WASHINGTON -- On Tuesday night at a $7 million fundraiser hosted by Exxon Mobil chief executive Rex Tillerson and attended by 125 guests, many of them executives in the oil and gas industry, Mitt Romney declined to lay out his energy plan, stating that he didn't want to talk about it with reporters in the room. Two days later, before a crowd wearing a mix of hardhats and cowboy hats in Hobbs, N.M., Romney unveiled his energy plan, which makes no mention of climate change and focuses on reaching energy independence by 2020 through increased extraction and use of oil, gas and coal, accompanied by reduced regulation for these industries.The plan underlines the fact that the Republican Party and the oil, gas and coal industries, long in agreement on policy and ideology, have grown closer than ever before. Romney, whose top energy adviser is the wealthiest oilman in the country, is on pace to raise more money from these industries than either George W. Bush or Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) did when he ran for president. The industries are also pumping millions into the new unlimited money vehicles, super PACs and dark money nonprofits, that are spending tens of millions of dollars per month to influence the election."This is an industry that has a close affinity with the Republican Party and I would expect that this would be an industry that is not just giving through the contributions of individual executives [to the campaign and to super PACs], but also to 501c organizations," which do not disclose their donors, says Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics.
it's all about the deregulation of pollution of the environment, Romney in EPA out, Ryan in consumer regulatory out, and so on and so on.
According to data analyzed by the Center for Responsive Politics, Romney has raised $2.2 million from the oil and gas industry, on pace to exceed the amounts raised by both McCain and Bush in the past two elections, and more than $600,000 from mining interests, already more than what McCain or Bush raised for his entire campaign. The Republican National Committee has pulled in $4 million from oil and gas, likely on pace to pass the $5.9 million they raised in 2008.
don't forget the forced employee participation in a Romney ad, that must have been reminisent of Bain for him forcing employee's when they know that he supports deregulation to their already lack of safety protocols. despicable him and Coal corp.
