Democrats Getting Support From Ralph Nader Environmentalist Group In Fight Over PSC Political Contributions

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Written By:
Rob Port

Aug 6, 2012
9:04am

North Dakota Democrats would have us believe that their war on the free speech of those working in the oil and coal industries is merely about ethics. About protecting the regulatory process from the undue influence of those being regulated.

That’s a little hard to believe, though, when their complaints about 100% transparent, 100% legal contributions from oil and gas companies are echoed by a far-left environmentalist group founded by Ralph Nader. The Associated Press, in a report being hyped by Forum Communications which has joined Democrats in their war on fossil fuel industry contributions, points out that Democrats are being joined in their attacks by a group called Public Citizen:

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – A campaign finance expert says state utility commissioners shouldn’t be accepting campaign money from industries they regulate.

The issue has arisen in North Dakota’s race for public service commissioner.

Democratic candidate Brad Crabtree says incumbent commissioners Brian Kalk and Kevin Cramer have taken money from coal and wind power companies in North Dakota.

Craig Holman is a lobbyist for a Washington group called Public Citizen.

He says Public Service Commission candidates could just avoid taking money from businesses they regulate. Holman says they could seek contributions instead from companies that don’t have dealings with the PSC.

Public Citizen was founded by Ralph Nader and has silencing business interests in American politics as its goal. They are anti-nuclear power, anti-free trade and anti-fossil fuel energy.

In other words, they’re an inconvenient ally for North Dakota Democrats in their war on free speech if only because this group is so out of step on how most North Dakotans feel about those issues.