RELEASE: Republican Congressional challengers choose stunts over substance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 14, 2008

Republican Congressional challengers choose stunts over substance

Candidates travel to Alaska with special interest lobbying group

INDIANAPOLIS - As three Republican congressional challengers embark on a big-oil backed trip to Alaska at the request of the lobbyist group Arctic Power, Hoosiers are still waiting for the stunts to stop and an honest discussion of America 's oil crisis to begin.

"The Republican Party has spent decades cozying up to the oil industry, and once again we are seeing their candidates put special interests in front of Indiana 's interests," said Indiana Democratic Party Chair Dan Parker. "Hoosiers want representatives in Congress who will fight for them, not embrace the Washington lobbyists and their policy agenda."

"I find it bizarre that these three would choose to travel 3,500 miles to discuss energy policy with Big Oil rather than have an open discussion with voters in Indiana ," he added.

Arctic Power, the lobbyist group orchestrating the junket to Alaska for these candidates, has a long relationship with the oil companies, as do some of the challengers themselves:

Arctic Power has lobbied Congress for nearly two decades, often on behalf of the oil industry. The Anchorage Daily News reported that, "Arctic Power has been working Congress since 1992, and has spent most of its money lobbying to open ANWR." [Anchorage Daily News, Editorial, 4/23/08 ]

The Washington Post noted that, "A spokesman for Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil company, said its lobbying on the refuge is done through a group called Arctic Power, of which the company is a member." [Washington Post, 10/27/05 ]

The relationship between 9^th District Republican challenger Mike Sodrel and Big Oil is nothing new. Sodrel has received $71,412 from the oil and gas industry contributors. [OpenSecrets.org]

Solving our energy crisis: Stunts vs. Substance. While Mike Sodrel, Luke Puckett and Greg Goode busy themselves with political theater on behalf of the oil industry, Indiana 's Democratic Congressional delegation is hard at work fighting to provide immediate relief to Hoosiers. Rep. Baron Hill, for example, has authored legislation that would reestablish effective oversight of the U.S. commodity futures markets, and the Congressman authored a recently enacted bill that raised fuel efficiency standards (CAFE standards) for the first time in 30 years.

For more information: Thomas Cook, 317-231-7125

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Paid for and authorized by the Indiana Democratic Party, Daniel J. Parker, Chair. 

This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.