Beginning last week, the oil industry launched a national astroturfing effort called “Rally for Jobs.” The events, which are being held across the nation, are backed by right-wing billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch. They launched a nearly identical campaign last summer that was widely mocked for its obvious astroturfing after it was revealed that 15 of the 21 Energy Citizens events were actually planned by oil industry lobbyists.
ThinkProgress attended one of the rallies yesterday in Canton, Ohio and reports on what happened.
What was billed as an organic grassroots jobs rally quickly descended into attacks on three things the Kochs most oppose: global warming science, oil safety regulations, and Democrats. One of the speakers, Sgt. Dennis Bartow, called global warming a “hoax.” He was joined by Karen Wright, CEO of the gas company Ariel Corporation, who ridiculed climate change as “questionable science” and referred to pollutants as “so-called carbon dioxide emissions.” Wright went on to rail against “so-called green jobs” that were “dubious” and “phony.”
Other speakers later dismissed attacks on the oil industry’s safety record, particularly in the wake of the Gulf oil spill. Radio host Matt Patrick called the deepwater drilling moratorium “ridiculous” and compared it to a ban on building houses because one caught on fire. Wright “did a quick Google search” on the oil industry’s safety record and openly wondered why Congress doesn’t ban cars because the number of auto accident deaths far exceeds the number of oil industry deaths. Wright also gleefully proclaimed that the oil spill is “all gone,” a claim that is easily dispelled with a quick Google search.
Many of the speakers also rallied the crowd against Ohio’s Democrats in Congress. For example, after telling audience members that he wasn’t going to call out particular politicians nor indict a single political party, Patrick “” literally ten seconds later “” called out only Democrats by name:
I’m not going to sit here and tell you it’s all one political party or that it’s this politician or that politician. You’ve got some people right now in the state of Ohio that want nothing more than to tax small businesses right out of business. You know who they are. And John Boccieri and Zack Space and Tim Ryan and Betty Sutton and Charlie Wilson, this message is for you. We’re coming after you. Good luck in November!
Of the approximately 400 who showed up for the rally, “most arrived in four buses” that were paid for and organized by oil and gas companies. ThinkProgress caught up with one of the attendees, who confirmed that Marathon Petroleum arranged a bus to bring over 50 of its employees to the rally.
Watch the highlights here:
This cross-post is by Scott Keyes via Think Progress.
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There should be consequences for this kind of activity. Bald money grubbing propaganda is legal, but dressing it in grassroots or “think tank” clothing should be illegal.
The public dialogue has been poisoned at every level, from the media to our political leaders, for no reason except greed. Couching it in “freedom” or “conservative politics” doesn’t ring true. People like Koch and Tillerman don’t really have political beliefs, and certainly do not have moral ones. They are nihilists, and will mouth any words that advance their dream of piling up more money.
I’m old enough to remember the old ad slogan for Coca-Cola — “THINGS GO BETTER WITH COKE!” Can’t we turn that around to say “THINGS GO SOUR WITH KOCH” or something along those lines? Or maybe we should say “things go sewer with Koch” as these butt-holes are clearly there, in the sewer. Raunchy politics! Also, Koch brothers try to hide, just like rodents in the sewer. Come into the light! Show yourselves. Show some integrity. These rich little brats are too coward to come forward and show their true selves, so they hide behind these fake rallies. It’s pathetic, really.
Mike Roddy
“…but dressing it in grassroots or “think tank” clothing should be illegal”
People and organizations pushing propaganda to further their cause has always and will always be a reality. The goal shouldn’t be to outlaw these propagandists, but to encourage people to think on their own. I think we have a long way to go, but I think right now people are more enlightened than any time in history. I don’t know why you feel so threatened by Koch.
-Michael
I think we have a long way to go, but I think right now people are more enlightened than any time in history.
One suspects the ratio or percentage of people paying attention is much lower, however. Absolute numbers are innumeracy.
I don’t know why you feel so threatened by Koch.
Their mendacity was detailed above.
