In regard to the article cited by BG in the news roundup about rolling back one of bush's policies to prevent states from setting mileage and emissions standards:
Several questions and some possible answers were found in a post from contributor on a rather obscure labor forum that I help moderate.
California, among a few other states, had asked to be allowed set their own (higher) fuel mileage and (lower) emissions requirements, but Bush refused to even consider it. Obama has now reversed Bush's decision and will apparently allow the states to have a say in setting standards that affect their own situations.
This morning CNN had an interview on CNN with Senator James Inhofe (R), of Oklahoma, who had nothing but bad things to say about the president's reversal of Bush's bad policy and he had a whole laundry list of reasons why this would indeed be the most horrible move in the history of the republic... too expensive, won't stimulate the economy, will make cars too expensive... yada yada.
You almost have to wonder why a Senator from Oklahoma would want to meddle in what are basically the political affairs of other states. If California wants to boost public transportation and to set new standards for motor vehicles as a means of cutting emissions in CALIFORNIA, what the hell difference does it make to the rest of the country and ESPECIALLY to a senator from Oklahoma, of all damned places? Of course, I should have known.
The answer, which is probably already obvious to those of you who have done this for a while, turns out to be the same answer that pops up regularly when some winger turns up on TV to denounce anything and everything President Obama has done so far in regard to anything resembling environmental policy... all you need to do is follow the money. Senator Inhofe's top campaign contributor is a company called KOCH. Ever heard of Koch? ... I hadn't.
One of the most interesting things about Koch (pronounced "Coke", as in the soft drink) is that it's one of the biggest companies that most people never heard of, actually the second largest privately held company in the country.
Center For Public Integrity From an article dated 2004:
Despite its size and political largess, Koch is able to dodge the limelight because it is privately-held, meaning that nearly all of its business dealings are known primarily only by the company and the Internal Revenue Service. In fact, it is the second largest private company in the country, trailing only food processing giant Cargill.
Koch has a very interesting history, and has been extremely active in manipulating our politicians for a bunch of years now.
All told, Koch and its employees have made about $3.9 million in campaign contributions for national offices since 1998.
By comparison, ChevronTexaco-which had revenue of almost $121 billion last year-topped all oil and gas companies with campaign contributions of about $4.6 million since 1998. ExxonMobil-which with revenue of $242 billion is about six times the size of Koch-gave about $3.8 million.
About 79 percent of Koch's contributions went to Republican candidates, totaling roughly $3 million for the GOP compared to about $694,000 for Democrats, in transactions where a party affiliation could be identified.
Koch has rained the most campaign cash, almost $121,000, on Rep. Todd Tiahrt, a Republican who represents Wichita, where Koch is headquartered. Next comes Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C. ($115,000); President George W. Bush ($109,000); Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan. ($64,000); and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas ($53,000).
While Mr. Inhofe didn't seem to be on the company's BIG money list back in those days, they do appear to be his largest single contributor over the five year period 2003-2008 (see below).
Koch has also shown a remarkable ability to get rid of or modify environmental policies and other government rules it doesn't like.
After facing the spate of government lawsuits brought by the Clinton Administration, Koch cranked up its policy influence machine to gut sections of federal environmental laws causing the company problems.
Koch's primary weapon in that battle was-and remains-the cadre of think tanks and other advocacy groups it finances. The brothers or their representatives usually sit on their boards, taking a hands-on approach to make sure the groups push the company's interests.
Koch has had plenty of run-ins with government regulators and other legal problems in recent years. Through it all, the company has shown a remarkable knack for getting criminal charges dropped and huge potential penalties knocked down.
In late 2000-as the Clinton Administration was preparing to leave office-Koch was hit with a 97-count indictment for covering up the discharge of more than 15 times the legal limit of benzene, a carcinogen, from a refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The company faced penalties of more than $350 million. Four Koch employees were also charged individually and faced up to 35 years in prison.
Three months after the Bush administration took office-and just before the lawsuit went to trial-the Justice Department abruptly settled the case. Koch agreed to pay $20 million and plead guilty to a single count of concealment of information. In return, the Justice Department dropped all criminal charges against Koch and the four employees.
In another case, Koch was sued by the government in 1995 and 1997 over a reported 300 oil spills at pipelines owned and operated by the company. Those lawsuits sought from $71 million to $214 million in penalties for the spills, which dumped an estimated three million gallons of oil into lakes and streams in six states. On January 13, 2000, the government settled that case for $35 million in fines.
As for Inhofe's interest in California's mileage/emission standards?
Open Secrets
Senator James M. Inhofe 2003 - 2008
Industry Total
Oil & Gas $406,850
Leadership PACs $310,720
Retired $308,303
Electric Utilities $218,454
Lobbyists $171,333
Lawyers/Law Firms $151,068
Misc Finance $122,101
Building Materials & Equipment $120,445
Mining $119,350
Republican/Conservative $119,075
Real Estate $112,213
Health Professionals $105,113
General Contractors $102,368
Commercial Banks $94,625
Automotive $83,300
Construction Services $82,581
Misc Energy $81,250
Crop Production & Basic Processing $76,665
Defense Aerospace $72,050
Insurance $69,100
Senator Inhofe's five largest individual contributors:
Koch Industries $26,500
Murray Energy $24,800
National Rural Electric Cooperative Assn $22,000
Contran Corp $21,500
American Council of Engineering Cos $18,143
As the forum poster put it... Once again, a politician is pressing issues for his own PERSONAL AGENDA. Inhofe must protect his #1 campaign contributor, regardless of the cost to our country. How do we get these bastards out of office??!!! |
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