Griffith, Morgan Rep 6%

==

alec alum

Boucher mod demo pro coal taken out by koch/franklin ctr [McCarthy Nobel Luntz?]

--

dk $ mayer:

Morgan Griffith > Boucher on energy comm. Took lead on war on EPA, “rein in, cut 27% (senate limited to 16) ½ US lives 10 mi of toxic waste 274. Crossett Ark 11/15 fam cancer G-P paper mill effluent. Air usa today most toxic 1%; class action fail; lisa jackson vowed action.

==

https://scorecard.lcv.org/moc/morgan-griffith

9* 6%

021427Supporting Tribal Management of BisonWildlife, Environmental Justice, Public Lands/Forests 

2021385Transformative Climate, Jobs, and Justice Investments (2x Score)Climate Change, Air, Clean Energy, Environmental Justice, Transportation, Public Lands/Forests, Water, Other 

2021385Transformative Climate, Jobs, and Justice InvestmentsClimate Change, Air, Clean Energy, Drilling, Environmental Justice, Public Lands/Forests, Transportation, Water, Other 

2021379Censuring Paul GosarJustice and Democracy 

2021272Taking Action on PFAS ContaminationToxics/Public Right to Know 

2021260Restoring the Voting Rights ActJustice and Democracy 

2021247Pro-Environment Funding PackageOther, Climate Change, Clean Energy, Clean Air, Clean Water, Environmental Justice 

2021217Protecting People from PFASToxics/Public Right to Know; Water 

2021208Investing in Transportation and Water InfrastructureClimate Change, Transportation, Water, Clean Energy, Environmental Justice 

2021206Building Climate-resilient Wastewater InfrastructureWater, Climate Change 

2021201Investing in Climate-Smart and Pro-Wildlife InfrastructureTransportation, Climate Change, Wildlife 

2021196Removing Confederate Statues from the U.S. CapitolLands/Forests, Justice and Democracy 

2021185Repealing Assault on Methane Pollution SafeguardsClimate Change, Dirty Energy 

2021169Corporate Climate Risk Disclosure RequirementsClimate Change; Other 

2021145Increasing Awareness and Reporting of Hate CrimesOther, Justice and Democracy 

2021132Washington, D.C. StatehoodJustice and Democracy 

202191Protecting Dreamers and Immigrants Fleeing DisastersJustice and Democracy, Other 

202170Protecting the Rights of Workers to OrganizeOther, Justice and Democracy 

202162Voting Rights and Democracy ReformsJustice and Democracy 

202145Protecting Public Lands and Waters Across the WestPublic Lands/Forests 

202117Impeachment for Incitement of InsurrectionJustice and Democracy 

202111Certifying Pennsylvania’s Electoral VotesJustice and Democracy 

202110Certifying Arizona’s Electoral VotesJustice and Democracy 

2020242Phasing Out Harmful Fishing GearOceans, Wildlife 

2020203Increasing Funding for Renewable Energy Research & DevelopmentClean Energy, Climate 

2020182Protecting the U.S. Postal ServiceJustice and Democracy 

2020166Pro-Environment Funding PackageOther, Environmental Justice, Water, Dirty Energy, Drilling, Lands/Forests 

2020164Slashing EPA FundingOther, Water, Air, Environmental Justice 

2020163Blocking Trump’s Inadequate Soot StandardAir, Environmental Justice 

2020156Removing Confederate Statues from the U.S. CapitolOther

020155Great American Outdoors ActLands/Forests 

2020147Protecting the Grand Canyon and Colorado’s public landsPublic Lands/Forests, Dirty Energy 

2020142Maintaining Suspension of Nuclear Weapons TestingDirty Energy 

2020138Investing in Climate-Ambitious InfrastructureClimate Change, Clean Energy, Transportation, Water, Environmental Justice 

2020136Eliminating Lead Service Lines to Protect Public HealthWater, Environmental Justice 

2020135Harming Workers by Rolling Back Wage ProtectionsOther 

2020122Washington D.C. StatehoodJudiciary, Justice and Democracy 

2020109Heroes Act COVID-19 Relief PackageOther 

202069Protecting Wilderness Across the WestLands/Forests 

202054Emergency and Climate Disaster Aid for Puerto RicoClimate Change 

202050Protecting the Rights of Workers to OrganizeOther 

202036Great Lakes Restoration InitiativeWater 

202013Protecting People from PFAS PollutionToxics/Public Right to Know; Water 

202011Closing the PFAS Clean Water LoopholeToxics/Public Right to Know, Water 

2019701USMCA Trade DealClimate Change, Other 

2019666Attack on Marine Mammal Protections from Harmful Air Gun BlastingWildlife, Oceans, Drilling 

2019654Protecting the Right to VoteOther, Justice and Democracy 

2019634Shark Finning BanOceans, Wildlife 

2019609Protecting Colorado's Public LandsLands/Forests 

2019602Protecting the Grand Canyon from Toxic Uranium MiningDirty Energy, Lands/Forests 

2019597Protecting Chaco Canyon from Oil and Gas DevelopmentDirty Energy, Drilling, Lands/Forests 