Best,
D
Dano, you make my point. Mike would like to make it less dangerous to for people to let someone else do their thinking for them.
One of the problems is that with all the fake grassroots groups and fake think tanks spouting disinformation, misdirections and mutilating words like “truth”, it becomes very difficult to get good information to think about.
At times I think that the Tower of Babel story was a warning about the dangers of twisting the meaning of words and not just a story to explain the origin of languages.
But golly, it’s NEWS and it has lots of opportunities for good video footage, so I’m sure it will get more attention than will Bill McKibben’s transporting one of President Carter’s original solar panels from Maine to WDC as a way to urge President Obama to put them back on the White House. Maybe Koch will tie this into the birthers and the NWO psychos and the 9/11 conspiracy wackaloons and all the other fruit loops and achieve enough density to form a black hole, a stupidity singularity. (Wait — that’s not what Kurzweil really meant by “singularity”, is it…?)
There are times when the picture of my three nieces I keep near my monitor is the only thing that makes me stay in this fight. If it weren’t for that photo I would have said, “Screw it, we deserve what we get,” a couple of years ago.
@7 I know what you mean. I became a great uncle for the third time in May (I’m gay and chose never to have children). He will be my age in 2070. Thinking about that reduces me to tears everytime. I wonder whether any of them will even come close to seeing my age.
Unfortunately for those of us who see opportunities in the dark cloud of global warming the Koch initiatives follow Goebbels famous yardstick, “Repeat a lie enough and the people will believe it.” (or something close to that..)
Koch and friends feel threatened and the success they’ve had in discrediting science has inspired them to bigger and broader organizing.
We would do well to remember the path that many great countries have taken when their economies tanked. Only a few have taken a positive visionary path. I hope that a homegrown Truth and Way Forward movement will coalesce in this country – particularly one that channels the Tea Partiers valid concerns.
Glasnost ended Stalinism, Truth and Reconciliation ended Apartheid. These are two examples of positive outcomes. What history doesn’t tell very well are the times that societies dodged the plunge into totalitarianism and decline.
The USA has accomplished that many times. The latest was the threat from the Religious Right, prior to that was the Nixon blip, Joe McCarthy led an era of fear. Each of these internal threats had roots in challenges to America’s ideals from outside.
Now we’re facing the decline of the American economy. Its roots are deep in the trillions we’ve sent to overseas oil tyrannies, trillions of which lined the pockets of Koch and Exxon Mobil on the way.
I dream of a clean energy economy sprouting in every neighborhood in this country. Koch does not. Their only hope are the tools of mass propaganda. We must counter this with clear vision – detailed, specific, and open to discussion.
Dan B
“We must counter this with clear vision – detailed, specific, and open to discussion.”
Are you willing to discuss the benefits of fossil fuel use?
Folks, thin-film PV technology is falling in price so fast that you are forgiven not to have noticed that it is essentially cost-effective TODAY, and there are NO LIMITS TO SCALING IT UP. Please read this press release from the world´s leading producer of amorphous silicon thin-film PV manufacturing equipment.
Disclaimer: I do not work for Oerlikon.
Valencia (Spain), September 7, 2010 – Oerlikon Solar launched today the new production line “ThinFab” for manufacturing of thin film silicon modules, which will achieve record breaking production costs of € 0.50 per Watt peak (Wp). Furthermore, Oerlikon Solar developed a new champion Micromorph® lab cell in cooperation with Corning Incorporated with 11.9 percent stabilized efficiency confirmed by the honorable U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The two world records boost the competitiveness of Oerlikon Micromorph® thin film silicon technology and demonstrate its future potential. ”Our achievements could become a breakthrough for thin film silicon technology,” says Michael Buscher, Oerlikon Group CEO. “We are proud that our new ThinFab offers a highly competitive production line to the solar market and that we could verify further potential of our technology.”
The ThinFab reduces the energy payback-time of thin film silicon modules below one year, with the lowest energy consumption for photovoltaic production plants in the industry.
