Crossposted at The Yankee Doodler.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words.
Well, then, how much for two pictures?
[photos from the ACCF Newsletter: link and link]
Much more below the fold...
Who is the gentleman featured in both pictures?
That's Republican Charles Bass (a.k.a, "Bassmaster", as his long time pal George W. Bush likes to call him). He is the United States Representative from the second congressional district of New Hampshire (and has been since 1994, when he pledged with his Contract with America buddies that he would not serve longer than six terms, or, to put it another way, longer than 2006), an area known perennially for its magnificent rural beauty and more recently for its trending toward the blue in political elections.
Both of those Granite State qualities have caused the aforesaid Bass to portray himself to his constituency as an independent, a moderate, and a champion of the environment. Indeed, he recently described himself in the Boston Globe thus:
"While there are many important issues that need to be addressed, the issues I hear about most are keeping our strong economy moving forward, holding the line on taxes for working families, finding strong, clean renewable energy sources, and keeping America safe from terrorism, which includes securing our borders."
Is the fellow sitting next to Bass in the first photo a constituent from the second congressional district of New Hampshire, urging him to find strong, clean, renewable energy sources?
No. The man in the photo (taken just a couple of weeks after the people of New Hampshire elected Bass to represent them) is David Lynch, the Director of "Federal Advocacy" (fancy talk for "chief lobbyist", I presume) for TXU.
What's TXU? Is it in New Hampshire?
No, it's not in New Hampshire. TXU is Texas' largest electric company, and I've come to learn a few interesting things about them:
* Last week they announced a 33% rise in profits ($497 million) and a 5% rise in revenue ($2.67 billion), while raising their rates for regular customers by 24%. (link)
* They are fast tracking 11 new coal-burning power plants before the federal government moves to tighten coal pollution restrictions. (link)
* "Bush made Dallas residents gasp (literally) when he signed a "grandfather" statute exempting some TXU plants from laws requiring scrubbers for these fossil-burning dinosaurs. The other beneficiary: polluter number two, Reliant. TXU and Reliant popped over half a million dollars into Bush's second gubernatorial race." (link)
* Their Martin Lake plant ranked first in the nation in mercury pollution, emitting more than 17,000 pounds of mercury. (link)
What does Texas mercury have to do with New Hampshire?
Although NH was the first state in the nation to ban mercury thermometers, the toxin remains a serious threat to our freshwater lakes and coastal waters, and those who eat fish from those places, particularly the pregnant and nursing.
How did it get there?
Well, some of the mercury in the surprisingly contaminated Hubbard Brook, an isolated and forested spot deep in the north country white mountains, came from local incinerators. The majority (60%), however, comes from power plant mercury emissions west of New Hampshire in the US and beyond (NHPR: be sure also to click on the audio interview with Prof. Charles Driscoll).
Is the fellow talking to Bass in the second photo a constituent from the second congressional district of New Hampshire, urging him to find strong, clean, renewable energy sources?
No. That's Red Cavaney, talking to Bass just last May. He's the president of the American Petroleum Institute, or to put it another way, he's the head of the lobbying group put together by the big oil companies. He's a very busy man these days. Here are just a few of his known activities:
* Here he is urging Congress not to impose a windfall tax on big oil's recent massive windfall profits.
* Here he is pouring cold water on the use of the alternative fuel ethanol.
* And most interestingly, here he is giving away Alaskan free fishing vacations to US Senators under the cover of a breast cancer charity, and in violation of congressional ethics rules (but hey, doesn't Denny Hastert look happy? And isn't making Denny happy really what it's all about?).
[Photo from American RadioWorks]
Where were both of the photos of Charles Bass taken? In New Hampshire's second congressional district?
No. Both photos were taken in Washington DC at two of ACCF's famed Economic Policy Evenings.
Is ACCF a New Hampshire or New England organization?
No. ACCF stands for the American Council For Capital Formation. They are very proud of their Policy Evenings, and in fact post frequent newlsetters on the web about them.
