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Judd Legum Profile picture
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21 Sep, 8 tweets, 4 min read
1. @Sen_JoeManchin has the pen for the climate-portion of the reconciliation bill.

This might be the best opportunity to impact climate policy for years.

But a close review of lobbying disclosures paints a disturbing picture.

popular.info/p/the-manchin-…
@Sen_JoeManchin 2. A popular.info review of the Senate Lobbying Database found that six former Manchin staffers are currently listed on 15 lobbying contracts with fossil fuel and energy companies

Collectively, these contracts are worth $2.4 million per year

popular.info/p/the-manchin-…
3. Jonathan Kott, formerly Manchin's communications director, was hired by a lobbying firm in June

In July, Kott was added to a 200K/year contract with the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers

Kott says he's in regular touch with Manchin

popular.info/p/the-manchin-…
4. Kott's client, the AFPM, has been a vocal critic of even modest steps by Biden to combat climate change.

The CEO of AFPM criticized an executive order by Biden which set a goal to make half of the new vehicle sales electric by 2030

popular.info/p/the-manchin-…
5. Another long-time Manchin staffer, Elliott Howard, left his staff in March to become a lobbyist.

In the last six months, Howard has been listed on 9 lobbying contracts with fossil fuel companies worth a collective $1.56 million

popular.info/p/the-manchin-…
6. Manchin is also the top recipient -- Democrat or Republican -- of oil and gas money in the 2022 cycle.

And it's not close.

popular.info/p/the-manchin-…
7. Manchin also founded, and maintains an ownership stake, in two coal companies that are now run by his son

A rapid transition away from fossil fuels is needed to combat climate change but could have negative economic consequences for the Manchin family

popular.info/p/the-manchin-…
8. For more in-depth accountability journalism you should really check out my newsletter Popular Information.

No ads. Sign up for free --> popular.info/subscribe

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More from @JuddLegum

Judd Legum Profile picture
22 Sep
1. @ATT has brazenly abandoned its pledge to not make political donations that support the Republicans who voted to overturn the election on January 6

Their strategy is to hope no one notices.

Follow along if interested.

popular.info/p/at-and-t-aba…
@ATT 2. After 1/6, @ATT said it would suspend contributions to the 147 GOP objectors: "Employees on our Federal PAC Board convened a call today and decided to suspend contributions to members of Congress who voted to object to the certification of Electoral College votes this week."
3. In March, we reported that @ATT donated 5K to the House Conservatives Fund, which mostly supports GOP objectors

@ATT told popular.info that it was "assured" that none of the money would support GOP objectors

popular.info/p/at-and-t-aba…
Read 8 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
20 Sep
1. It's FEC filing day

Which means we are updating popular.info's January 6 Accountability Index

We are keeping track of which companies are keeping their promises (and which are returning to business as usual)

Follow this thread for updates

popular.info/p/the-january-…
2. @UPS, which suspended all donations after 1/6, had donated to a handful of GOP objectors earlier this year.

But, in August, it really kicked things into high gear.

UPS donated $78,500 to 30 Republican objectors
3. After 1/6, @Pfizer said: "[W]e have made the decision that for the next six months, Pfizer PAC will not contribute to any of the 147 Members of Congress who voted against certifying the Electoral College after the violence that we all witnessed"
Read 5 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
20 Sep
1. Since 9/1, about one in ten women have effectively been stripped of their reproductive rights

That's when an extreme abortion ban went into effect in Texas — home to 7 million women aged 15-49

popular.info/p/apples-texas…
2. Many of these women are @Apple employees. Apple employs more people in Austin than any other city, save its headquarters in Cupertino.

They are finishing a new $1 billion campus in Austin that will make it the city's largest employer.

popular.info/p/apples-texas…
3. And yet, @Apple has remained publicly silent on Texas' abortion ban

In a company meeting, Cook told employees that Apple is seeing if it can assist legal challenges to the law

But its leverage is not quietly paying for lawyers. It's PUBLIC PRESSURE

popular.info/p/apples-texas…
Read 6 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
16 Sep
1. For the last three decades there has been an unprecedented concentration of wealth among the top 0.1% of families

Biden proposed some policies to make things a bit more fair

But very wealthy people can afford very good lobbyists

popular.info/p/very-wealthy…
2. These lobbyists have convinced DEMOCRATS to kill some of the most important of Biden's proposals

For example, the House Ways and Means Committee has dropped Biden's plan to end the tax loophole for dynastic wealth

It's egregious

popular.info/p/very-wealthy…
3. Right now, extremely rich people can accumulate billions in wealth gains throughout their lifetime through capital gains from stocks and other assets

But they can avoid paying taxes by passing those assets onto their heirs

popular.info/p/very-wealthy…
Read 8 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
15 Sep
1. The California recall was unsuccessful. But it was part of a much larger strategy to orient Republican politics around undermining & overturning democratic outcomes

Elder ultimately conceded. But he preemptive declared himself a victim of voter fraud

popular.info/p/the-january-…
2. Elder's voter fraud claims were never going to reverse the results in Cali.

But that wasn't the point.

"Allegations of ballot-rigging help Trump-friendly forces build their base, in California and elsewhere."

popular.info/p/the-january-…
3. Trump, of course, actively supported the Elder campaign's baseless claims

But he's also engaged in a much more alarming effort to put voter fraud conspiracy theorists in charge of election administration in key states like Georgia, Arizona, & Michigan

popular.info/p/the-january-…
Read 8 tweets
Judd Legum Profile picture
13 Sep
1. Texas is just the beginning.

At least seven states are considering copying Texas' draconian abortion ban.

The politicians behind this effort have overwhelming support from the nation's largest corporations

popular.info/p/in-key-state…
2. Exclusive new data reveals that in seven key states (AR, FL, SC, SD, KY, OK, OH) Fortune 250 corporations donated $5.7M to legislators that oppose abortion rights and just $1M to legislators that support abortion rights in the 2020 cycle

popular.info/p/in-key-state…
3. The data undermines the idea that corporate donations are inconsequential because corps give equally to "both sides." In the states where abortion rights are most at risk, corps are providing a 5-to-1 financial advantage to anti-abortion legislators.

popular.info/p/in-key-state…
Read 6 tweets

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