwide PR campaign intended to relaunch capitalism itself.

The Chamber will spend tens of millions of dollars and buy advertising nationwide to persuade the American public that its agenda -- low taxes, open markets, and loose regulation -- are crucial elements of a job recovery. The new television spots, previewed for staff and press at the launch event Wednesday, celebrate small American entrepreneurs and argue that government intervention will not spur permanent job growth.

The Chamber says the intensified lobbying effort culminates months of "listening sessions" with its thousands of member organizations. It hits just as the organization is taking heat for its opposition to climate change regulation and for spending $2 million to attack a proposed consumer protection agency. Staffers said that the new ads were a chance for the Chamber to shift attention from its oppositional stances and draw attention to the central idea it supports.

While insisting that the campaign had nothing to do with presidental politics, its focus on job growth seemed to be pinpointed at a problem plaguing the White House: discontent with job losses. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said last week that the administration is doing "everything humanly possible" to save and create jobs. The Chamber, which opposes a number of Obama's legislative proposals, lobbies against the idea that government might have a significant role to play in recovering lost jobs.

Chamber officials insisted the ad campaign is positive and that it was not being run "against" anything. Still, its objectives staked out a position of bold opposition to a number of actions currently being proposed by the Obama administration, mostly centered on business and finance regulation. Chamber officials repeatedly suggested that economic freedom in the United States is under attack.

"The free enterprise system, which has done so much for so many, is facing great challenges," Donohue said. "There are plans afoot to weigh down America's once vibrant capital markets with excessive regulations, and to raise taxes on our most productive citizens."

Responding on the Huffington Post Wednesday afternoon, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka wrote that, given what he called the Chamber's history of fighting workers' protection and all forms of business regulation, the group's focus on job-creation is "farcical."

There are few details about which regions and industries the new campaign will target. But Chamber officials outlined general projects they will use to promote their agenda and persuade Americans to embrace a business-friendly legal climate. Those projects include community forums on free enterprise, a "small business of the year" award, an initiative to sway governors and mayors toward free-market policies, and an aggressive outreach to K-12 and college students.

Thomas Bell, a board member, said the Chamber was surprised to discover in its research that "a huge percentage of young people think socialism is better than capitalism. We have a big education job to do."

Donohue concluded with an impassioned defense of capitalism. "There is no perfect system," he said. "We think the warts on this system are a hell of a lot better than the warts on other systems, and we look forward to convincing people of that."

- Via Politics Daily