“Our extraordinary competencies are embedded in our new ThinFab and will change the perception of thin film silicon technology. The 10 percent efficiency of our non-toxic, environmentally friendly modules, combined with the lowest production costs ever, provides the solar industry with completely new opportunities. On top of that our new champion cell with 11.9 percent stabilized efficiency demonstrates even further potential of the thin film silicon technology”, states Dr. Jurg Henz, Oerlikon Solar CEO. Furthermore “our technology offers the lowest energy payback time compared to other crystalline technologies and is not based on limited resources.”
Oerlikon Solar’s existing customers can as well benefit from many technical improvements. Oerlikon Solar will gradually introduce upgrade packages, enabling better performance, higher output, and improved efficiencies of their existing production lines.
The Oerlikon Solar ThinFab was presented to the public with the kind support of Robby Naish, who won his first windsurfing world championship in 1977 at the age of 13. Thereafter he led the world championship for 23 years in a row due to his extraordinary competencies and his innovative drive.
You will find us at the 25th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) in Valencia in hall 2, on level 2, booth B8.
For more detailed information about the new ThinFab visit http://www.oerlikon.com/solar/thinfab or contact:
Brunhilde Mauthe
Manager Public Relations Oerlikon Solar
Tel. +41 81 784 8040
Fax +41 81 784 6544
brunhilde.mauthe@oerlikon.com
Burkhard Böndel
Head of Corporate Communications
OC Oerlikon
Tel. +41 58 360 96 02
Fax. +41 58 360 91 93
burkhard.boendel@oerlikon.com
The economic development vision right in front of us is that we build dozens of thin-film PV panel factories in the USA, install the finished panels first in the sunniest areas of the US, then the rest of the USA. In parallel, further improve and spread plug-in hybrid technologies, reducing oil consumption until oil imports are ZERO. In parallel, develop energy storage technologies that smooth out the fluctuations in solar (and wind) energy systems. And in parallel, shut down coal power plants and mines one-by-one until they are all gone.
No more oil wars, no more oil-income-driven terrorism and 75% on our way to solving our GHG emissions problem. It matters not if it is Democrats or Republicans or civilized collaboration of the two that gets this done, just get it done.
Believe me, China will do the same when they realize that their economically and technically recoverable coal resources are woefully smaller than what they are telling us.
Dano, you make my point. Mike would like to make it less dangerous to for people to let someone else do their thinking for them.
I’m disagreeing with what I italicized and the implicit premise therein. My comment is directed solely at the italicized and not at anything else in this thread.
Best,
D
#10 – Fossil fuels have offered tremendous benefits but these benefits came on the cheap. The full price was not paid, now the bill is coming due and many are still refusing to pay. Many are trying to make believe that there is no bill.
The stakes have risen as continued use under the present, old, system could kill us all. The science is sending a clear messege. Those who don’t want to accept the science aren’t offering any alternatives. Their game plan is to fill the room with smoke so no one can see which way is up.
Instead of asking irrelevant questions to change the subject, try offering real alternatives. We have all benefited and continue to benefit from the use of fossil fuels. That doesn’t make it the correct answer. I wonder how many must die or be dislocated before we decide as a species that the negatives of our current energy paradigm are too great to continue.
David Smith, take a look at the top 10 possible global catastrophes. A person rejecting your cause in favor of another one is not advocating doing nothing. Some people have better things to do.
What’s your cause, Michael W?
Recent efforts to reduce the carbon content in fuels and to improve their energy efficiency can certainly help to reduce the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere. However, large-scale carbon sequestration will definitely be required to achieve the U.S. national goal of reducing green house gas emissions from 1530 million tons of carbon equivalent (tce) in 2002 to 1255 million tce in 2012.
http://www.inl.gov/research/co2-sequestration/
Michael W;
I would be willing to discuss the benefits of fossil fuels, with a few caveats. The full economic impact, including all “externalities” – not some pseudo-science economics.