Here's what they say about themselves:
The media continues to recognize the ACCF as a "well-connected spokesman for American business in Washington," a "key player" in policy circles, and "one of the most influential organizations operating behind the scenes" in the Washington policymaking arena. National and regional publications, financial journals, and political and economic experts in the national media often cite ACCF and Center research on the key economic, regulatory and environmental policy issues.
and
Senator Joseph Lieberman described the ACCF Economic Policy Evenings, which take place each month Congress is in session, as "Washington's last salon." The sessions offer a unique opportunity for a small group of members of Congress, Administration policymakers, diplomats, influential journalists, and prominent businessmen to engage in an of-the-record [sic] evening of reflections on the critical economic policy issues confronting the United States and the world.
Who goes to these salons besides Charles Bass, Joe Lieberman, and lobbyists?
Well, after looking at enough newsletters to make me dizzy, I can only conclude that lots and lots of Republican politicians go to them, along with economists who dislike taxes and regulations of any kind, members of the financial media, even some Democrats who hold seats on committees involving taxation and energy, and over and over again, it seems, this fellow:
[photo from ACCF Newsletter: link]
How does the ACCF afford to run these frequent and fancy "off-the-record" evenings?
The "non-partisan" ACCF receives funding from corporations and individuals. For example, ExxonMobil gave ACCF almost a quarter of a million dollars in 2001, and nearly a million in 2002-2003. I'll bet that covers the cost of the cucumber sandwiches.
Who runs the ACCF?
One chief player is ACCF Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist Dr. Margo Thorning. She specializes in telling anyone and everyone that imposing any kind of environmental regulation based on the "potential threat" of global warming is bad for business.
* Here she is telling California that their carbon-cap bill (32) is bad for business.
* Here she is telling us, with phrases such as "the lack of scientific consensus over global warming", that heeding Al Gore's new movie or the Kyoto protocol will be bad for business.
* Here she is telling Texas that building more coal-fired plants is good for business (I guess TXU listened!)
* And here[.pdf] she is telling New Hampshire that if they, along with the rest of the New England states, collectively move to cap greenhouse gas emissions, it will be bad for business.
Is Congressman Bass' voting record influenced by his visits to the ACCF Economic Policy Evenings or by the concerns of his New Hampshire constituents?
It's hard to know, since unlike the Congressional record, and public town hall meetings, these "salons" are meant to be "off-the-record". But the DCCC has put together a very interesting summary of Bass' votes, and let's just say it's not terribly "environmental". Here's just a sampling:
* Rep. Bass voted against cracking down on the oil and gas industries price gouging.
* Rep. Bass voted for the GOP energy bill that gave billions to oil, gas and nuclear industries. Big oil and gas industries have given Rep. Bass $99,260. Any surprise?
and
* 1,861 water systems in 29 states have been contaminated with MTBE, exposing as many as 45 million Americans to this potential carcinogen, but Rep. Bass voted to protect the companies responsible from lawsuits by communities that need their help to clean up these systems.
* Rep. Bass voted for a massive sell off of public lands to mining interests.
Is there anyone else the citizens of New Hampshire can turn to to find a public servant interested in strong, clean, renewable energy sources and who will spend less time in salons and more time with them?
Yes. Indeed there are two! And it's likely that neither has been invited to inside-the-beltway drawing room salons. One is Bob Danderson, a mechanic and part-time Mayor or Berlin who is running against Bass for the Republican nomination. As his web site claims, he doesn't just talk about renewable energy, he makes it happen, in assisting the creation of New Hampshire's first wind farm.
If, on the other hand, you've had enough of today's Republican party, and would like to be represented by someone with progressive values, look no further than netroots candidate Paul Hodes, the uncontested Democratic likely challenger to Bass.
Does Paul Hodes have a commitment to the environment?
Well, back in the early 1980's, he tried and won the state's first criminal case against an environmental polluter."
And how's this for Paul's environmental "priorities"?
* Initiating a new Manhattan Project that harnesses all of our scientific and engineering know-how to develop new and sustainable sources of energy and rid of us of our dangerous addiction to petroleum;
* Re-committing government to the attainable goal of clean air and clean water;
* Acknowledging science and working hard to address global warming.
Friends, taking back the House and Senate involves crashing the gate and shining a light on all the cozy, secret, undemocratic drawing room salons of the Bush-Enabler Rubber-Stamp Do-Nothing Incumbency. Just one accidential trip down the rabbit hole of one of the internets' tubes led me to ACCF. So, what has YOUR Congressperson or Senator been up to in DC when not in session?