The Obama campaign recently hired Broderick Johnson, a former lobbyist for the Keystone XL pipeline, as a new senior advisor to the president’s 2012 re-election campaign. Records show that Broderick Johnson lobbied Congress on the Keystone XL pipeline while working for Bryan Cave LLP, a top lobby firm in Washington, DC. During the fourth quarter of 2010, the firm spent $120,000 working on the issue. Bryan Cave LLP reported earnings of $1.08 million between 2009-2011 lobbying on behalf of pipeline company TransCanada, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
“The news about Mr. Johnson comes on top of the revelations that Hillary Clinton’s former deputy campaign manager became the lead lobbyist for the pipeline firm TransCanada, and that the State Department literally let TransCanada pick the company that would conduct the environmental review of its project,” said Bill McKibben, of TarSandsAction.org and 350.org, which have been spearheading protests against the pipeline.
“It stinks. I don’t think you could conceive a more elaborate way to disrespect not just the environmental community but also Occupy Wall Street, because this is simply a reminder of the way that corporate lobbyists dominate our politics. Forget ‘Hope and Change’ – it’s like they want their new slogan to be ‘Business as Usual.’”
Bill McKibben couldn’t have put it better. To say the least, I am outraged and extremely disappointed. It’s like a slap in the face. A few months ago I wrote about going to DC and getting arrested with 1252 others in a two-week-long peaceful protest against the Keystone XL Pipeline. Please read more about the pipeline here. I sincerely hope that this was not a personal choice of Obama’s and that he will fix this soon.
What do you think about the hiring of Broderick Johnson? Leave a comment! 😀
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