It reminds me of a family story. My aunt baked a cherry pie when she was a teenager. Everyone raved about it except my Great Aunt. She’d been the champion pie maker. After the compliments slowed, as my aunt was basking in the accolades my Great Aunt said with a stern and icy tone, “Now, let us criticize the pie.”
There are positives in almost anything. Snake venoms save lives but only in tiny quantities. I’ll give fossil fuels the acclaim of “great energy density” and “easy to transport”. But even those will have less relevance as we find new approaches for transportation and energy storage, and as we rediscover transportation methods (rail, bicycles, etc.) that are beneficial to society.
The quantity of fossil fuels we’ve burned has rendered their combustion products lethal to civilization.
A physician tells the addict to quit. The addict can’t imagine life without the habit. The pusher doesn’t want to lose the cash flow. That’s where we’re at until there’s a vision. Once we’re on the right track we can remember the “good” that fossil fuels provided. Until then it’s just a distraction from the great challenge ahead.
David Smith, my cause is to leave a better planet behind for the people I care about. Which means looking at each situation objectively.
I do not see how you can be looking at “each situation objectively” Michael W, @ 19 and come to the conclusions that you have. The “right” has had 30+ years to come forth with a viable hypothesis to explain the evidence that accumulates and yet still all that comes forth is cherry picked minor errors and straight forward falsehoods. Even the Pope has come forth with voiced concern. The US Military as well. Governments around the world. International climate scientists by 95+%. Not one peer reviewed concept has stood the test of time from the GOBP quarter. I would think that prudence would prompt you to evaluate your motives for the sake of your off spring, if not for humanity and earth’s life support systems.
Perhaps someone here knows the answer to this question. There is a writer named Paul H. Koch who writes about the Illuminati. Is he related to the Koch brothers?
It is rather convoluted how this question came to mind, but I have noticed that some of the deniers are pushing the Illuminati conspiracy theory angle and doing it in the same way that the John Birchers did. (Low key, not something they admit to outsiders.)
…my cause is to leave a better planet behind…
That’s not saying anything. “Better” means something quite different to the Koch brothers than it does to most of the posters on this site. And while the group I referred to as “most of the posters” may agree on various levels of broad terms what “better” means we can and occasionally do find plenty to disagree on when it gets down to cases.
Michael W wrote: “David Smith, take a look at the top 10 possible global catastrophes.”
Which list are you referring to? I know of several. Phil Plait has a list of cosmic catastrophes that’s the basis of his book and a new TV series, Bad Universe. Those are unlikely in the near term, and more to the point there’s nothing we could do about any of them at our present stage of development.
Then there’s a list of international geopolitical catastrophes, from December 2009. It includes things like “Greece defaults” and “China overextends.” Also on that list is “Pakistan destabilizes India.” Funny; I would have thought “Pakistan destabilizes” is worse. And why no mention of North Korea?
Plenty of catastrophes loom, and it’s easy to pick one as more urgent than the one under discussion. Climate change is a huge potential catastrophe, but it’s also one we can do something about if we can agree to get on with the job. Why are we arguing again?
Chris #23, you ask what catastrophe list? Take your pick: cosmic, global, regional, personal. When we are talking about leaving behind a better planet for our kids and grandkids, the climate crisis is only one cause of many. Its a noble cause, but not if I’m going to blame those not supporting it of “doing nothing”. Likewise for someone who devotes their life to the AIDS crisis in Africa, the orphan problem in the Ukraine, etc who would want to blame me for “doing nothing”.
Michael W, The Catastrophic consequences of unchecked coal and oil use are many orders of magnitude worse than any other catastrophe I can think of besides a big asteroid impact or full up thermonuclear war.
A list of three Catastrophes. One is really unlikely because of the long intervals between big impacts–although the moon’s face or the Gulf of Mexico stand as a good reminders that impacts do happen. One is less likely every year due to better communications and better deterrents. One is barreling straight down the tracks at a hundred miles an hour and we are tied to the tracks. Now, what is your point again?