Revealed: 5 "Grassroots" Groups Funded by Dirty Energy
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 08.25.09
If a band of coal and oil execs decided to spread the message about the evils of climate bill—how it would force them to close refineries and coal plants, cause miners to lose their jobs, and "cripple our economy"—who would pay attention? If they showed up to anti-climate bill rallies--in limos, perhaps—to talk about how the climate bill was going to cost them 23 cents a day to kick start an attempt to avert global disaster, would anyone care? 'Course not. That's why these dirty energy execs have rounded up 'regular folks' (like their employees) to spread the message for them. They've organized a slew of fake 'citizen groups' whose aim is to appear like they're just a band of riled up everyday people who firmly believe the climate bill will destroy everything they hold dear.
These following groups are nothing but fronts whipped up by big oil and coal to protect their interests—namely, the right to continue to pollute our skies and contribute to climate change unfettered. Find out who they are and who's behind them.
The "Grassroots" Group: America's Power Army
What We're Supposed to Think: It's a "grassroots campaign" involving over 225,000 ordinary people, who show up to town hall meetings to protest the climate bill and to express concern over American job loss, how the climate bill's nothing but an 'energy tax' and so forth.
The Real Story:
The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (yup, the same group who was behind all those forged anti climate bill letters--but we'll get to those later) has hired the Lincoln Strategy Group to organize this large scale "grassroots" movement. Now, the name Lincoln Strategy may ring a bell—that's because they've been involved in a smattering of well publicized voter fraud scandals throughout the course of other 'grassroots' movements they've organized. The group's been banned from Wal Mart for using shady partisan voter registration techniques, destroyed and/or removed Democrats from voter rolls in various states in documented cases, and has been notorious for misinformation campaigns (and outright lying) to drum up support for bills and causes they're hired to organize for.
This time's no different. The coal-sponsored group will visit town halls to ask misleading questions and spread misinformation (often pre-printed on fancy flyers and signs courtesy of big ol' coal) in attempts to distract from the actual discussions about the bill.
More details of the groups checkered past over at Climate Progress.
The 'Grassroots' Group: Energy Citizens
What We're Supposed to Think: A motivated group that's so fed up with the way that the climate bill will obliterate the economy and lose American jobs that they've decided to hold 20 rallies across the country to make their voices heard.
The Real Story:
Energy Citizens was dreamed up by the American Petroleum Institute, a lobbying group with ties to major players in the oil industry. API is entirely forthcoming about their goals and organizational operation in creating Energy Citizens, as this profile in the Wall Street Journal reveals. The above mentioned rallies have been described by reporters as little more than company picnics (and have been organized by oil company lobbyists)—workers from the sponsoring oil companies constitute the vast majority of 'outraged' masses there, to the point where even sympathetic, un-oil affiliated citizens are being denied entry to the events.
The "Grassroots" Group: American Energy Alliance
What We're Supposed to Think: Come to think of it, I'm not really sure—it just sounds so phony I can't imagine anyone buying this one: it's a group of people so concerned with the proposed energy reform policies that they've grabbed a giant bus, painted it lavishly, and headed off on a cross country tour to explain how the climate bill will decimate the economy? Can anyone believe these are anything other than oil/coal company stooges?
The Real Story:
In fact, the group is the brainchild of a climate change-denying think tank run by ex-Enron speechwriter Robert Bradley, which is funded by oil industry giants like Exxon. This group touts itself as holding no allegiance to any political party, but is staffed 100% by ex-Republican House staffers. Literally--Climate Progress broke it down and found that every listed employee worked (and in reality still works) for the GOP. Thus, it's impossible to take their claims of being nonpartisan seriously--and their anti-climate bill bus tour is impossible to swallow knowing it's funded by oil money and backed by an org led by one of Enron's unrepentant chief PR people
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The 'Grassroots' Group: Americans for Prosperity's Hot Air Tour
What We're Supposed to Think: The 'Americans for Prosperity' are perhaps the closest thing to a true grassroots group on this list—they're the ones behind the tea party demonstrations, organizing the raucous town hall protests of health care reform, and now, the Hot Air Tour. Which, as the name suggests, will feature a publicity stunt in the form of a 70 foot hot air balloon rising over Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Nebraska for four days. Boasting the humorous slogan "Global Warming Alarmism: Lost Jobs, Higher Taxes, Less Freedom," this stunt is somehow supposed to reveal that the climate bill is nothing more than an energy tax.
The Real Story:
I'll turn this one over to the DeSmog Blog, which has done its homework on the Americans for Prosperity:
The AFP is the third largest recipient of funding from the Koch Family Foundations, behind the Cato Institute and the George Mason University Foundation. Before 2003, when the AFP was still named the Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation, it received $18,460,912 in funding. 84% of that funding came from the Koch Family Foundations ($12,906,712) and the Scaife Family Foundations ($2,510,000). Koch Family Foundations is funded by Koch Industries. According to Forbes, Koch Industries is the second largest privately-held company, and the largest privately owned energy company, in the United States. Koch industries has made its money in the oil business, primarily oil refining. Presently, it holds stakes in pipelines, refineries, fertilizer, forest products, and chemical technology. Americans for Prosperity is also connected to oil giant ExxonMobil. According to ExxonSecrets, between the years 1998-2001, Citizens for A Sound Economy and Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation received $380,250 from ExxonMobil.
So its biggest donor (by far) is also the biggest energy company in the US. Hm. So even though the group seems to use less coercion and resources to generate its 'grassroots' base, there's still a part of the story we aren't being told—and that's that the Americans for Prosperity are working primarily to preserve oil industry interests. And thus, should be called the Americans for the Prosperity of the Oil Industry.
"Grassroots" Movement: Anti-Climate Bill Letters Sent to Congressmen
What We're Supposed to Think: Or, more accurately in this case, what the congressmen were supposed to think: that concerned constituents and interest groups took the time to write letters to their representatives dissuading them from voting for the climate bill. Letters (supposedly) came from leaders of groups like the AARP and the NAACP voicing harsh criticism of energy reform. Just one little problem.
The Real Story:
They were fakes. Thirteen forged letters have been discovered so far, and it's believed that there are more out there. So where did they come from? The forged letters were sent out by the lobbying group Bonner & Associates, which claimed all the letters were sent by a single disgruntled, temporary employee who's since been fired. Which is about as fishy as it gets--after all, what temporary employee goes to the great lengths of carefully forging a number of different letters on different letterhead and mails them to key congressmen, just days before the vote in question, all on his own accord?
Bonner in turn was hired by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Energy--the same group that hired the infamous voter fraud group to astroturf a 'grassroots' movement against the climate bill for them. The ACCCE has denied any wrongdoing, and it remains mere speculation whether and how the coal industry group was involved in the forgeries.
Sources: Grist, Wall Street Journal, Climate Progress, Sourcewatch
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