From Part I: With the diversion stage set and some folks being sucked in, including some supposedly well-informed tea party members, it was time to roll out a replacement for Terry Dunn. Just who could the establishment find to run against Dunn in the next election that could be controlled? Read Part I in full here: http://www.agriculturestraighttalk.com/connecting-the-dots-2/
Part II
Alex Schriver, a good friend of Speaker Mike Hubbard and someone who has always stayed in check and done what he was told, became the chosen one. Alex was serving as chairman of the College Republican National Committee in D.C. and returned to Alabama to prepare to run for the PSC against Terry Dunn. Oops; a poll was taken and it wasn’t good for Alex. Chip Beeker, a name that was just lumped into the poll mix, out polled Alex. What to do next? No problem; the establishment found Alex a job as Bradley Byrne’s campaign manager. Bradley, with a little help from his Democratic friends and the Republican establishment, recently was elected to the 1st Alabama Congressional District, beating Dean Young, a real Republican and a true conservative, in the Republican primary and subsequently defeating Democrat Burton LeFlore in the general election. Byrne understands the rewards of staying within the circle and so does Alex, who has now been named Byrne’s new chief of staff. That circle thing just keeps on giving!
Next, attention shifted to recruiting Chip Beeker into the establishment fold. Easy as pie. When Chip was summoned by the “Montgomery group,” he gladly sold out the people of Alabama for a chance to jump at the job and was off and running as the establishment’s new, hand-picked puppet. His first assignment was to spend time with Twinkle Cavanaugh, Jeremy Oden and others in Montgomery, tweaking his talking points. Remember those talking points: radical environmentalists, loss of Alabama coal jobs and the EPA? Twinkle couldn’t spell EPA until she heard Kathy Peterson talking about it in her campaign.
Chip also needed some management help with his campaign. His last campaign manager took him to the cleaners, so this time Chip’s pals in the establishment jumped on board. Up popped John Ross. Remember Ross? He was the executive director of the Alabama Republican Party and second in command to Mike Hubbard (http://www.alreporter.com/editorials-2/latest-editorial/5510-prelude-to-an-indictment-opinion.html). In 2010 the Republicans stormed the state house while touting slogans such as it’s time to take back control from the AEA (Alabama Education Association), shut down the crooked lobbyists and ensure fair representation without lobbyist influence.
Shutting down the lobbyists was a major media push by the state Republican Party back then. Governor Bob Riley called a special session (which of course taxpayers paid for) after the election to deal specifically with those underhanded lobbyists in Montgomery. The end result of that grand ploy is that it’s now easier for lobbyist influence/money to be hidden from voters, although all of the chest-pounding by the Republican-dominated legislature told us that finally those lobbyist vermin had been shackled. (That was simply a diversion intended to make us feel all warm and fuzzy and set the stage so Riley and others could rake in more money.)
Ever wonder what happened to John Ross when his term as state Republican Party Executive Director ended? You guessed it! He became a lobbyist! He is one of the founding principals of Swatek, Azbell, Howe and Ross, LLC, a statewide lobbying firm.
Nevertheless, with talking points concocted and a hand-picked, seasoned establishment lobbyist helper assigned to the campaign, Chip went full steam ahead on the rubber chicken campaign talking circuit. When speaking he seems to twist the facts just enough to make himself look good, but the uninformed public probably doesn’t know the difference – and that’s what he’s counting on – no different from what Cavanaugh and Oden do. One would expect the educated tea party people would know though, but it seems some of them have been sucked in to the point that they are following the establishment propaganda trail like a herd of obedient sheep. For example, Chip says he is going to fight the EPA because, as he claims, the EPA made Georgia Power close 15 coal-fired plants. That’s not true.
Georgia Power will close 15 coal and OIL-fired units (generators). Only 3 plants will be closed. Why these 3 plants? Was the EPA the reason as Chip and the other PSC candidates after Terry Dunn’s job would like you to believe? If not, then why will Georgia Power close 3 (not 15) coal and oil fired plants? Truth is those three particular plants were outdated, inefficient and costing Georgia Power and ratepayers money, so the power company asked the Georgia PSC for permission to close them and permission was granted. Georgia Power said cheaper replacement power capacity will come from twin reactors at Plant Vogel. Amazing how the facts gets distorted. I have experienced that first hand.
One of Chip’s side stories is how he supposedly talked to a coal miner at a PSC hearing, and this miner told Chip he was worried about losing his job. Really? Was this miner one the people in the establishment’s photo of people (supposedly radical environmentalists) wearing masks and holding signs displaying “We love Dunn?” Was this so-called miner actually a miner, or a union representative or just someone paid to be there? If he actually was a real miner, why was he there? Most miners are represented by one of the most powerful unions in the country, and coal is not regulated by the PSC anyway. Was this so-called person ever there? Remember, over 70% of Alabama produced coal is sold out of state and is not used in Alabama. (As long as China needs coal to fuel its massive coal-fired plant expansion plan and there is a demand for metallurgical grade coal to make steel, Alabama coal will have a market for its product.)
