BP BUYS U.S. GOV.
DID YOU KNOW - IN 2008, Then Senator OBAMA took more contributions from BP than ANY OTHER GOV. OFFICIAL? OVER $71,000.00!
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One of our local investigative journalists, L. Zurik, of Fox8 N.O., uncovered some ENLIGHTENING Info.
Quote
"Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski angered some Democrats last month when she blocked legislation that would raise the liability cap for oil companies, like BP, from $75 million to $10 billion.
At the same time, Murkowski's campaign has raised money from the same companies she protected by blocking that legislation.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, in the 2010 election cycle, Murkowski has collected more than $200,000 in campaign contributions from the Oil and Gas Industry. Only two senators have raked in more money - Arkansas Democrat Blanche Lincoln and Louisiana's Republican Senator David Vitter.
"The oil industry is a monster in terms of its impact," Ed Chervenak, Political Science Professor at UNO said. "It has lots of money to spread around to members of Congress. That is how it develops good will to get favorable legislation out of Congress."
And in a small state like Alaska, Murkowski raising about $250,000 from one industry is a significant amount of money.
"A lot of these people are running on 1, 2, or 3 million dollar campaigns," Tulane Political Science Professor Brian Brox said.
Since the 2000 election cycle, the oil and gas industry has made contributions topping $153 million. And often times Louisiana&'s congressional leaders are near the top of the list.
In the 2010 election cycle, Republican Senator David Vitter has collected $242,600 in contributions from the oil and gas industry. That's second most among senators. In 2008, Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu's contributions were $272,250. That was 10th most in that 2 year cycle.
"We really shouldn&'t be surprised that Louisiana representatives are so high," Chervenak said. "This is an oil producing state."
Louisiana Democratic Congressman Charlie Melancon has raised $65,500 from oil and gas companies this election cycle. Republican Steve Scalise has received $44,335. And Republican Joseph Cao $12,650.
Overall Republicans have amassed the majority of the money, about 77% of the campaign contributions. But some Democrats have also raised significant funds, like Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln from Arkansas. She’s raised almost $300,000 from oil and gas companies the past two years. She also sits on the senate's Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which oversees the industry. In the 2008 election cycle, now Democratic President Barack Obama received $900,000 in contributions from the oil and gas industry.
"That’s a little more than I anticipated," Brox said.
But it's less than half of the $2.4 million given to Republican Senator John McCain.
So just what do all of these campaign contributions mean? For one, access.
"This is one of the things campaign contributions help is getting intervention with federal bureaucracy," Chervenak said. "If an agency interprets an environmental regulation firmly they can call on the representative to call agency head and ask to back off and typically representative will intervene."
Political analysts say the oil and gas industry isn't necessarily buying votes, just assuring themselves a seat at the table.
"It definitely impacts access and getting heard," Brox said. "People are more likely to listen to their friends. It's not buying votes literally."
So far in this election cycle, BP has given less than $100,000 to candidates. Topping the list is Kentucky Democratic Senator Jack Conway (received $9600). Second is Alaska's Lisa Murkowski (received $7000).
In the 2008 election cycle, now President Barack Obama received more money from BP than anyone else in Congress. A total of $71,051. John McCain was second in contributions from BP ($36,639). Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu was third with $16,200. Also, Louisiana's Charlie Melancon also received $4000 from BP in that election cycle.
Since 2005, Southern Senators dominate the list of top contributors from the oil and gas industry. Republican John Cornyn of Texas tops the list with almost a million dollars in that stretch ($984,675). Another Republican, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is second ($469,850). And another Texan, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, is third ($437,386).
"It's a combination of solidifying and rewarding members of congress and giving to key embers who write the regulatory policy," Brox said. "Part of its access and part of it is supporting friends."
It's important to point out, campaign finance laws prevent the actual company from giving any money. Contributions cited in this story come from individuals who work for the companies and Political Action Committees affiliated with oil and gas companies.
SOUCRED FROM FOX8 News - Lee Zurik
