Mid-American Spends It Again

Mid-American Spends What It Takes

Mid-American Energy is running full-page and half-page scare ads this week urging a no vote on the Clean Energy bill in the U.S. House, due for a Friday vote.

Of course, they've spent big bucks on campaigns before. Back in the 2005 Iowa City Public Power referendum, they spent at least half a million dollars, outspending us little Public Power do-gooders by at least 25 to 1 on the way to a two to one victory. (Labor screwed the progressives on that one, too--I say that as a union member--but it was mostly Mid-American's doing.)

Put another way: Mid-American spent more on that race in 2005, in a CITY REFERENDUM, than Loebsack and Leach spent the next year in a CONGRESSIONAL race.

And it was all straight corporate money from us the ratepayers. "It's not enough to employ their lobbyists, now they are spending OUR money to ask US to defeat the best piece of renewable energy legislation and a cap-and-trade bill we have seen," writes Tom Carsner of the current ad campaign.

"Mid-American, Iowa's electric cooperatives, and the GOP are full of crap," writes Sierra Club staffer Mark Kresowik (who says in his mass email that he's speaking for himself here. "And then Congressman Boswell bought their nonsense hook, line, and sinker."

Mark's urging calls; I'm more about voting them in and voting them out. But here's the numbers:

Loebsack: (202) 225-6576
Braley (officially on board): (202) 225-2911
Boswell: (202) 225-3806
King, Latham: why bother?