Towards An Oil Free Congress

UPDATE: The rally went very well. We had about 50 people turn out and media coverage from KGUN 9 News. Patty Weiss and Franchine Shacter both came in person, along with volunteers and representatives from the Latas and Giffords campaigns. Patty took a pledge on camera, and Shacter and Giffords also intend to take a pedge not to take oil industry and PAC money. We’d like to thank local business Catalina Markets, which operates both the stations we protested at. Their management team was professional and cooperative. Thanks to independent photographer Merrill Peterson for sharing his photos, one of which appears here.

MoveOn.org is sponsoring an action this coming Wednesday to draw attention to the role that big oil’s political contributions play in perpetuating our dependence on foreign oil and all the attendant ills it brings. One part of the effort is to publicize the fact that GOP congresscritters have taken in excess of $142,000.000.00 from the oil industry since 1990. This ensures an energy policy that puts private profits over national interest.

We are also calling on the candidates for CD 8, both Democrats and Republicans, to pledge not to accept any money from corporate oil interests. Jeff Latas has already done so, and Francine Shacter has alreay confirmed she will be participating in the event. I honestly don’t imagine any of the Democrats will refuse, but I have my doubts about some of the Republicans. I encourage you to call the camapaign offices of all the candidates and ask them to make the pledge and to come to the event on Wednesday to show their support for an oil-free Congress.

The biggest culprit, however, is Arizona Senator Jon Kyl. He’s taken well over $300,000.00 from the oil industry in his career in Congress. Enron, Koch, Halliburton, Valero Refineries (which operates one of the stations we’ll be protesting at), ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Chevron (which owns the one across the street) and BP are all major donors to Kyl’s campaigns.

What have these oil giants bought with their largess? Kyl has been at the forefront of selling American energy policy to the energy industry. 24 American refineries were intentionally taken off line through the 1990’s to limit supply of refined oil products and thus inflate prices. Kyl has led the fight to block Congressional investigation into this price gouging by big oil.

So print out a sign or two and maybe some leaflets, and sign up to attend the rally. It’s important that we hold our elected, and soon-to-be-elected, officials’ feet to the burning oil fields.