GOP Keystone Corruption, by the numbers

Original Link: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/12/09/1043724/-GOP-Keystone-Corruption,-by-the-numbers

By Bill McKibben

Right at the moment, Republicans in the House and Senate are doing their level best to ensure a speedy approval of the Keystone Pipeline by attaching it to the payroll tax cut. Their claim is that it's a jobs bill, even though their numbers are entirely bogus.

We don't think they'll succeed--the president has explicitly promised to veto such a bill, and Harry Reid just said it was dead on arrival in the Senate. It would require Olympic-level flip-flopping ("that's a ten from the judge from Exxon") to back off now. Still, we're working hard to make sure: 350.org is organizing rallies and letter-writing campaigns this weekend, and so are many of the big enviro groups.

Anyway, it's a great chance to understand how this system actually works--the fact that it's corporate power that calls the shots, especially within the GOP. So here, for your perusal, are the numbers that actually matter. And if you felt like sending them to your Senator, just so that they know you know that no-one's being fooled, that would be okay too.

The oil & gas industry has already spent $110,691,654 on lobbying in 2011: http://www.opensecrets.org/...

Oil & gas industry has already given $8,794,499 to candidates in 2012 cycle, including $4,060,374 to House GOP: http://www.opensecrets.org/...

The top 31 House recipients of oil & gas money in the 2012 cycle are all Republicans: http://www.opensecrets.org/...

Numbers 1 & 2 in oil & gas contributions to candidates, parties & outside groups? Exxon Mobil ($840,644, 93% to GOP) and Koch Industries ($570,600, 97% to GOP): http://www.opensecrets.org/...

9 of the top 20 recipients overall, 8 of top 20 House recipients, and 5 of top 20 Senate recipients of oil & gas money are from states along the Keystone pipeline route: http://www.opensecrets.org/...