Featur e
ing to overthrow the regime in Iran. While the work may be dangerous for his clients, FitzGibbon never leaves the safety of his home computer screen. “No overhead, no big office,” he says. “People are armed
with their laptops and their Blackberries, and they’re able to get press around the world...but I’m not inside Iran. I work to help people inside Iran who remain anonymous, who mobilize dissent against the regime.” FitzGibbon says he felt like he was in more danger when
he was the lead spokesman for
MoveOn.org, the liberal online activist group. Nonetheless, he says he’s not afraid of meddling in international affairs or diplomacy efforts (or lack there of) between the United States and Iran. “First of all, I love controversy,” FitzGibbon says. “Sec-
ond of all, helping students inside of Iran who are protest- ing the Iranian regime. If that’s controversial, I like that. I see it as helping democracy.”
PICKING CLIENTS The level of danger for any international consulting gig depends largely on two factors: the client and the region. That’s why well-respected international consultants have thorough research operations to examine their potential jobs. The most prominent firms with international prac- tices turn down clients on a regular basis. Rosner makes it clear that his firm intends to work with clients who are in line with the consultants’ own political values. The firm’s partners often have “a vigorous internal discussion” about which clients fit that bill. The firm also reaches out to al- lies in the foreign policy community to make sure they’re signing on the right client. “There have been people who have approached us, who
we find objectionable for many reasons, or a lot of people in the U.S. government might find objectionable,” he says. “And we don’t work for those people.” There’s a great deal of gray area, as well, when firms work
with international clients who deal with the United States government. As private actors, firms aren’t restricted from working with such clients—but it sets up a conflict with current Congressional clients or potential future domestic clients. For example, the California-based GOP media and communications firm, Dresner Wickers and Associates, has counted both former presidential candidate and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former President Boris Yeltsin of Russia as clients. When Copsey started working for a member of the Pales-
tinian Authority in the West Bank in 2005, his colleagues— and even some Israeli friends—were supportive of his new client. Copsey worked with a local television station in the West Bank to expand their broadcasting capabilities just af- ter Hamas won the elections. “I think everyone really saw our work as helping,” he
says. “My Israeli friends saw it as helping a more secu- lar, moderate organization and helping promote a more moderate influence in politics within the Palestinian population.”
30 Campaigns & Elections | Canadian Edition
THE FINANCIAL REWARDS There is no doubt that international political consulting is still profitable, and a solid overseas practice usually adds depth and diversity to a firm’s business model. But as several consultants noted, it’s not as profitable as many think it is. First, consultants typically must acquire a certain cachet
before the prime international clients start busting down the doors with high-dollar offers. Several prominent con- sultants who have thriving international practices have a track record of working with a presidential candidate: Democratic media consultant Joe Trippi for former Gov. Howard Dean’s White House bid, Democratic pollster Joel Benenson for President Obama’s campaign and Terry Nel- son with former President George W. Bush’s political team in 2004. “James Carville has also done a ton of it, and it also
came after the Clinton race,” says Democratic pollster John Anzalone, who has done work in the Ukraine. “Some of the cachet is being involved in some of the winning pres- idential—or just a presidential, as well.” While it’s not uncommon for consultants to pitch in-
ternational business, many say the best clients typically approach them first. For Republicans, it’s often through IRI. For smaller political operations, which have not been a principal on a national campaign, there’s much time and effort to be invested in an international practice. In addition to his work with former President Bill Clin-
ton, Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg famously has ad- vised several heads of state around the world, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Nelson Man- dela in South Africa and Israel’s Ehud Barak. But that kind of top-level clients tend to come to consultants who have already made a name for themselves. Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research has one of the most burgeoning interna- tional practices in the business, which according to com- pany spokesman Jaclyn Macek, now comprises one-third of the survey firm’s total business. The firm opened an of- fice in Buenos Aires, Argentina, this year that it is currently staffing, plus another ten employees dedicated solely to in- ternational work in Washington, D.C. Rosner runs the company’s international sector, among
other departments, and has traveled to dozens of countries including Columbia and Afghanistan to perform survey research. He called his practice “a very significant part of our business” that has spanned more than 80 countries in its existence. The polling mega-firm started focusing more seriously on its international practice in the 1990s. “I don’t think we do this so much because it’s a business
model, but certainly why I do it and why Stan does it, is because we’re committed to a certain kind of progressive politics both here and abroad,” Rosner says.
THE FINANCIAL DANGERS For firms without an office abroad, however, international work is often a pricey investment. “For me, at the begin- ning, it was doing it for the experience and it was fun,”
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