The American Petroleum Institute (API) is a Big Oil lobby. Its president, Jack Gerard, is even rumored as a possibleAi??future chief of staffAi??in Mitt Romney’s White House.
API has big plans for both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. The Tampa Bay Times reports that API plans to hold a music event outside the Republican convention featuring the Zac Brown Band:
The Grammy-winning country group, who sold out the 1-800-Ask-Gary Amphitheatre in January, will perform at a cruise ship terminal at the Port of Tampa during an event organized by the American Petroleum Institute. The nonpartisan event is part of API’s Vote4Energy campaign, designed to urge leaders to invest in alternatives to foreign oil, including natural gas, nuclear energy and biofuels.
But Big Oil isn’t just sticking with the party who treats it best. It also wants to influence the Democratic Party, and API spokeswoman Sabrina Fang said it will be hosting a similar concert event outside the Democratic convention in Charlotte.
For the show in Charlotte, API will be featuring O’Malley’s March. O’Malley’s March is a celtic rock band, and Maryland Democratic Governor Martin O’Malley — who chairs the Democratic Governors Association andAi??a possible candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 — was actually a guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the band from 1988 to 2005.
One has to wonder how O’Malley feels about his former bandmates joining Big Oil’s cause, and if he will be making an appearance at this celebration of polluter-lobbyists.
Can’t wait for the republicans to unveil their platform this week. We’ll hear from the far-right ultra-conservative wing-nuts, the hypocritical evatngelists, the tea- baggers, the birthers and who knows what other nuts will show up. We’ll hear all their lies about Prseident Obama, the lies about fixing the economy, their sick excuses and lies for continuing their “War On Women,” reducing the debt, tax breaks for the rich, more taxest on the poor, more fees and charges for seniors, cuts to Medicaid for children and the elderly and disabled, and increased spending on defense (for hardware and weapons not increased and better care for our warriors, the disabled, and the retired.) They won’t address transportation, the infastructure, gun violence, Wall St. criminality, subsidiairies for big oil, climate change and all the other issues that need to be addressed. The republicans only care about rich white men and ensuring they get more for nothing. I’m a white man and loathe the republican racist and bigoted policies. Since I’m not rich enough or white enough to suit them they have no use for me or most of the rest of Americans.