Quote of the Week
“If Democrats expand their congressional majorities, prospects will be very good for consumers — and bad for oil companies.”
– Tyson Slocum
Director of the consumer group Public Citizen’s energy program
From 20,000 Feet: Strengthening Our Majority
The Los Angeles Times wrote last week, “As voters steam over gas prices, Republican congressional candidates are bracing for a gusher of ads from now until Election Day attacking their ties to oil companies” and “Democrats are taking aim.”
So who has the most to lose in November? “Amid the onslaught, the oil industry is increasingly worried about this year’s election. Oil executives could face a bigger Democratic majority in Congress and a Democrat in the White House, both set on repealing industry tax breaks and imposing a windfall profits tax.”
Just listen to what a member of the Independent Petroleum Association of America had to say: “We’re bracing for the worst.”
Luckily for Big Oil, some Republican Senate candidates are making arguments on their behalf. Steve Pearce in New Mexico said, “At a time when we’re facing $4 gasoline, I think that you need people who’ve been in the energy industry to tell us what to do.” With logic like that it’s no wonder he’s running more than 20 points behind.
Colorado: Pulling no punches
“Congressman Mark Udall came out swinging Monday against GOP challenger Bob Schaffer in the second of nearly a dozen planned debates in their U.S. Senate race,” according to the Pueblo Chieftain.
“Udall, a five-term congressman, repeatedly attacked Schaffer on his energy stance, calling the former congressman an oil executive who likes to see high gas prices.”
Udall: “There’s a clear contrast here. I’m clearly somebody who’s going to work across the board to drive down gas prices. Congressman Schaffer talks about the situation we’re in, but he doesn’t acknowledge that he played a key roll in getting us in this situation.”
Yet again, Schaffer’s shady dealings over Kurdish oil became a campaign issue. Udall “said he’s traveled to Iraq twice to visit U.S. troops, adding that Schaffer only went there once, and that was to cut an oil deal.”
According to the Chieftain, Schaffer “said he did help Aspect Energy negotiate an agreement with the Kurdish Regional Government over the objections of the U.S. State Department, which had a policy against such contracts. Udall said that contract could make it harder for the U.S. to leave Iraq gracefully because it could add more tensions to the region.”
Kentucky: Lunsford goes on the offense
“A week after U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell released his first television attack ad in his re-election campaign, Democrat Bruce Lunsford returned fire,” reported the Louisville Courier-Journal, “linking millions of dollars raised by McConnell to his votes in favor of the oil industry.”
The Lunsford ad “quotes editorials in The Courier-Journal and Lexington Herald-Leader that panned McConnell’s original ad and flashes the word ‘dishonest’ on the screen, a word that appeared in the Herald-Leader editorial. It then goes on the offensive against McConnell.”
Lunsford’s ad says, “McConnell raised $3 million from big oil while voting to give them billions in tax breaks. But he blames others for high gas prices, hoping voters can be fooled one more time.”
Click here to watch Democrat Bruce Lunsford’s latest campaign ad.
North Carolina: Dole Slipping
The Raleigh News & Observer notes that Elizabeth Dole’s “lead slips a bit” in the latest survey by Public Policy Polling. “Though Dole is ahead, she has lost a little ground compared with other recent polls” despite having gone up on the air by herself in the past few months.
The poll had Dole leading Kay Hagan by single digits – 49% to 40%.
Maine: Fly Fishing with Tom Allen
Click here to watch the latest installment of the DSCC’s Road to Victory video series.
Oklahoma: Steffanie’s Ad
The race in Oklahoma has always been a pick-up opportunity on the horizon for us. Democratic State Senator Andrew Rice has been running a terrific campaign and is turning this into a competitive race.
Rice is known across the Sooner State for his commitment to ensuring that health insurance companies treat patients fairly. In his latest TV ad, he highlights how he has been carrying on the legacy of teenage cancer patient Steffanie Collings and fighting to lower medical bills for families struggling to pay for cutting-edge clinical trials.
Click here to watch the latest TV ad from Oklahoma Democrat Andrew Rice.
Oregon: The latest DSCC ad
Thanks to the generous support of so many Democratic activists like you, the DSCC is already making the TV investments we’ll need to win in November. Our latest spot is on the air in Oregon.
