By Libby Casey
Members of the environmental group Greenpeace unfurled a giant banner in a U-S Senate Building today criticizing Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski.
The 20 foot by four foot banner had Murkowski’s picture, and spoofed a dating website, matching her with three companies: Exxon, Chevron, and the Georgia-based utility Southern Company. Greenpeace says all are major campaign contributors to Murkowski. Greenpeace research director Kurt Davies says lobbyists have too much power in Washington.
It’s really another attempt to let the people of Alaska and the people of the country know that the Senator is working for the oil companies and the coal fired utilities and not necessarily for the public interest.
Greenpeace is particularly critical of Senator Murkowski’s goal of blocking the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gasses. Murkowski doesn’t want the E-P-A regulating pollution from stationary sources like power plants, so she plans to introduce a “disapproval resolution” into the Senate that would take away the E-P-A’s authority.
Murkowski’s spokesman Mike Brumas (BREW-mus) says Greenpeace is trying to quash debate.
This is another desperate attempt by an outside group to distract from the merits of the debate. Sen. Murkowski has legitimate concerns about the economic consequences of EPA regulating greenhouse gasses.
Greenpeace filed a Senate Ethics Complaint in January, charging that Murkowski sought advice from lobbyists tied to energy companies when she was writing legislation about the E-P-A. But Murkowski’s office says the men worked for the E-P-A under President Bush so were consulted for their legal expertise, not because of their clients.
The three Greenpeace activists who unfurled the giant banner in the Senate Hart Building today (Mon) were arrested by Capitol Police and charged with a misdemeanor for unlawful conduct.
They entered the Senate Building and before going through security released dozens of helium balloons, which carried their banner to the top of the building’s open atrium. It hovered directly across from Senator Murkowski’s office until maintenance staff were able to pull it down.
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