Don Michak of the Journal Inquirer(subscription only) had interesting piece on November 4th that got lost in the election day shuffle. Apparently, on one day last summer, GOP senate contender Rob Simmons took in nearly $105,000 of campaign cash from contributors associated with the coal industry, according to FEC records.
The money, which amounted to 11 percent of the $967,907 Simmons collected in the third quarter, came from 108 individuals and three corporate political action committees linked to coal companies and businesses that service the coal mining industry in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and Utah.
About two months after his big payday, Simmons wrote in his campaign blog that he had concluded “I was wrong” about his previous support for what some environmentalists say would be critical regulation to fight global warming.
The so-called “cap-and-trade” concept, which the coal industry strongly opposes, would limit emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gasses, in part by requiring fossil fuel power plants to pollute less.
The former 2nd District congressman reportedly has called it a “cap-and-tax” system that amounts to “a dangerous way to govern.”…Those who contributed to Simmons on Aug. 18 included not only officials at several coal companies, but also owners and employees of related businesses that sell and service drilling equipment, mine roof supports, lubricants, tools, and insurance, according to Simmons’ latest report to the FEC.
They included the PAC and 34 executives and other employees at Cleveland-based Murray Energy Corp and its subsidiaries or partners.
The company’s chairman, Robert E. Murray, is a major donor to Republicans who has been a national spokesman for his industry in opposition to cap-and-trade regulation. Murray also drew national attention two years ago after the collapse of a Utah mine in which six trapped miners died and three others were killed in a rescue attempt. A unit of Murray Energy, which operated the Crandall Canyon Mine, was fined a record $1.6 million by federal regulators last year in the disaster.
The irony, pointed out by Michak in his piece, is that when announcing his 3Q fundraising results last month Simmons declared that Connecticut’s Senate seat “cannot be bought,” and wrote in a message to supporters that he didn’t raise more money than Dodd over that period “on the backs of special interests.”
But it does seem highly coincidental that Simmons gets this huge campaign haul then reverses a long-held position on cap and trade, no?
According to Michak, Simmons’ campaign manager, Jim Barnett, acknowledged that Simmons had held a fundraiser in Ohio where people linked to the coal industry contributed to his campaign but “adamantly insisted” that Simmons hadn’t switched his position on cap-and-trade as a result of the contributions.
“As Rob has forthrightly explained, his position on cap-and-trade evolved well before he was even a candidate for Senate, as a result of what he learned from the local business community during his time as business advocate about the high energy costs they deal with and their negative impact on jobs,” he said.
I’m curious as to why he never actually expressed that evolved point of view publicly prior to receiving the contributions then.
Michak also lists some of the hard-line conservatives out-of-state conservatives from whom the formerly moderate Simmons (who now proudly carries a teabag) has been accepting campaign contributions, including Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the Club for Growth, California executive David W. Hanna a former director of Empower America, a group that eventually become FreedomWorks (coming this evening to the Circle Diner in Fairfield to see how they can get involved in CT politics for 2010). And then there’s Samuel Zell, the who owns the Hartford Courant, who made a second $2,400 contribution to Simmons, which might explain why the Courant hasn’t touched this story.
13 responses so far ↓
Sara are you sure the Courant has written about this? They devoted umpteen stories to Dodd’s supposed conflict-of-interests, one would think a story like this would be right up their alley.
I sure haven’t seen anything. Have you?
Perhaps you’ve read “The Paranoid Style in American Politics?” This piece is a prime example. Sam Zell is a noted LIBERAL businessman who has by the bye lost a fortune since he bought the Tribune company. Why did he buy it? Expressly to help Obama get elected.
Now, as for this cap-and-trade story, many, many Americans are realizing that if we put eco-speculation ahead of energy independence, we will have enormous sacrifices in jobs ands economic growth. If Rob is one of those Americans, bully for him — especially in a GOP primary.
Oh Vincent…maybe you should a) get your facts straight and b) reread that paranoia book.
http://www.newsmeat.com/billionaire_political_donations/Sam_Zell.php
since all Zell’s campaign donations in the last election were for McCAIN! And there are a lot more R’s on his donation list than D’s for a “liberal” guy.
The Courant does very few research articles these days after cutbacks. The blogs are mostly opinon or press releases or easier fodder (links to other blogs or ‘Hey this dropped in my lap today’ stuff). In a good month they make an FOI request. Given Zell’s popularity there I’m surprised they don’t tank any of his preferred candidates on principle.
Then there was the nasty JI plagiarism suit. Hmmm….the Courant using content that originated in the JI from JI research?
Love it. Simmons was a Republican member of Congress when he supported regulation of global warming and when Connecticut actually became part of a regional cap-and-trade system. Now his website doesn’t even have an environmental issues section and he’s terrified of “cap-and-tax.” How times change!
Looks like Simmons isn’t refusing Special Interest money like some of the other candidates.
It certainly makes Simmons look like a hypocrite when he tries to call out Dodd for being beholden to special interests. “Pot” meet “Kettle”.
Dodd’s recent conversion to consumer financial advocate should say something.
Dodd started out as a forceful voice in the Reagan recession and the intitial round of deregulation and then up and disappeared into someone’s pocket like Thumbelina.
Is he making up for lost ground? Admitting he got too jaded and screwed up? He’s certainly letting us know he can make use of his platform when he wants to.
I’d be more concerned about Simmon if he ends up on committees regulating natural resources and the environment.
What we have is a guy who might be beholden to special interests (Simmons) versus a guy that is proven to be in their pockets and sits on the committee regulating their industry. An ugly choice right? One that be a special interest crook versus one caught with their hand in the cookie jar?
OK folks, the Chicago Tribune endorsed Republicans exclusively since the era of Truman. It endorsed Obama. Enough.
Thanks for noting this story. I just wanted to point out that I didn’t label Sam Zell as a conservative or hard-liner, but merely that the Courant owner had made a second signfificant contribution to Simmons.
My pleasure, Don. It’s worth noting. And unlike Vincent, who appears convinced that Zell’s part of the Great Liberal Media Conspiracy, I think that he, like Linda McMahon, is someone whose donations are guided more by potential financial or power gain than any underlying political principle.
Obama was Illinios’ ‘native’ son running for President. The Trib didn’t have much choice. It would be bad form not to endorse him given McCain’s less than convincing campaign.
You must log in to post a comment.