Leaked Memo: Big Oil Planning Bogus 'Energy Citizen' Rallies to Oppose Clean Energy Legislation

By Joseph Romm, Climate Progress. Posted August 17, 2009.

Editor's Note: Here's a follow up to "Coal lobby hires top GOP voter-fraud company to run massive 'grassroots' efforts to undermine climate and clean energy action."  This post was first published by ThinkProgress here.  See also this UK Guardian story -- "Oil lobby to fund campaign against Obama's climate change strategy."

The American oil industry, working with a coalition of business interests, plans to manufacture rallies in opposition to clean energy reform, an internal document reveals. According to the plan acquired by Greenpeace, the American Petroleum Institute (API) will "coordinate transportation" for oil industry employees to "Energy Citizen" rallies targeting U.S. Senators in 21 states. The document's author, API president Jack Gerard, discusses how it is "important that our views" supplant "constituents' views":

The objective of these rallies is to put a human face on the impacts of unsound energy policy and to aim a loud message at those states' U.S. Senators to avoid the mistakes embodied in the House climate bill and the Obama Administration's tax increases on our industry. Senate Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid reportedly has pushed back consideration of climate legislation to late September to allow Senators time to get their constituents' views during the August recess. It's important that our views be heard.

API's membership, which includes ExxonMobil, GE, and Halliburton, will join "allies from a broad range of interests: the Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturing, the trucking industry, the agricultural sector, small business, and many others" to create these Astroturf rallies to protect their dirty energy profits at the expense of the planet.

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