For OpEdNews: David Glenn Cox - Writer
In response to the Supreme Court's decision allowing unlimited corporate funding of political ads, Representative Chris Van Hollen and Senator Charles Schumer plan to introduce legislation that would require donors to identify themselves in all of their political ads.
Lobbying groups argue that's just not fair; if we just want to call ourselves citizens for responsible energy policy, we should be able to do so. The legislation would require the disclaimer to read: brought to you by Exxon Mobil and the Nuclear Power Plant Operators Association. This legislation has not even been introduced yet and the lobbying industry is already circling the wagons and the charge is being led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Last year the Chamber spent $47 million on lobbying in the halls of power on single issue campaigns and expects to spend $50 million this year on candidate-focused ads.
The Chamber had worked hard to end what it saw as discrimination against corporate free speech and hailed the Supreme Court's decision as a landmark event of real progress. They aren't about to be turned back nor are they going to sit back and take a wait and see approach.
For instance, Massey Energy, the company that owns the coal mine where twenty-five workers were killed in West Virginia, had been fined $900,000 for past safety violations. The company is appealing more than a quarter of those fines. In 1996 Massey was fined for a fire that killed two workers and a civil suit brought a damage judgement of $50 million. As the case wound through the appeals process Massey Energy donated more than $3 million to Brent Benjamin, a candidate for the West Virginia Court of Appeals. The three million dollars was more than 60 percent of Benjamin's total campaign fund. Once elected Justice Benjamin refused to recuse himself from the case and sided with Massey Energy in overturning the verdict.
The Supreme Court in this case overruled the Benjamin decision but listen to what Justice Scalia said in the dissenting opinion. "The Court today continues its quixotic quest to right all wrongs and repair all imperfections through the Constitution. Alas, the quest cannot succeed - which is why some wrongs and imperfections have been called nonjusticiable."
Lobbying groups argue that's just not fair; if we just want to call ourselves citizens for responsible energy policy, we should be able to do so. The legislation would require the disclaimer to read: brought to you by Exxon Mobil and the Nuclear Power Plant Operators Association. This legislation has not even been introduced yet and the lobbying industry is already circling the wagons and the charge is being led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Last year the Chamber spent $47 million on lobbying in the halls of power on single issue campaigns and expects to spend $50 million this year on candidate-focused ads.
The Chamber had worked hard to end what it saw as discrimination against corporate free speech and hailed the Supreme Court's decision as a landmark event of real progress. They aren't about to be turned back nor are they going to sit back and take a wait and see approach.
For instance, Massey Energy, the company that owns the coal mine where twenty-five workers were killed in West Virginia, had been fined $900,000 for past safety violations. The company is appealing more than a quarter of those fines. In 1996 Massey was fined for a fire that killed two workers and a civil suit brought a damage judgement of $50 million. As the case wound through the appeals process Massey Energy donated more than $3 million to Brent Benjamin, a candidate for the West Virginia Court of Appeals. The three million dollars was more than 60 percent of Benjamin's total campaign fund. Once elected Justice Benjamin refused to recuse himself from the case and sided with Massey Energy in overturning the verdict.
The Supreme Court in this case overruled the Benjamin decision but listen to what Justice Scalia said in the dissenting opinion. "The Court today continues its quixotic quest to right all wrongs and repair all imperfections through the Constitution. Alas, the quest cannot succeed - which is why some wrongs and imperfections have been called nonjusticiable."
In layman's speak Scalia is saying, "So what? People died. So what?" The company bought themselves a judge. The world's not a perfect place. So what?
On top of the $47 million spent last year, the U.S. Chamber spent $144 million lobbying on behalf of Exxon Mobil. Exxon Mobil was the Chamber's largest customer, five times the size of their next largest customer, the health care industry. So when you're watching "Meet the Press" or CNN and they have a representative of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as a guest, remember it's not some altruistic business council but a paid lobbyist who doesn't want you to know that he or she is a paid employee of Exxon Mobil. ...
On top of the $47 million spent last year, the U.S. Chamber spent $144 million lobbying on behalf of Exxon Mobil. Exxon Mobil was the Chamber's largest customer, five times the size of their next largest customer, the health care industry. So when you're watching "Meet the Press" or CNN and they have a representative of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as a guest, remember it's not some altruistic business council but a paid lobbyist who doesn't want you to know that he or she is a paid employee of Exxon Mobil. ...
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