As Americans Feel Pain at the Pump, Obama Adds Fuel to Solyndranomics

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is a political committee devoted to maintaining and increasing the 239-member Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

TODAY IS THE DEADLINE FOR WHITE HOUSE TO RELEASE ALL SOLYNDRA DOCUMENTS: “Tuesday is the deadline for the White House to hand over all Solyndra documents related to an earlier subpoena. Republican panel leaders have threatened to force a contempt of Congress vote if they don't get the documents.” (Alex Guillén, Politico’s “Morning Energy,” 2/17/2012)

DOCUMENTS SUGGEST ENERGY SEC. STEPHEN CHU PERSONALLY INTERVENED ON BEHALF OF SOLYNDRA: “House Republicans alleged Friday that Energy Secretary Steven Chu advocated for approval of a $1.4 billion partial loan guarantee for a rooftop solar project last year to boost the struggling solar panel maker Solyndra.” (Andrew Restuccia, “House GOP: Chu Pushed for Solar Loan to Help Solyndra,” The Hill, 2/17/2012)

OBAMA INSISTED HE WOULD “DOUBLE DOWN” ON GIVING TAXPAYER MONEY TO COMPANIES LIKE SOLYNDRA: “We've got to double down on the clean energy that’s creating jobs.” (“Remarks by the President on the Budget,” The White House, 2/13/2012)

AFTER HE USED STATE OF THE UNION TO EMBRACE HIS RECORD OF FAILURE ON “GREEN” PROGRAMS LIKE SOLYNDRA: “Some technologies don't pan out; some companies fail. But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy. … It's time to end the taxpayer giveaways to an industry that rarely has been more profitable and double down on a clean energy industry that never has been more promising. Pass clean-energy tax credits.” (“Transcript: Obama Delivers State of the Union Speech,” CNN, 1/24/2012)

REUTERS: “OBAMA UNVEILS BIG SPENDING ELECTION-YEAR BUDGET”: (Alister Bull and Laura MacInnis, “Obama Unveils Big Spending Election-Year Budget,” Reuters, 2/13/2012)

AP: NEW BUDGET “LADEN WITH STIMULUS-STYLE INITIATIVES”: “The president's plan is laden with stimulus-style initiatives: sharp increases for highway construction and school modernization, and a new tax credit for businesses that add jobs.” (Andrew Taylor, “Obama Budget: New Spending with Recycled Tax Ideas,” Associated Press, 2/11/2012)

Meanwhile, another report last week showcased the shocking extent of Democrats’ crony capitalism, with Obama bundlers gaining positions in the White House after the 2008 elections and then directing loans to companies their former firms invested in:

OBAMA’S “GREEN” PROGRAM “INFUSED WITH POLITICS AT EVERY LEVEL”: “Meant to create jobs and cut reliance on foreign oil, Obama’s green-technology program was infused with politics at every level, The Washington Post found in an analysis of thousands of memos, company records and internal ­e-mails. Political considerations were raised repeatedly by company investors, Energy Department bureaucrats and White House officials.

“The records, some previously unreported, show that when warned that financial disaster might lie ahead, the administration remained steadfast in its support for Solyndra.” (Joe Stephens and Carol D. Leonnig, “Solyndra: Politics Infused Obama Energy Programs,” The Washington Post, 12/25/2011)

CRONY CAPITALISM? WASHINGTON POST AUDIT FINDS $3.9 BILLION IN TAXPAYER MONEY WENT TO “21 COMPANIES WITH CONNECTIONS TO FIVE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION STAFFERS AND ADVISERS”: “During the next three years, the department provided $2.4 billion in public funding to clean-energy companies in which Wagle’s former firm, Vantage Point Venture Partners, had invested, a Washington Post analysis found. Overall, the Post found that $3.9 billion in federal grants and financing flowed to 21 companies backed by firms with connections to five Obama administration staffers and advisers.” (Carol Leonnig and Joe Stephens, “Venture Capitalists Play Key Role in Obama’s Energy Department,” The Washington Post, 2/14/2012)

