Hoekstra group supports BP after spill

Pete Hoekstra is coming under fire because a Republican caucus he belongs to in Congress has condemned the White House-negotiated establishment of a $20 billion fund to support those harmed by the Gulf oil disaster as a “Chicago-style political shakedown.”

Last week, the Republican Study Committee, which consists of 115 of the most conservative members of the House, issued a press release slamming a White House deal with oil giant British Petroleum. BP had agreed to place $20 billion into an escrow account in order to fund the payment of claims arising from lost income and livelihood as a result of the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

In the press release, RSC Chair Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) had this to say about the deal:

“BP’s reported willingness to go along with the White House’s new fund suggests that the Obama Administration is hard at work exerting its brand of Chicago-style shakedown politics. These actions are emblematic of a politicization of our economy that has been borne out of this Administration’s drive for greater power and control. It is the same mentality that believes an economic crisis or an environmental disaster is the best opportunity to pursue a failed liberal agenda. The American people know much better.”

Hoekstra, who is seeking the GOP nomination for governor, is one of three Michigan representatives in the RSC. Rep. Thad McCotter (R-Livonia) and Rep. Dave Camp (R-Midland) are also part of the group.

Progress Michigan, a progressive community action organization in the state, wasted no time in slamming Hoekstra for his ties to the RSC and the statement.

“They don’t call Pete Hoekstra ‘slick’ because he’s smooth, but for the ooze of favors for Big Oil he leaves in his wake,” said David Holtz, executive director of the group. “Pete Hoekstra voted against ending $2.6 billion in tax breaks for Big Oil, supported exempting Big Oil from some clean-water laws, and voted against keeping foreign oil cartels from being investigated for price fixing. Like Joe Barton, Pete Hoekstra reflexively takes Big Oil’s side instead of being on our side and now he’s on the side of Great Lakes polluter BP.”

The vote on price gouging took place in 2008, when Hoekstra voted against the Price Gouging Prevention Act sponsored by Rep. Bart Stupak. Maplight.org reports that he received $9,500 in contributions from interest groups who opposed the bill prior to voting no.

The vote on subsidies took place in 2005, for legislation that also exempted oil companies from some clean water standards, Holtz said. The Energy Policy Act, which Hoekstra voted for, provides a range of exemptions to the oil and gas industry from the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act and other environmental regulations.

In fact, nearly every vote Hoekstra has cast over the last few years has been in line with the interests of the oil industry, including voting against tax credits for renewable energy and voting against a moratorium on offshore drilling.

Hoekstra’s campaign did not return emails seeking comment for this story.

While the information is certainly interesting, Matt Grossman, an assistant professor of political science at Michigan State University, said it is unlikely to play in the GOP gubernatorial primary.

“I would not expect this to be a huge issue in the Republican primary race,” Grossman said, noting that the dynamic of the race is focused on the East/West divide in the state. He also said that attacking Hoekstra over the issue could backfire on gubernatorial opponents, because the RSC is viewed as a conservative credit.

Hoekstra is not the only one targeted by political operatives for an appearance of supporting BP. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent out press releases Monday attacking McCotter for taking $1,000 from Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX) and his Texas Freedom Fund. The group also sent out a release criticizing Tim Walberg, who is running for the GOP nomination for regain the 7th Congressional seat he lost in 2008. The group says Walberg accepted $7,000 from Barton’s PAC.

Barton is under fire for having apologized to BP CEO Tony Hayward last week during a House Energy Committee hearing. Those comments led to GOP leadership immediately huddling and calling on Barton to apologize — which he did.

That move shows how vulnerable Republicans think they are on the BP disaster after the 2008 election, when Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin famously uttered the “drill, baby, drill” mantra to rally the right to support domestic oil exploration.

Making the issue more complicated is evidence that Congressional Republicans were arguing for a clean up fund for weeks before the Obama administration and BP settled on the $20 billion escrow.

The criticism of the Obama administration over negotiations to set up that escrow fund has divided conservative pundits, some agreeing with this “shakedown” rhetoric and others strongly criticizing it.

Daniel Larison, writing in The American Conservative, says such rhetoric is wrong both on principle and political grounds, arguing that “many people on the right are trying to be more pro-corporate than the corporation under scrutiny. Even if this weren’t politically insane given the public’s mood, it would still be wrong on the merits.”