Report: McCain Received $881,450 From Big Oil Since He Announced Support For Offshore Drilling
Report: McCain Received $881,450 From Big Oil Since He Announced Support For Offshore Drilling
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has made his complete reversal on offshore drilling a centerpiece of his presidential campaign, insisting that expanding offshore drilling into protected areas would lead to more oil supply on the market “within a matter of months” — regardless of the Energy Information Agency’s projection that oil would not reach the market for nearly a decade and “would not have a significant impact” on oil prices.
Though more drilling won’t help Americans save money at the gas pump, it has certainly helped McCain win massive campaign donations from Big Oil. A new report by Campaign Money Watch shows that contributions to McCain from Big Oil skyrocketed directly following his June speech in Houston, when he pledged his support of offshore drilling before an audience oil executives. The report notes:
In Texas alone, June oil and gas-connected donations to McCain’s Victory ’08 Fund, his hybrid fundraising venture with the RNC and state committees, reached $1,214,100.
Of that total, $881,450, or 73 percent, came after June 15. McCain announced his position in favor of offshore drilling on June 16.
The report notes that these enormous contributions represent a seven-fold increase in donations, compared to McCain’s 2000 campaign:
McCain has no plan to prevent oil companies from absorbing the profits off expanded drilling opportunities — just like they have reaped record profits on the back of unprecedented oil prices. Last Sunday, when George Stephanopoulos asked how he would make sure oil companies passed the savings to consumers, McCain suggested weakly he could “shame” them into helping consumers:
STEPHANOPOULOS: The oil companies, the gas companies are going to absorb any reduction.
MCCAIN: … they say that. But one, it didn’t happen before, and two, we wouldn’t let it happen. We wouldn’t let it — Americans wouldn’t let them absorb that.
STEPHANOPOULOS: How would you prevent that?
MCCAIN: We would make them shamed into it. We, of course, know how to — American public opinion. And we would penalize them, if necessary. But they wouldn’t. They would pass it on.
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
Well shit, look how much money they have to give to their potential meal ticket!
July 31st, 2008 at 4:55 pmBought and paid for…
Whores are more honest, and have more integrity.
July 31st, 2008 at 4:56 pmAfter the profits announced this morning, the oilmen prove themselves to be cheapskates — either that or McCain is a cheap whore.
July 31st, 2008 at 4:59 pmBut will we see the hard hitting ads calling McCain out as a whore to special interests; or will Obama follow the path of so many other liberals and Democrats by insisting on following the high road to the exclusion of fighting the fair but hard fight in the face of Republican smears.
July 31st, 2008 at 5:04 pmWe don’t live in a democracy, we live a corporatocracy, rigged by corporate money.
Slightly O/T, McCain just smeared Obama again, accusing him of racism… Dear John McWhite, excuse me, we have had three hundred years straight of white racism ruling American. Maybe it’s time to “move on” from white racism. Yes we can…
July 31st, 2008 at 5:05 pmThe bullshit express is on a roll.
July 31st, 2008 at 5:07 pmMCCAIN: We would make them shamed into it.
How , exactly ?
Threatening them with a plane flight with you as the pilot ?
July 31st, 2008 at 5:09 pmAh, yes, shaming the Oil Companies. I predict that shaming them will work as well as shaming the tobacco companies or “jawboning the Saudis into increasing production.”
Poor Grampy, you don’t even realize that you’re running a 1950’s campaign. Bob Dole did, but then again, Bob Dole was in command of his faculties.
July 31st, 2008 at 5:13 pmThis needs to be made into an ad. Something every American can understand – McCain scratches their back and they scratch his.
July 31st, 2008 at 5:13 pmIf McSame wins the WH, the fate of this planet will be sealed. With his expert whoring of his postions, all of the companies which brought us global warming will be running wild throughout our government.
It will be even worse than it was under bush – if you can believe that. John McCain is a mean, nasty, unhappy, unfulfilled human being. I am guessing about the human being part.
July 31st, 2008 at 5:17 pmI’m sure its just a statistical blip
/snark
July 31st, 2008 at 5:19 pmIs it necessary to check your sanity at the door if you want to be a Republican Presidential candidate, or do they just think that the ‘little people’ are just a bunch of total morons? My brother’s a construction worker and about as right wing as you can get, and McInsane drives Him nuts! Zooey @2 had it right; whores have Much more honesty and Way more integrity. There is no depth, either of idiocy or dishonesty, that the mainstream Republican politician won’t stoop to.
July 31st, 2008 at 5:24 pmImpeach Pelosi, Cheney and Bush and Save the Constitution!
What are all you communists upset about? This is the way the free market works. Someone has a product to sell (in this case a Vote in the Senate) and people who want that product pay whatever the market will bear.
That’s capitalism, people!!!
July 31st, 2008 at 5:24 pmWhat. A. Surprise.
July 31st, 2008 at 5:35 pmConsidering his ongoing hissy fit regarding Obama’s popularity, how does this not in itself make the chronically underemployed McCain synonymous with other celebrities famed for immature antics outside of their own stalled careers?
Regarding Big Oil, Exxon Mobil just posted their profits from the 2nd quarter. As I predicted, it was just short of 12 billion. How much of that will go to research into alternative energy? 1%.
Soooo, this is the reason why we can’t tax them even more, because it would cut into their “funding” for alternative energy?
July 31st, 2008 at 6:09 pmJohnny, Johnny, Johnny. As you know from the contributions you have been receiving since your 71+ year in the making conversion to offshore drilling, oil executives are Republicans. And if there is one thing the past 28 years from Ronald the Senile forward has taught me, it is that Republicans are immune to shame. Thank you for playing.
July 31st, 2008 at 6:18 pmOil drilling + Grandpappy McCain’s panhandling = A bigger purse for Cindy.
