Oil companies, electric utilities and the coal industry have poured more than $250,000 this year into the coffers of the National Republican Congressional Committee, the party’s House fundraising arm that has played a lead role in attacking Democrats who supported climate legislation.
All told, political action committees for various fossil fuel industries have given at least $280,000 to NRCC through the end of June, according to quarterly finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission….
In the 2008 campaign cycle, the oil and gas industry and utilities combined to contribute more than $1.6 million to NRCC, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.
So reports Greenwire (subs. req’d) today. See also “Follow the money: Global warming polluters pay to undermine Waxman-Markey clean energy bill.”
And don’t get me started on how stupid the natural gas industry is for using their money to stop a climate bill that will be a boon to their industry (see Game changer 4: Tim Wirth delivers must-read “extreme words” to natural gas execs: “You don’t have the right to sit back and do nothing” about climate change. “We are in very deep trouble, the edge of catastrophe, and you can help”). I’ll blog on that shortly.
Here are more details on this dirty money, and how the GOP is spending it:
Last month alone – the same month that the House voted on a comprehensive energy bill – the industry contributed more than $54,000 to the NRCC war chest, mainly through a handful of large contributions from high-profile energy interests. Among them: $15,000 from Oklahoma-based Devon Energy Corp., $15,000 from Kansas-based Koch Industries Inc. and another $15,000 from Atlanta-based Southern Co.
Those sums reflect only donations given directly from the industry or its advocacy groups and do not include donations from industry officials.
Campaign finance records show that in June, NRCC received a handful of large contributions from individuals linked to the energy industry, including $15,000 from the chairman emeritus and director of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and $5,000 from the senior vice president of government relations at Peabody Energy Corp.
The energy industry traditionally has been a major contributor to the Republican Party, particularly to NRCC. But the recent contributions come as Congress debates climate and energy legislation that will have major ramifications for all corners of the energy sector….
Meanwhile, NRCC this cycle has launched a series of attacks focused on moderate Democrats’ votes on energy legislation.
Just days after the House narrowly approved the Waxman-Markey climate bill, NRCC launched a series of radio ads, robo-calls and a television spot criticizing moderate Democrats for voting in favor of the legislation. House Republican leaders have also said that they view the energy vote as particularly damaging to the Democratic majority and anticipate that it will help them win back a number of seats in 2010.
Money can’t buy you love. But I guess it can buy you hate — see House GOP pledge to fight all action on climate. “Why do conservatives hate your children?”
