by LowellThis past weekend, the "Republican Times-Disgrace" (aka, "Richmond Times-Dispatch") published a wildly false, anti-EPA, anti-Clean-Power-Plan screed by former Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Doug Domenech (R). I'm not even going to debunk all the lies, craziness and stupidity in Domenech's op-ed, because it's all been debunked a gazillion times, and I'm not going to waste my time and energy with this trash.
More interestingly, IMHO, is that the Republican Times-Disgrace simply listed Domenech as working for something called the "Texas Public Policy Foundation," without disclosing to readers what that "Policy Foundation" actually is and who it's funded by. That, in and of itself, is wildly unethical for a newspaper to do, but sadly, I'm not even surprised at this point.
Fortunately, the amazing resource SourceWatch - which tracks/investigates corporate PR, front groups, etc. - has a detailed page on this group. Here are some highlights...ok, lowlights about these slimeballs.
- TPPF belongs to the far-right-wing "State Policy Network." According to SourceWatch:
Although SPN's member organizations claim to be nonpartisan and independent, the Center for Media and Democracy's in-depth investigation, "EXPOSED: The State Policy Network -- The Powerful Right-Wing Network Helping to Hijack State Politics and Government," reveals that SPN and its member think tanks are major drivers of the right-wing, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)-backed corporate agenda in state houses nationwide, with deep ties to the Koch brothers and the national right-wing network of funders.
- It has "ties to Texas Governor and former presidential candidate Rick Perry, Ted Cruz, and many other powerful politicians"
- "Koch Industries gave $159,834 directly to TPPF in 2012, versus $69,788.61 from the Claude R. Lambe Foundation, which is a Koch Family Foundation... over the past few years TPPF 'has received at least $3,314,591 from the billionaire Koch brothers or the organizations they support.'"
- TPPF also "has hosted writers from the ALEC-connected Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, which screens potential reporters on their 'free market' views as part of the job application process," and which is part of the Koch brothers network.
- TPPF "has been very active in the American Legislative Exchange Council," which pushes right-wing, pro-corporate and anti-environmental legislation in states all over the country.
- More to the point of Domenech's propaganda piece, TPPF "dedicated an entire section in its 2013-2014 agenda demonizing the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations, including greenhouse gas limits, coal plant regulations, and air quality monitoring."
- TPFF also "questions the science of climate change, and urges federal lawmakers to implement a 'rigorous' review of scientific facts dealing with climate change, along with calling for the suspension of all state programs that regulate greenhouse gases and federal mandates to reduce carbon dioxide."
- And, of course, fossil fuel front group TPFF attacks clean energy, including "calls for the elimination of the Renewable Portfolio Standard."
In short, TPPF is as slimy a corporate/polluter front group as they come. And that's the perch from where Doug Domenech, who disturbingly was Virginia's Secretary of Natural Resources under Bob McDonnell, now spews out his propaganda. Lovely, huh?