It’s all about the benjamins.
July 31st, 2008 at 6:42 pmIf you want to pay more for gas, vote mccain. The proof is bush/cheney. What was the price of gas in 2000? or 2004, even? Do the McCainites really believe that he will “jawbone” big oil into reducing prices? How stupid are you? (It’s ok; that was rhetorical.)
July 31st, 2008 at 6:42 pmOf course, no trolls will come here to defend this little tidbit of McDepends’ continuing whoring out to Big Business and Big Oil.
Too bad Tracy, Jim Wilke, TK and Dary have no opinion. HMMMMM
July 31st, 2008 at 6:44 pmGeez now there’s a big surprise, a republican who whores himself out to corporations and special interest groups. Does someone have some smelling salt as the thought of it made me faint.
July 31st, 2008 at 7:22 pmThat’s gotta be the Viagra of donation charts…
Call up yer cunt for some service tonite, big fella…
July 31st, 2008 at 7:58 pmBig oil is buying McCain and many others with the bucks they’re squeezing out our pockets–taking them away from our food, clothing, shelter, health care, children, and recreation. The call for drilling in ANWR and off recreational coasts is just a sham. In the last few weeks gas prices have gone down 22 cents at my gas usual gas station and that without new drilling, but the speculators are getting a little wary of their feet getting colder and their fingers getting burned.
July 31st, 2008 at 8:07 pmMcCain – a trollop for oil & other lobbying interests. Yes, Mr. McCain (”my friend”)- you are exactly what you called your wife – a trollop.
July 31st, 2008 at 8:54 pmWhile McCain is wrong when he says that new oil will be on the market in a matter of months (whatever that is) it would have an effect on the price people pay sooner than later. This is because part of what is driving up oil prices is speculation, and by ultimately increasing the amount of oil in the future, speculators will take that into consideration and that should drive down the cost of a barrel. Off-shore drilling can be done safely, and it should be part of a very large energy bill including much more focus on solar, wind and other renewable energy sources. If we could keep that oil in America and put that into our national reserve, that would make us less reliant on the Middle East and other countries. We are far too dependent on other countries. While off-shore drilling alone won’t solve the problem, it surely should be part of a long-term plan.
July 31st, 2008 at 9:51 pmDumb Question: As any oil is a resource of the United States, shouldn’t the people of the USA be recipients of any profits ?
July 31st, 2008 at 10:04 pmSarah220 Says:
While McCain is wrong when he says that new oil will be on the market in a matter of months (whatever that is) it would have an effect on the price people pay sooner than later. This is because part of what is driving up oil prices is speculation, and by ultimately increasing the amount of oil in the future, speculators will take that into consideration and that should drive down the cost of a barrel. Off-shore drilling can be done safely, and it should be part of a very large energy bill including much more focus on solar, wind and other renewable energy sources. If we could keep that oil in America and put that into our national reserve, that would make us less reliant on the Middle East and other countries. We are far too dependent on other countries. While off-shore drilling alone won’t solve the problem, it surely should be part of a long-term plan.
July 31st, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Have you been paying attention to this issue at all lately? You are aware that the oil companies already have leases to drill on sh1tloads of U.S. public lands, yet are not bothering? Someone noted recently that it’s not the oil companies clamoring for offshore drilling, it’s the politicians that want to look like they’re trying to do something about the price of gas. And how much of the oil from the Alaskan pipeline ends up in the U.S.? Not much, because of those precious free-market speculators driving up the cost makes it more profitable to be sold on the world market. Closing the Enron loophole that enables these speculators would drop the price of gas NOW, but you probably aren’t aware of that. I won’t even get into the renewable energy issue. You need to read up a lot more.
July 31st, 2008 at 10:58 pmSo McCain is a political whore. That’s old news, as the inestimable Billmon explains, even if far too few people actually know that. I blame the M$M.
Cheers,
August 1st, 2008 at 12:00 am#24 Sarah220:
While off-shore drilling alone won’t solve the problem, it surely should be part of a long-term plan.
Correction: At most, it would have to be part of a short-term plan. Sooner or later, the oil will run out and we’ll have to pay the piper. Why not start now, and sink our money into renewables right away, instead of paying $130/bbl for oil for ten years or twenty, and then having to invest (or our children having to invest) in the development of renewables? Running on oil until it’s dry (and deathly expensive) is not a sane strategy, and drilling more now to suck it up faster is not only insane but stoopid to boot. When you’re in a hole, you stop digging. You don’t start digging faster.
Cheers,
August 1st, 2008 at 12:06 am… and that’s not even taking into account the climate change effects of increasing production….
Cheers,
August 1st, 2008 at 12:08 amNot only is McCain senile he is suffering from a bad case of Polly Anna syndrome
MCCAIN: We would make them shamed into it. We, of course, know how to — American public opinion. And we would penalize them, if necessary. But they wouldn’t. They would pass it on.
August 1st, 2008 at 7:05 amLike these corporations give a fat rat’s a** about your opinion. Tell me another side splitting joke
I am not a McCain or Obama supporter. Do not like either of them. Both have about the same positions. Just wanted to set the record straight. Obama is also now for off shore drilling. Both McCain and Obama have rec’d money from oil companies. All the name calling I see on this site does not make Obama better than McCain. Neither candidate is going to do anything for the average American. They are both for war, both for Nafta, Obama voted for Cheney’s energy bill. Obama voted for FISA. McCain did not bother to show up. Neither candidate seems to have any respect for women. Obama has played the race card continually since the primary. He is finally get called on it. He is also afraid to show up for town meetings with McCain. I say vote third party. Personally I like Dennis Kucinch. He is a man who is not afraid to talk issues.
August 3rd, 2008 at 11:43 am