This NYT piece on Vilsack is pretty paint-by-the-numbers, gets into a lot of his baggage, etc. One hilarious flaw tho. /thread https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/21/us/politics/vilsack-usda-small-farmers.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

Opens and closes w quotes from Anne MacMillan, who it identifies as only Vilsack's "former aide." (They misspell her name, but that's not the howler.)

She defends him from charges of being too tightly allied with the agribusinesses he's supposed to regulate like this: “His job required him to advance rural America and the ag industry and feed people,” she said. “You can’t not engage with the entire spectrum.”

Not stated: Anne McMillan herself is an agribiz flack. She's a former policy adviser to the famously agribiz-aligned Nancy Pelosi. After, she went to work for Vilsack's USDA for a few years. Then it was time to cash in: https://www.hagstromreport.com/2014news_files/2014_0512_macmillan-leaves-usda-for-pom-wonderful-company.html

Director of government relations (top lobbyist) for Roll Global, eh? Roll Global is the conglomerate of the Stewart & Lynda Resnick, the LA power couple who dominate CA almonds, pistachios, & pomegranates, an empire that requires vast amounts of water and thus political favor.

Here's Mother Jones Josh Harkinson on the infamously well connected and lobbying-dependent Resnicks. https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/08/lynda-stewart-resnick-california-water/

MacMillan had that gig for a few years. Now what does she do, when she's not defending Vilsack to reporters? She's the top agribusiness gun for Invariant, the big-foot DC lobbying outfit run by Heather Podesta. https://www.invariantgr.com/team/anne.html 

MacMillan offers "shoe leather lobbying, and targeted political and regulatory engagement to meet a client’s specific needs, navigating complex policy and regulatory challenges across a wide range of issues."

I love this bit: "Anne’s expertise and deep relationships with the House Democratic leadership deliver unparalleled results." Hey there, Nancy! The Times got played by a top lobbyist, whom it gave a free forum to lobby for fellow lobbyist Vilsack. /fin