December 21, 2007
Loyal Edwards Fundraiser Killed Ethanol Initiative In Wisc.
Scott Tyre, a Wisconsin lobbyist who sits on John Edwards' national finance committee, has worked to kill ethanol mandates in Madison. In fact, Tyre's own firm, Capitol Navigators, advertises his efforts to tank that bill next to quotes from longtime Edwards loyalists Ed Turlington and Nick Baldick praising Tyre's "work ethic" and "brain power."
"Scott is regarded as one of the top contract lobbyists at the Capitol. When it comes crunch time and you need votes as we did during the ethanol mandate debate in the 2005-06 session, Scott was one of the first persons I called for help. His contacts and lobbying skills are certainly one of the reasons we were able to kill the bill in the Senate."
--Erin Roth, Executive Director of Wisconsin Petroleum Council/Division of the American Petroleum Institute
Tyre is an Edwards bundler, according to Public Citizen.
Edwards has said on the campaign trail that ethanol is one key to moving the country toward energy independence.
Earlier, On Call reported that Joy Philippi, the rural co-chair of Hillary Clinton's campaign, has worked to kill ethanol subsidies. A former president of the National Pork Producers Council, Phillipi is a Nebraska farmer.
Certainly that item smacked of greater irony than this Edwards post. But Tyre's anti-ethanol efforts -- his firm has also represented the American Petroleum Institute -- contradict Edwards' campaign trail pitch for expanded production of renewable energy sources. And Edwards, as we all know, slams lobbyists at every diner, community center, debate and school rally. It seems perplexing at best then that he'd have one on his team who is fighting his very policies.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Posted at 05:35 PM
Comments
Ummmmm, no. Clinton gave Philippi a position as the co-chair of Rural Americans for Clinton.
Edwards gave this guy no job. He fundraiser for Edwards voluntarily, and is not part of the campaign.
NaR | 12.21.07 09:06 PM
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Ethanol subsidies are a bad idea, even though oil companies don't like them.
I don't think having a fundraiser who worked to kill them would reflect badly on Edwards even if he were a big ethanol booster. But from what you've presented here he's not. Calling ethanol "one key" towards moving the country towards energy independence is not a ringing endorsement.
And if this guy were really a tool of the API, he wouldn't be raising money for John Edwards, now, would he?
lowellfield | 12.23.07 01:15 PM
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