If you've read some of my diaries you know that I try to keep a sharp eye on where
Exxon/Mobil PAC's bloated profits go. They always go bad places. But this cycle the
Club for Growth seems to be influencing where the
Exxon/Mobil PAC spends money, as well.
Exxon/Mobil normally devotes most of their largesse to protecting incumbents (including a few Democratic incumbents, I am sorry to say). Each cycle they do select a handful - less than a dozen, sometimes fewer - of challengers to support. When they do support a challenger or a candidate for a seat that's open, they invariably support a Republican. Republicans who were not yet in office, but who received campaign donations from Exxon/Mobil, have included Jim Talent and some other folks who did get in and turned out to be obnoxious.
This year's FEC filings from Exxon/Mobil PAC (which you can pull up for yourself on Political Moneyline) show them supporting more non-incumbents than usual. What I noticed on my most recent review was the suspiciously high percentage of Republican candidates on Exxon/Mobil's political payroll who are
extremists endorsed by the Club for Growth..
I'm pretty sure that's new. Exxon/Mobil has historically backed old-fashioned corrupt corporatists. Tom DeLay was a prime example. They have not necessarily backed ideological extremists unless they also fit that other profile: Republicans who will do anything for money.
This year's Exxon beneficiaries include the following Club-sponsored candidates who are not yet in (Congressional) office:
Rick O'Donnell (CO-07) $10,000
William T. Sali (ID-01) $ 2,000
Michele Bachmann (MN-06) $ 2,000
Adrian Smith (NE-03) $ 4,000
John G. Gard (WI-08) $ 7,500
A new Axis of Evil? Club for Growth and Exxon/Mobil?
Please come and support some of the top-notch Democratic candidates who are running against Exxon/Mobil's dirty money:
John Laesch, IL-14, Claire McCaskill, Mo-SEN; Larry Kissell, NC-08; Larry Grant, ID-01 are all on the ActBlue roster at:
http://www.actblue.com/...
Come show 'em some last-minute love? It's not too late to make a difference!