Caught in fraud, dirty coal group dumps one of its Astroturf contractors.
Caught in fraud, dirty coal group dumps one of its Astroturf contractors.
The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) is dumping Bonner & Associates, the Astroturf firm that forged letters to Congress attacking clean energy legislation on its behalf. Bonner, an organization with a long record of deceptive practices, sent letters this June purporting to be from black, Hispanic, women’s and senior citizen’s groups to several members of Congress telling them to vote against the American Clean Energy and Security Act. ACCCE spokesman Joe Lucas told National Journal that his organization “did nothing wrong”:
We will not be working with Mr. Bonner again. ACCCE did nothing wrong. Looking back, there would be many things we would do differently.
In fact, ACCCE covered up the fraud and is now throwing Bonner under the bus. The coal coalition had been informed by the Hawthorn Group, its primary contractor, days before the pivotal House vote on the energy legislation. But ACCCE kept silent, failing to notify lawmakers or the defrauded organizations. ACCCE continues to employ the Hawthorn Group and the notorious voter-fraud company Lincoln Strategy Group.
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
Caption: Exhibit A: A Republican brain…
August 21st, 2009 at 9:51 amGood caption Zimzone. Perhaps it’s time to pull the plug on that brain.
August 21st, 2009 at 9:55 amIn fact, ACCCE covered up the fraud and is now throwing Bonner under the bus.
– - Adding insult to injury, it was an electric bus.
August 21st, 2009 at 9:57 amZimzone says:
Caption: Exhibit A: A Republican brain…
yes very good
could that also be a rare republican brain as well
smiles TGIF
August 21st, 2009 at 9:58 am“We will not be working with Mr. Bonner again. ACCCE did nothing wrong. Looking back, there would be many things we would do differently.”
_________________________________________________________
Translation: “We should have contracted with a firm smart enough not to get caught. And we’re looking for one now.”
August 21st, 2009 at 10:02 amMy comment?
Can we get a bigger bus?
August 21st, 2009 at 10:08 amAttempting to mislead Congress by representing yourself as someone you are not is fraud. A few prosecutions of these liars would send a strong message. It is a preversion of the democratic process.
August 21st, 2009 at 10:08 amZimzone @#1
Would that be the brain in the jar labeled
Abby Normal?
August 21st, 2009 at 10:09 amIdentity theft is a crime.
August 21st, 2009 at 10:11 amAhhhh, ACCCE hired these frauds without knowing their reputation? ROFL!
ACCCE hired them knowing full well their reputation and now are pissed cuz Bonner got caught? (ding, ding, ding)
August 21st, 2009 at 10:17 amThe dishonest name ‘clean coal’ was sort of a really big hint that this kind of lying was certainly inevitable…
August 21st, 2009 at 10:20 amOne good thing to come out of all that fraudulent, dishonest behavior is that there will be zero credibility in similar sorts of letters, supposedly from more progressive groups, purporting to be in opposition to things that progressives hold dear.
Screw the repiggies, and screw the teabagger trash.
The Dems need to butch up, and kick the repiggie monster in the teeth.
August 21st, 2009 at 10:21 amevangenital says: The Dems need to butch up, and kick the repiggie monster in the teeth.
I watched Barney Frank’s town hall meeting on CSPAN last night. Gotta love CSPAN. They really need to include him in more public events. He was going right back at the angry mob with facts and sarcasm. It was priceless.
August 21st, 2009 at 10:25 amI liked Olbermann’s comment about Astroturf…(paraphrasing),
We’ve gone from grassroots to astroturf, but this is asphalt.
August 21st, 2009 at 10:26 amProsecute crimes? What a novel idea. That would work great in a nation of laws where no one is above the law. It’s a utopian dream anymore.
Not too long ago, people were arrested just for wearing political T-shirts to rallies. Now you can carry assault weapons without even being detained.
Mislead Congress? Join the fcking club. They won’t even bother slapping your wrist.
August 21st, 2009 at 10:28 amIt is eight years this month that the moronic George W. Bush paid no attention to the memo stating the intention of Bin Laden’s crowd to attack in the U.S.
We need to remind the repiggies of how lax they were during their time in charge.
Screw the repiggies, and screw the teabagger trash.
August 21st, 2009 at 10:28 amUnbelievable, I find it somewhat delicious that a gay man named Barney Frank actually had the nerve and the balls to stand up to the teabagger trash.
Again, the Dems need to butch up and own the power that has been given them.
August 21st, 2009 at 10:29 amThis is the corporate version of the old cloak-and-dagger military tradition of official deniabilty, combined with that old I-don’t-know-nuthin’ Mafia tradition of official deniabilty.
August 21st, 2009 at 10:30 amGood one, evangenital. Reminiscent of Hunter T…
August 21st, 2009 at 10:32 amFrauding Congress is not a crime? Maybe a litle cash will gloss things over.
August 21st, 2009 at 10:34 amCongress should be holding some hearings on just how often they’re being defrauded in this manner, and by who. It’d be a good place to start.
August 21st, 2009 at 10:35 amWhy, of course they did nothing wrong! Repubes never do anything wrong. Ever.
Oh, freakin’ SPARE ME.
Throw their filthy coal-smeared a$$e$ in prison.
August 21st, 2009 at 10:43 amACCCE is the sound people with black lung disease make just trying to catch their breath…
August 21st, 2009 at 10:45 amI thought using US mail to defraud others was already illegal. Where are the postal inspectors?
August 21st, 2009 at 10:48 amThe House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming is investigation these and other fraudulent letters received by Congress. Wonder if anything will come of it?
Peace :)
August 21st, 2009 at 11:41 amThis is a good example of how corrupt our justice system has become. We literally have no justice in America anymore at all. Laws are only to be applied to the poor and the politically weak. Presidents can order prisoners tortured to death without any consequences, but if I smoke a joint in view of a police officer, I could go to jail for months.
The survival of America as a nation really comes down to the rule of law. If we do not restore it, in the eyes of the people, they will eventually rebel.
History has shown that we are doomed to repeat it.
August 21st, 2009 at 11:43 amWe all know dirty coal companies should go away. They are only companies, and we can put the very same people to work on clean energy systems that don’t involve coal.
August 21st, 2009 at 1:28 pmAnyone keeping a betting pool on how long it is till Coal does business with Bonner again ? I claim dibs on September 1,2009.
However, if the pool includes Coal laundering money through a second organization to do business with Bonner, I want to place my bet on tomorrow.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:03 pmTrying to white wash coal dust?
August 21st, 2009 at 4:26 pmMapleStreet says:
Anyone keeping a betting pool on how long it is till Coal does business with Bonner again ? I claim dibs on September 1,2009.
I’ll bet they never actually stopped.
August 21st, 2009 at 9:02 pm