505 #ClimatePolitics #BigOil #ElectionCorruption
"Big Oil Dishes Out Record $54.2 Million to Boost GOP Candidates: Analysis"
by Jake Johnson for Common Dreams [Oct 17, 2024]
https://www.commondreams.org/news/big-oil-donations-republicans
Quotes:
"A Sludge review of new federal filings shows that the fossil fuel industry has donated a record sum to groups dedicated to electing Republicans to the U.S. House and Senate."
"The latest wave of donations brings the fossil fuel industry's total to more than $54.2 million given to the CLF and SLF during the 2023-24 election cycle through September, according to Sludge's analysis," the outlet reported. "The two super PACs have launched tens of millions of dollars of ads in the month before Election Day, with control of both chambers of Congress up for grabs."
"The new analysis of Big Oil's spending in the final stretch of the 2024 campaign came months after Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump urged major fossil fuel industry players to raise $1 billion for his White House bid. In exchange, Trump—who has campaigned on the slogan "drill, baby, drill"—said he would work to roll back climate rules put in place by the Biden-Harris administration."
"In 2010, the courts opened the floodgates for individuals and corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on our elections," Lynn said, alluding to the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling. "It's no coincidence that American politics has grown more and more polarized and divisive since then. Our system is broken, and we won’t be able to fix it until we eliminate the influence of money in politics and root out the corruption that comes with it."