Democrats: Boycott Big Oil's DNC Propaganda Events

Both Politico and The Atlantic are hosting events during the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute, one of the organizations called out by Senate Democrats earlier this month for "perpetrating a sprawling web of misdirection and disinformation to block action on climate change."

The American Petroleum Institute is a notorious front group for ExxonMobil, Koch Industries, and other climate polluters. With the paid collusion of Politico and The Atlantic, they are promoting their civilization-threatening Vote4Energy "voter education project," which calls for an "all-of-the-above energy strategy " with "increased production of oil and natural gas," denying the urgent scientific warnings about increased greenhouse pollution.

Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and the Democratic National Platform are all calling for a Department of Justice investigation of the fossil-fuel industry for "corporate fraud" and "misleading shareholders and the public on the scientific reality of climate change."

For Democrats - including representatives of the Hillary Clinton campaign - to participate in a Big Oil propaganda event during the Democratic National Convention - is a unseemly grant of social license to this web of deception.

The participants in the "Vote4Pollution" Atlantic and Politico events focused on energy policy include:
* Gov. John Hickenlooper (CO)
* Gov. Jay Inslee (WA)
* Rep. Jerry McNerney (CA-9)
* Rep. Gene Green (TX-29)
* Rep. Dave Loebsack (IA-02)
* Trevor Houser, Energy Advisor, Hillary Clinton campaign
* Heather Zichael, former White House climate advisor

Planned participants in the other "Vote4Pollution"-sponsored events during the week include:
* Sen. Chris Coons (DE)
* Rep. Joe Crowley (NY-14)
* Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (NM-03)
* Rep. Xavier Becerra (CA-34)
* John Podesta, chair, Hillary Clinton campaign
* Neera Tanden, President and CEO, Center for American Progress
* Ruy Teixeira, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
* And other Democratic advisors and former top officials

It is a troubling state of affairs that the journalists of the Atlantic and Politico are accepting payment from dangerous propagandists. It is even worse that Democrats who claim to not only recognize the serious of the climate emergency but call out fossil-fuel influence and deception are rolling in Big OIl's muck.

We expect the members of the Democratic Party to stand by their professed principles and boycott these events.