Ok I tried and tried to avoid doing this because I didn’t think it was possibly going to become A Thing, but it has and I’m tired. So here are some reluctant thoughts on Chris Koob, the listed treasurer of the Super PAC set up to express support for @ewarren’s candidacy. A 🧵
First things first, this is my personal twitter and my personal thoughts. These are not the thoughts of any organizations I am affiliated with and these are also not at all affiliated with any campaigns. This is me.
I have devoted my entire career to fighting the climate crisis. I have spent the last eight years literally taking the oil industry head on. I helped run a campaign with the tagline Exxon Hates Your Children. To say I don’t care for the oil industry would be an understatement.
I also help run campaigns to rid our politics of fossil fuel money. I truly believe that the fossil fuel industry has had a toxic grip on our democracy that has stalled progress on the most critical issue of our time for decades.
So, when I say that I’m not concerned with the specific fact that this guy Chris Koob is treasurer of a Super PAC that has been set up to express support for @ewarren’s campaign, that’s where I’m coming from.
You know who else believes that Big Oil is a corrupting force on our democracy, btw? @ewarren. She says it basically any time she talks about the climate crisis. It’s one of the reasons I support her.
And what’s more, her plans back up her commitment to tackling the climate crisis. She’s calling for an end to drilling on public lands and waters, and end to fracking nationwide, an end to fossil fuel subsidies, and supports a Green New Deal.
Even today, @ewarren has put out a new plan to tackle the role of Wall Street and private finance of all sorts in fueling the climate crisis. It’s being resoundingly celebrated by climate campaigners for good reason.
So, when I saw a tweet talking about Koob being affiliated with a “oil advocacy group,” I of course got concerned. So...I looked into it. And here’s what I’m seeing:
Koob was COO for a short period of time some 12 years ago at a group called Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), what some might call a “centrist” nonprofit organization, focused on "energy security."
SAFE is an organization that I absolutely do not agree with on a substantial number of things. There’s no question about that. In fact, SAFE has many stances that @ewarren would not agree with either. I do not support SAFE and would personally not work for them.
But what SAFE is not is an oil industry front group. As far as I’m aware they do not receive any money from the oil industry (they do receive grants from at least one foundation focused on environmental causes). They would not register on the No Fossil Fuel Money pledge list.
While they do advocate for transportation electrification, they also advocate for increased domestic oil drilling for so-called security reasons. I fundamentally disagree with this and believe it to be entirely counter to our efforts to address the climate crisis.
So. Koob worked for less than a year a dozen years ago at a nonprofit I absolutely disagree with and believe is entirely misguided in its approach. Got it. Bummer, but not disqualifying. Next, what does Koob do?
Koob appears to be an accountant w/ a specialty in compliance for entities concerned about campaign finance laws. That’s what his firm does and clearly what he was hired to do for the new Super PAC. He’s been an accountant for a series of Democratic entities over the years.
I’m not the only person who’s noted this. Among others, @alexkotch agrees with me, and he’s certainly not one to pull punches.
Now, some reminders on Super PACs. These are not run or affiliated with the candidates they claim to support! By law, candidates can not have any coordination with Super PACs.
Literally @ewarren can not force the Super PAC set up to support her to do anything. She can’t force them to close down. She can’t choose who they hire. If she or her representatives got in touch with them directly she would be breaking campaign finance law.
In that context, @ewarren has suggested via the media (the only way she can communicate with a Super PAC is via public statements put out into the world) that she wishes the Super PAC would disclose its donors ahead of Super Tuesday.
Apparently the Super PAC has rejected that request. That’s extremely unfortunate and I wish they would reconsider. I think we need more transparency around our elections.
So what we are left with is this: @ewarren tried hard to avoid having any Super PACs set up in support of her campaign. She tried to encourage others to join in that. Both aspects of that effort failed, and one was set up by supporters of her candidacy.
A guy with specific expertise in campaign finance compliance was hired or otherwise engaged to serve as treasurer of this Super PAC supporting Warren. He once worked for a short period of time for a nonprofit organization that I disagree with.
That’s it. That’s the story. You can hate the system, the way our elections are flooded with money, the fact that this Super PAC exists. Sure. I’m right there with you.
But if you come at me saying that the administration of this Super PAC provides evidence that @ewarren is in bed with Big Oil, you’re just wrong and I will tell you so.
We’ve made tremendous progress in the fight to rid our politics of fossil fuel influence. All remaining Democratic candidates for President have signed the #NoFossilFuelMoney pledge and the conversation about energy and climate is light years ahead of even four years ago.
Let’s not backtrack by making things up. Let’s keep our eyes on the prize and call out real problems and violations as we see them. Making mountains out of nothing doesn’t help.
