It’s been obvious for some time that Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) was unlikely to support comprehensive climate legislation. What wasn’t clear was the extent of her influence, which, according to a new report by the Sunlight Foundation, goes well beyond her single vote in the Senate:
Six of Lincoln’s former staffers currently lobby for interests invested in influencing carbon capping legislation. These interests include oil & gas trade groups, agriculutural [sic] companies, the airplane industry and biofuel and bioenergy firms. […]
The most influential of Lincoln’s former staffers is Kelly Bingel, a lobbyist for Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti. Bingel is a former chief of staff to Lincoln and has been called “Sen. Lincoln’s alter ego.” Bingel’s clients include two incredibly powerful organizations opposed to carbon capping: the American Petroleum Institute (API), the lead trade group for the oil industry, and Koch Industries, one of the largest oil manufacturing, trading and investment companies in the country.
One of the two owners of Koch Industries is David Koch, who has taken credit for sponsoring much of the Tea Party movement — whose adherents are no great supporters of climate legislation. Other former Lincoln staffers now lobby on behalf of the anti-cap-and-trade USA Rice Federation, the utility-advocacy Edison Electric Institute and the agricultural giant Monsanto. (The latter two have voiced support for climate legislation, but have sought to secure favorable terms for their industries.)
Need further evidence of the massive Lincoln-lobbying-industrial complex? According to Sunlight, Lincoln’s the top recipient of campaign funds from the oil and gas industries and a variety of agricultural industries.
Of course, given the entrenched history of close ties between lobbyists and the Hill, none of this should come as a surprise — but it does serve as a reminder of the powerful forces environmental advocates are up against.