Further reinforcement in the form of Haley Barbour has joined the bandwagon to get rid of Dunn. He was in Alabama spewing establishment words of wisdom on Chip’s behalf and working to raise campaign funds for him. Don’t for one moment think good ole Haley is Chip’s bosom buddy. In fact, Chip says it was almost by accident that he came to Alabama on his behalf; really?
Here goes that circle thing again. Twinkle used to work for Haley and that’s one connection. Also, Haley is just doing what he gets paid to do. After all, he is the founding partner of a lobbyist group that represents the Southern Company (the parent company of Alabama Power). That should give you some sort of a hint as to why he has been summoned to participate in a little known PSC race. In fact, most Alabamians have no idea what the PSC does. That circle thing just keeps on relying on most Alabamians to be like mushrooms.
Dunn also has fallen from favor of another establishment super power. Yellowhammer recently reported that Karl Rove, the epitome of the Republican establishment, regretted endorsing Terry Dunn when Dunn was elected to the PSC in 2010. Dunn should have been grateful for that tidbit of good news knowing what real conservative, non-establishment Republicans think of Karl Rove. Rove just can’t resist the smell of money and power within the circle.
And just what is Yellowhammer anyway? Yellowhammer Politics – a one-man show that is funded from who knows where by who knows whom – recently changed the look of its website and also changed its name to Yellowhammer News. Believed to be the social media voice/propaganda arm for and funded out of Montgomery by the Republican establishment and others connected with them, Yellowhammer News is Johnny on the spot when it comes to accusing, blasting and defaming whoever its shadow leaders want. Read more about Yellowhammer News here: http://isalabamapowerbehindthemask.com/YellowhammerSwatekOne.html
Chip, and to be fair, the other PSC candidates vying for Dunn’s job, says he will fight the EPA. What does that mean and just how do they plan to do it? He (they) talk about if there are formal utility hearings the radical environmentalists will take over the hearings. How? He (they) say that Alabama utilities would have to open their books for all to see.
Great! The utilities are an Alabama monopoly paid for by the people of Alabama. After all, it’s the people of Alabama who paid for Alabama Power to spend 50.4 million dollars in the last two and one-half years to support political candidates and to influence public opinion. That is SEVEN times more than Pacific Gas, the largest electric utility in the country, FOUR times more than Georgia Power and Florida Power and THREE times more than Mississippi Power, the state where Haley Barber was governor. And why are we allowing them to use our money for that purpose anyway?
Alabama utilities and especially Alabama Power Company and its employees are due plenty of praise for the service they provide, the ongoing reliability of that service and their responsiveness when disaster hits. Alabamians are fortunate to have such exceptional service, but do the rates charged for that service stack up with sister states? Not so much. Even after the recent so-called informal rate hearings Alabama’s residential and commercial customers pay more per kilowatt hour for electricity than any other state in the South Central Region and arguably, when seasonably adjusted, in the nation.
http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.cfm?t=epmt_5_6_a
There’s nothing wrong with some formal accountability to the people of Alabama after 30 years without any. Terry Dunn shouldn’t be the only PSC commissioner demanding it. After all, the utilities are supposed to be accountable to the people. The people of Alabama need to take the time to seek out the real story, listen to some straight talk and stop being hoodwinked by either party’s establishment propaganda. It’s our money these politicians are wasting.
And for all of you who think nothing can be done about it, you’re wrong. When you know the truth, you can vote accordingly.
What the utility companies are doing with the Alabama Republican establishment today is no different than what they did with the Democratic establishment when they were in power.
As one Alabama utility executive told me, “We are like whores. We will sleep with either political party to get what we want. Often we sleep with both at the same time.”
Remember, politics is NEVER as it appears. Just follow the money trail within the circle. And it’s not as simple as connecting a few dots. It’s more like trying to follow the tentacles of a spider web, which gets easier once you identify the pattern. More to come.
Pass along.
Dale Peterson is a retired businessman and farmer, former candidate for Commissioner of Alabama Agriculture and Industries; National Chairman of the Agriculture Advisory Committee for presidential candidate Herman Cain; speaker at Family Research Council – Values Voter Summit, Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC), College Republican National Conference, Southern Republican Leadership Conference and numerous national tea party events. Peterson also has spoken on behalf of The Leadership Institute in D.C, taking the conservative message to colleges across the country. He has made videos and campaigned for many local and national conservative candidates from a multitude of states. Peterson is a member of Alabama State Republican Executive Committee and Shelby County Republican Executive Committee.
Dale Peterson and his wife, Kathy, live in Shelby County, Alabama, and he can be contacted through this site or DalePetersonNews@aol.com.
