Posted on 05/17/2007 9:33:58 AM PDT by curtisgardner
U.S. Representative Chris Carney, D-PA10, is coming under fire for blaming the high price of gasoline on oil company profits, while taking campaign contributions from at least one of those “big oil” companies. But an earlier statement from Carney may prove more problematic for the freshman Congressman.
As a candidate in Pennsylvania’s 10th district, Carney vowed “I will not accept money from energy or big oil companies.” It took Carney only 49 days to break that pledge.
In May, 2006, Carney was guest speaker at the Bradford County Democratic Committee. At the committee’s Spring Dinner, he railed against his opponent, then-U.S. Representative Don Sherwood, for accepting more than $21,000 in campaign contributions from Exxon-Mobil, saying of those contributions “the bribery and the money laundering must stop.”
“Big oil has been taking us for a ride,” he proclaimed, and a local newspaper covering the event, the Daily and Sunday Review in Towanda, PA, trumpeted the headline “Carney: I will not accept money from big oil.”
According to Carney’s April filing with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), the freshman Congressman accepted $2,000 from SunPAC in Philadelphia, PA, the political action committee of Sunoco Oil. Carney’s campaign committee took the money on February 22, 2007, just 49 days after being sworn into office.
The PAC is largely funded by the oil company’s executives; and, last year, spent more than $87,000 on federal candidates. In 2006, PoliticalMoneyLine reported that Sunoco was rated sixth in Congressional giving among American oil companies, and ninth in spending on federal lobbying. Both stories are available on the website of the Democratic National Committee.
According to the American Autombile Association’s “Daily Fuel Gauge” report, the average price for regular gasoline in Pennsylvania is $2.99 per gallon, with gasoline prices nationwide at an all-time high. Income at Sunoco reportedly “soared” earlier this month, when the company posted stronger-than-expected first quarter earnings.
Carney’s campaign slogan was “taking our values to Washington, not bringing Washington’s values home.”
Oh, if the backlash is severe enough, he’ll give it back and all will be forgotten.
If, on the other hand, he were a nasty ol’ Republican...
These RATS are all the same.
Slacker!
The issue will die quietly. It is not newsworthy. There is nothing to see here. This is not the liar you are looking for.
Carney can do whatever he wants. He won’t be returning to Congress in January 2009.
This is funny.
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