American Petroleum Institute Sponsoring "Energy Citizens' Rally" in St. Louis Tomorrow
Tomorrow, the American Petroleum Institute's "Energy Citizens" campaign will be holding a rally in St. Louis to illustrate oil companies' and other polluters' opposition to federal cap-and-trade legislation. The event at the Ballpark Hilton is designed to "put a human face" on the companies' lobbying campaign.
A leaked memo from the API's president explained the intent of the campaign. Via Grist.org:
American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard wrote in a memo [PDF] that the intent is to put a “human face on the impacts of unsound energy policy” and urge senators to “avoid the mistakes embodied in the House climate bill” that was passed in June.
The memo was supposed to be kept on the down low; Gerard urged recipients to “Please treat this information as sensitive ... we don’t want critics to know our game plan.” But now that the memo has leaked, API spokesperson Bill Bush wants to make it seem like no big deal, telling TPMMuckraker, "I don’t think anyone’s hiding the ball about this .... I don’t think anyone’s trying to suggest that this doesn’t have anything to do with the oil and gas industry."
In Missouri, the rally is coordinated by Ryan Rowden, Executive Director and lobbyist at Missouri Petroleum Council. The conservative Freedom Works organization is also helping promote the event.
All told, the API has spent more than $3 million lobbying against the cap and trade bill this year. It's membership includes ExxonMobil, GE and Halliburton.
You can read the API's full memo on the rallies at Talking Points Memo.
