Armey & Oil: A Match Made In Money
They're not even trying to hide it anymore.
Yesterday, Kevin Grandia at DeSmog Blog wrote about an internal memo from the American Petroleum Institute asking oil companies to dispatch employees to "Energy Citizen" rallies opposed to the American Clean Energy and Security Act.
The memo read:
The very next day, the astroturfing experts at FreedomWorks issued this press release promoting the very same events:
Coincidence? I think not.
FreedomWorks chairman Dick Armey is a lobbyist with the high-powered DC firm DLA Piper. Mr. Armey's clients include:
- Alliant Energy Corporation
- BP America
- Constellation Energy Group
- DuPont Corporation
- Edison Electric
- Irving Oil
- TransGas Energy
- World Fuel Services Corporation
**UPDATE: TPMmuckraker's Zack Roth writes: "API tells TPMmuckraker that the campaign is being funded by a coalition of corporate and conservative groups that includes the anti-health-care-reform group 60 Plus, FreedomWorks, and Grover Norquist's Americans For Tax Reform."