Current MNGOP Chair Pat Shortridge was no ordinary employee of the scandal ridden energy giant, Enron. He was the senior and chief spokesperson for one of the greatest scandals in our nations corporate history. With this being the 10th anniversary of the demise of Enron, some of us are wondering if he still mourns the company he fought so hard to protect. Will Shortridge hold a candle lit vigil in honor of a company he tried so hard to save?
Shortridge had very special access to the white house as the senior lobbyist for Enron. The degrees of separation between him and Dick Cheney would make a Kevin Bacon aficionado wince. Some of his meetings were documented in this report for Henry Waxman about Bush White House meetings with Enron.
It appears as if Shortridge didn't think Enron should suffer at all for their most egregious transgressions. In a day and age where corporate bail outs are anathema to the free marketeers, Shortridge was a corporate bailout pioneer!
Shortridge confided in McNally(White House Economics Advisor) that Enron was headed for a financial meltdown - one that could very well cripple the country's energy markets - and urged the White House economic adviser to alert President Bush about the company's financial problems so he could help put together a federal bailout,
Yep, not only was Shortridge a lobbyist, but he was a proponent of Federal Bailouts of private companies with taxpayer dollars! Someone should ask "Bailout" Pat if he is still for corporate fat cat bailouts. He certainly was nice enough to warn the Bush administration of the imminent collapse, as reported in several outlets. Granted it was kept a nice surprise from thousands of workers. It is likely that Shortridge tipped off the Bush White House in August, a full four and a half months before the demise of the company.
Cross Posted at MN Progressive Project