Protection Money, Pure and Simple
Wonder how the joint Senate committee hearing this morning on oil price gouging is going to turn out?
Campaign contributions from the five companies whose executives are testifying -- ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP America Inc. and the Shell Oil Company -- alone totaled $27.7 million to political parties and candidates since the 1990 election cycle. More than seven out of every 10 of these dollars went to Republicans.
In total, the oil and gas industry has donated more than $185 million to political candidates and parties since the 1990 election cycle. Nearly three quarters (74 percent) of this money has gone to Republicans.
Still wondering?
Two of the executives testifying this morning -- David O'Reilly of Chevron and James Mulva of PhillipsConoco, and their spouses -- have contributed $71,500 and $67,184 personally since 1990.
Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, received $574,087 from oil and gas interests in the same time period. Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens received $368,890 from oil and gas interests since the 1990 election cycle. In total, all Senate Energy Committee members received $4.8 million from oil and gas interests in this time period, while members of the Senate Commerce committee received $5.7 million from oil and gas interests.
Is this a great country, or what?
Comments (1)
Undoubtedly the hands of the Republican legislators have been greased by Oil. This makes it just the more bizarre that such questions are being asked now like, "Do you think you are taking unfair advantage?", etc. Unfair Advantage? This question sounds like a question from the 2 dimensional antagonists in an Ayn Rand novel. The oil companies are required by law as corporations to bring home just as much as they possibly can. Can we blame them if they make huge profits? No. It is the legislators themselves that are to blame for the system in which these huge profits were achieved. If the government didn't pay for environmental externalities and if the government tried to curb the usage of fossil fuels, profits wouldn't be so large.
November 9, 2005 10:40 AM | Reply | Permalink