“SEVERAL PLAYERS IN VENTURE CAPITAL” WHO BACKED OBAMA MOVED INTO OBAMA ENERGY DEPARTMENT IN 2009: “He was one of several players in venture capital, which was providing financial backing to start-up clean-tech companies, who moved into the Energy Department at a time when the agency was seeking outside expertise in the field.” (Carol Leonnig and Joe Stephens, “Venture Capitalists Play Key Role in Obama’s Energy Department,” The Washington Post, 2/14/2012)

A CONFLICT OF INTEREST? “INDUSTRY HAD A HUGE STAKE” IN WHICH FIRMS RECEIVED GOV’T SUPPORT: “At the same time, their industry had a huge stake in decisions about which companies would receive government loans, grants and support.” (Carol Leonnig and Joe Stephens, “Venture Capitalists Play Key Role in Obama’s Energy Department,” The Washington Post, 2/14/2012)

E-MAILS SHOW ADVISERS WITH CONNECTIONS TO VENTURE FIRMS “INFORMALLY ADVOCATED” FOR COMPANIES THAT RECEIVED LOANS: “White House officials stress that staffers and advisers with venture capital ties did not make funding decisions related to these companies. But e-mails released in a congressional probe of Obama’s clean-tech program show that staff and advisers with links to venture firms informally advocated for some of those companies.” (Carol Leonnig and Joe Stephens, “Venture Capitalists Play Key Role in Obama’s Energy Department,” The Washington Post, 2/14/2012)

BUNDLING FOR INFLUENCE? “VENTURE CAPITALISTS WHO HELD ADVISORY ROLES” WITH DOE “WERE GIVEN ACCESS TO OBAMA’S TOP ADVISERS”: “Thousands of agency and White House e-mails released as part of the Solyndra investigation show that venture capitalists who held advisory roles with the Energy Department were given access to Obama’s top advisers.” (Carol Leonnig and Joe Stephens, “Venture Capitalists Play Key Role in Obama’s Energy Department,” The Washington Post, 2/14/2012)

But as Democrats double down on their failed policies of betting taxpayer dollars on high-risk green companies, Americans are feeling the consequences of their hostility to traditional energy development in the form of higher gas prices:

“GAS PRICES ARE HIGHEST EVER FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR”: (Chris Kahn, “Gas Prices are Highest Ever for This Time of Year,” Associated Press, 2/18/2012)

GAS PRICES $1.61 PER GALLON HIGHER UNDER OBAMA: (“Petroleum & Other Liquids,” U.S. Energy Information Administration, Accessed 2/20/2012)

“THE ANTI-JOBS PRESIDENT” REJECTS JOB-CREATING KEYSTONE PIPELINE: (Editorial, “The Anti-Jobs President,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/19/2012)

GREEN GROUPS THREATENED TO ABANDON OBAMA IF HE APPROVED KEYSTONE: “Environmental groups have been protesting the pipeline that would run from Alberta oil sands to Texas refineries, and there have been rumblings that greens would abandon Obama next fall if he approved it.” (Dan Berman and Darren Goode, “Obama Punts Keystone XL Pipeline,” Politico, 11/10/2011)

ENERGY SECRETARY STEPHEN CHU IN SEPTEMBER 2008: “SOMEHOW WE HAVE TO FIGURE HOW TO BOOST THE PRICE OF GASOLINE TO THE LEVELS IN EUROPE”: “ ‘Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe,’ Mr. Chu, who directs the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal in September.” (Neil King, Jr. and Stephen Power, “Times Tough for Energy Overhaul,” The Wall Street Journal, 12/12/2008)

OBAMA WANTED ENERGY PRICES TO “NECESSARILY SKYROCKET” UNDER HIS CAP-AND-TRADE PLAN: “ ‘Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket,’ Obama told the Chronicle. ‘Coal-powered plans, you know, natural gas, you name it, whatever the plans were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.” (Catherine Richert, “Pence Claims that Obama said Energy Costs Will Skyrocket with a Cap-and-Trade Plan,” PolitiFact.com, 6/11/2009)

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