Lobbying | Grist

A FARCE TO BE RECKONED WITH

Families not allowed in ‘families for coal’ group 0
Posted 3 months, 1 week ago
Families Organized to Represent the Coal Economy (FORCE, naturally) is a Pennsylvania-based pro-coal organization. Oh, and by the way, by "families" the group doesn't actually mean families.
A senior moment

More anti-climate-bill letters forged under names of senior-citizen groups 1
Posted 3 months, 1 week ago
More fake letters opposing climate legislation have come to light, with this latest batch being falsely attributed to senior-citizen organizations.
Man, or astroturf man?

Industry groups launch astroturf ‘Energy Citizens’ website 0
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago
The American Petroleum Institute has launched an "Energy Citizens" website to promote its anti–climate bill astroturfing efforts.
They were for it before they were against it

ConocoPhillips works to undermine climate bill, despite pledge to support climate action 4
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago
ConocoPhillips is now actively campaigning against the House climate and energy bill -- even though it's a member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, an influential enviro-business coalition that played a key role in shaping the legislation.
Turf's up!

Astroturf wars continue as more info comes to light on ‘Energy Citizen’ rallies 4
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago
The American Petroleum Institute is urging member companies to recruit their employees, retirees, vendors, and contractors to attend "Energy Citizen" rallies across the country and fight against climate legislation. We've got updates to the story.
drilling democracy

Big Oil holding ‘town halls’ on climate bill 0
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago
Following in the footsteps of the corporate-backed protest movement against health care reform, a group founded and funded by business interests opposed to regulating greenhouse gas pollution is planning a series of rallies to oppose the climate legislation being considered by Congress.
Everyone's got a lobbyist

Tally of interests on climate bill tops a thousand 0
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago
More than 460 new businesses and interest groups jumped into lobbying Congress on global warming in the weeks before the House neared its historic vote on climate change legislation, a Center for Public Integrity analysis of just-disclosed lobbying records shows.
The grass is always greener when it's astroturf

Energy interests to fund ‘astroturfing’ efforts during congressional break 2
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Coal, oil, and gas interests are pouring money into astroturfing programs to create the appearance of a "grassroots" anti-climate-bill movement.
Rolling out the Astroturf

Forged climate bill letters a ‘blatant fraud,’ says women’s group 0
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Among the forged anti-climate letters that found their way to Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va.) earlier this summer was a message purporting to be from the American Association of University Women.
An ACCCE up the sleeve

Forged letters not the first of ACCCE’s misrepresentations 0
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago
The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity says the sending of forged anti-climate-bill letters sent to members of Congress by one of its subcontractors was "an isolated incident." But it seems ACCCE also engaged in some fishy behavior last year during debate over a Senate climate bill.
Hawthorn Group claims it's an innocent victim -- oh, really!?

Forgery Farce 1
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago
One of the more macabre aspects of the still-evolving scandal involving the forged letters to Congress on the climate legislation was the disavowal of all responsibility by the Hawthorn Group -- the astro-turf lobbying group that has worked for nearly a decade to snooker public officials about allegedly "clean coal."
ACCCE in the hole

Markey demands info on coal group’s role in forged climate-bill letters 1
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) wants answers from the pro-coal group that funded the organization responsible for forged letters sent to House members.
It wasn't me

Blame game continues as more details on forged letters to Congress come to light 0
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Officials at the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) are claiming to be victims of the forged anti-climate bill letters sent to three members of Congress earlier this summer, but a background document released by the organization reveals that its leaders knew about the fake letters before the House voted on climate legislation.
From the astroturfing files

What if climate groups copied dirty industry tactics…? 2
Posted 3 months, 4 weeks ago
If Big Coal or Big Oil can pay to generate fake grassroots opposition to climate and energy legislation, couldn't green groups flip the tables and do the same?
Fake and Bake

Forged climate bill letters spark uproar over ‘astroturfing’ 16
Posted 3 months, 4 weeks ago
More news on the forgery fracas: Fake letters opposing the House climate bill were sent to three members of Congress, not just one. The firm that forged the letters was under contract to the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, which says it's outraged by this use of deceptive tactics.
Politics as usual

Larry Craig, oil lobbyist 0
Posted 4 months ago
This is an actual thing: Larry Craig, former punchline of Idaho, has opened a Washington consulting firm to work as an energy lobbyist.
mo money, mo problems, for everyone but the GOP

Money can’t buy YOU love — but it can buy the fossil fuel industry the GOP loves 2
Posted 4 months, 1 week ago
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.
Follow the money

Southern Company dominates the climate lobbying scene 3
Posted 5 months ago By David Donald, Marianne Lavelle
Southern Company, the nation's largest electric power generator, also had the largest force of lobbyists among the hundreds of businesses and interest groups that were seeking to influence the landmark climate change legislation that just passed the House.
Chevron agrees to lobby with Sierra Club to end coal subsidies 0
Posted 5 months, 2 weeks ago
Climate change lobbying dominated by ten firms 2
Posted 6 months, 1 week ago
Hundreds of lobbyists are cramming into Room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building this week for the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s mark-up of landmark legislation to curb global warming through a complex cap-and-trade system. But some of those lobbyists will carry a bit more weight — or at least a heftier client list — than others.