Three out of every four lobbyists who represent oil and gas companies previously worked in the federal government, a proportion that far exceeds the usual revolving-door standards on Capitol Hill, a Washington Post analysis shows.
What the fuck?
Why don't we just pour the damn oil on our bodies and light ourselves on fire.
The Post analysis found that BP and other companies involved in the gulf disaster employ as lobbyists more than three dozen former lawmakers, congressional staffers and bureaucrats. BP alone has hired at least 31 internal and external lobbyists with government experience, records show.
The American Petroleum Institute, the industry's leading trade group, employs 48 lobbyists with previous federal experience, the analysis shows. They include former senator J. Bennett Johnston (D-La.), who helped deregulate the natural gas industry, and former congressmen Jim McCrery (R-La.) and Charlie Stenholm (D-Tex.), both of whom strongly backed oil interests while in Congress.
"If you want somebody to work on energy issues, you don't hire health-care workers," said Jack N. Gerard, the group's president and chief executive.
With our government constantly talking about getting off of the addiction to foreign oil, no wonder they are salaciously looking to "drill, baby, drill" here on our own soil. Obviously, no one is talking seriously about ridding ourselves of the addiction to oil, period. Just "foreign" sources.
Banging. Head. On. Keyboard.
3 comments:
This is why I think that campaign finance is central to our dysfunctional political scene.
We don't need reform, we need upheaval.
We need something. I know we were sold on that unfortunate slogan, Change You Can Believe In, so if we are sops for that, what hope do we really have?
More booze would help.
Sounds good. Cheers! *clink*
Post a Comment