Energy

MEMO: What you need to know about Deb Fischer

Thanks to the more than $250,000 investment from billionaire Joe Rickett’s super PAC, Deb Fischer won a surprising last-person-standing victory in Nebraska’s Republican senate primary. But now Nebraskans are left wondering: who is their Republican nominee? As an untested, unknown, unscrutinized candidate, Deb Fischer didn’t “win” on Tuesday, her opponents lost. But now that she will be the Republican standard bearer in the most high profile race in the state, her record, votes, and positions will be thoroughly vetted by voters. While no means exhaustive, below is a quick primer on what you need to know about Deb Fischer.

Journal Inquirer: McMahon Has Stake In Oil Pipeline Plan She Supports

On March 31, 2012, the Journal Inquirer reported:

Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Linda McMahon — a champion of the Keystone oil pipeline project — owns shares worth as much as $437,000 in nine of Canada’s largest oil-sands producers and six other Canadian companies that could profit from the business of moving crude from Alberta to U.S. refineries.

Romney Flip-Flops On Domestic Drilling's Impact On Foreign Oil Dependence

In recent days, Mitt Romney has claimed that domestic drilling would reduce dependency on foreign oil.  It's probably no surprise that he hasn't always said so. On the March 16, 2012 episode of Fox News' Fox and Friends, Romney responded to a question about gas prices, saying:

“Well, the best thing we can do to get the price of gas to be more moderate and not have to be dependent upon the cartel is drill in the gulf, drill in the outer continent shelf, drill in ANWR, drill in North Dakota, South Dakota, drill in Oklahoma, and Texas." [Fox and Friends, 3/16/12]

“We consume roughly 24 percent of the world’s oil but possess only 2.4 percent of the world’s oil reserves. Even if we were to begin to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and on the continental shelf, it wouldn’t be enough to appreciably have an impact on our dependence on other nations for oil. And if we were to open the domestic oil spigot too wide and drain our last fields, we would risk leaving America even more vulnerable twenty-five years from now than it is today. But there should be no objection to preparing the energy infrastructure to tap known reserves and to discover more reserves: This is a vitally important insurance policy against future energy shocks or threats to national security. And it is always possible that new, very large discoveries could surprise us."  [No Apology, 2011, Pg. 247]

TPM: GOP Senate Candidate’s Solar Company Took Stimulus Cash

On February 6, 2012, Talking Points Memo reported:

Former Rep. Mark Neumann (R-WI), who is running in a three-way primary for the state’s open Senate seat on a platform of cutting government, has in fact taken government spending from a particular Obama administration initiative: stimulus grants. What’s more, the money was for his solar energy company.

POLITICO: Mitt's Solyndra? He Handed Out Renewable Energy Subsidies, Too

On February 6, 2012, POLITICO reported:

Just under three weeks into his term as governor, Romney brought a $1.5 million check to Konarka, a well-connected solar startup in Lowell, Mass., itching to buy a new pilot production assembly line. Four other companies also scored renewable energy subsidy awards that same day, including Evergreen Solar, which won $2.5 million for a major expansion and to cover operating losses as it tried to become profitable. Also that day, Romney announced plans to take $15 million from Massachusetts' Renewable Energy Trust Fund — a pot of more than $150 million collected from electricity customers following passage of a 1998 energy deregulation law — and start up a new private venture capital outfit that would back green-minded state businesses with equity, loans and management advice.

MSNBC: Pro-Obama Super PACs Hit Romney For Own 'Solyndra'

On January 5, 2012, MSNBC's First Read reported:

A video produced by American Bridge, called “Romney’s energy loan hypocrisy,” hits Romney for loans made while he was governor of Massachusetts to two companies that eventually failed or moved away – and had ties to Romney campaign donors.

MEMO: Candidate Romney’s Attack Boomerangs On Governor Romney

Mitt Romney today has adopted the message of former Tea Party candidate Michele Bachmann in a transparent attempt to appeal to her extremist supporters. Romney’s phony outrage about “crony capitalism” is particularly surprising considering Romney’s record in Massachusetts. When Romney was Governor of Massachusetts, “the state handed out $4.5 million in loans to two firms run by his campaign donors that have since defaulted, leaving taxpayers holding the bag.” Romney lured one of the companies to Massachusetts by offering a direct loan from the state and his Administration bragged about using government loans to attract business. But, now that Romney is running for President, he claims that government loans to private companies are “crony capitalism.” It’s the worst kind of hypocrisy from a candidate who has proven he will do or say anything to advance his political career.

Washington Post: Donations Flowed To Gingrich’s Nonprofit After He Shifted On Energy Issues In 2008

On December 28, 2011, the Washington Post reported:

A month after joining Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi in a televised call to fight climate change in 2008, Newt Gingrich pivoted to a much different message: Increase domestic drilling and block legislation aimed at implementing a “cap-and-trade” system to curb carbon pollution. [...] Within weeks, the money began pouring in from major U.S. energy firms, which eventually contributed more than $2 million to American Solutions’ pro-drilling and anti-cap-and-trade campaign for the next two years, according to a review of disclosure reports and other records by The Washington Post.

AP: State issues can be tricky for presidential field

On October 27, 2011, the Associated Press reported:

Mitt Romney gingerly distanced himself from a labor issue on the Ohio ballot one day. The next, he embraced the initiative "110 percent."

The equivocation not only highlighted his record of shifting positions but also underscored the local political minefields national candidates often confront in their state-by-state path to the presidency.

Huffington Post: Democrats Target Big Oil Profits In Latest Attack On GOP Senate Candidates

On October 27, 2011 The Huffington Post wrote:

 "The Democrats' Senate campaign committee is making good Thursday on its promise to try to tar several GOP contenders with their votes protecting tax breaks for oil companies. A Democratic source said an online campaign will use targeted Google and Facebook ads that coincide with oil companies announcing their latest round of mega profits. The ads, launching in four states, target Nevada Sen. Dean Heller, former Virginia Sen. George Allen, Arizona Rep. Jeff Flake and Montana Rep. Dennis Rehberg, all of whom have opposed ending tax subsidies for oil companies..."