2019530Restoring Protections for the Arctic RefugeDirty Energy, Lands/Forests, Drilling 

2019525Banning Offshore Drilling in the Atlantic and Pacific OceansDirty Energy, Drilling, Oceans 

2019521Stopping Future Drilling in the Eastern Gulf of MexicoDirty Energy, Drilling, Oceans 

2019408Pro-Environment Funding BillClimate Change, Lands/Forests, Clean Energy 

2019395Preserving the Mercury & Air Toxics StandardsClean Air, Toxics/Public Right to Know 

2019390Eliminating EPA's Chemical Hazard Assessment Program, IRISToxics/Public Right to Know, Clean Water, Clean Air 

2019385Methane Pollution SafeguardsClimate Change, Dirty Energy, Drilling 

2019384Halting Oil Drilling in the Arctic RefugeDrilling, Dirty Energy, Lands/Forests, Wildlife 

2019383Blocking the EPA from Reducing Carbon PollutionClimate Change

LCV 4/9%

2013604Ban on Federal Fracking SafeguardsWater, Dirty Energy, Lands/Forests, Drilling 

2013601Methane EmissionsClimate Change, Dirty Energy, Lands/Forests 

2013600Big Oil GiveawayLands/Forests, Drilling 

2013557National Ocean PolicyOceans 

2013556Protecting Public Input & Environmental ReviewWater, Other 

2013483Decimating America's ForestsLands/Forests 

2013479Attack on Judicial ReviewOther 

2013471Hardrock MiningLands/Forests, Dirty Energy 

2013445Safeguards ShutdownOther 

2013440Nuclear SafetyOther 

2013432Blocking Public Health ProtectionsAir, Water 

2013430Social Cost of CarbonClimate Change 

2013418Toxic Coal AshWater, Dirty Energy 

2013394Restriction on Dirty FuelsDirty Energy, Climate Change, Other 

2013345Assault on Clean Energy and Clean WaterWater, Clean Energy 

2013329Clean Energy FundingClean Energy 

2013312Water Pollution from Mountaintop RemovalWater, Dirty Energy, Toxics/Public Right to Know 

2013311Clean Water ProtectionsWater 

2013304Offshore DrillingDrilling, Dirty Energy, Oceans 

2013299Drilling in Bristol BayDirty Energy, Oceans, Drilling, Wildlife 

2013286Anti-Environmental Farm BillLands/Forests, Water, Wildlife, Clean Energy, Other 

2013260Agricultural Conservation PracticesLands/Forests, Water 

2013203Flood Insurance ReformLands/Forests, Water, Other 

2013179Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline (KXL)Climate Change, Dirty Energy, Water 

201388Big Oil BudgetOther 

201322Resiliency in Disaster ReliefLands/Forests, Wildlife, Climate Change, Other 

201321Limiting Sandy Response EffortsLands/Forests 

201319McKinney National Wildlife RefugeWildlife 

2012603Broad Environmental AssaultAir, Climate Change, Dirty Energy, Lands/Forests, Toxics/Public Right to Know, Water 

2012600Regional Haze Air PollutionAir, Dirty Energy, Lands/Forests 

SELECT COMM

ATTEMPTING TO DEFUND, LIMIT THE EPA

The first chance that the bloc of 85 freshman Republicans had to influence environmental policy was with H.R. 1, the bill that would fund the federal government for fiscal year 2011. The House passed a 27 percent budget cut for the EPA, which, had it passed the Senate, would have been the agency’s largest cut since 1981.

“We were trying to tell our brothers on the Republican side that they’re never going to get this through the Senate, but they were posturing,” said Norm Dicks, a Democrat, and the former ranking member on the House Appropriations Committee. “They wanted to make the cuts. They thought they were going to win political points with the Tea Party-types for cutting the EPA budget.”

Lawmakers also attempted other cuts by proposing 162 amendments, 22 of which would have cut EPA programs or limited the government’s enforcement of environmental regulations and its ability to study climate change. However, H.R. 1 never became law because the House and Senate were not able to reach a budget compromise until April 2011, when H.R. 1473 narrowly avoided a government shutdown. After negotiations with the Senate, the two houses agreed on a 15.6 percent cut, the largest enacted cut since the EPA lost 16 percent of its budget in 1986. RR

The 22 amendments proposed in H.R. 1 signaled how this group of freshmen Republicans, and pledge-signers, wanted to limit the EPA and climate-change research.Think Progress, a liberal blog, researched climate change statements by members of the 112th Congress, and found many members of Congress were doubtful of climate-change science.The Investigative Reporting Workshop matched the Think Progress statements with the list of members of Congress who signed the pledge from Nov. 16, 2010, and found 17 of the 20 Senators who had signed the pledge said they doubted climate change science, as did 78 of the 156 representatives who had signed the pledge.

Throughout the House's debate on H.R. 1, several pledge signers proposed amendments that would limit government regulation of climate change.

Rep. Mike Pompeo, a Republican who represents the Kansas district where Koch Industries is headquartered, and is a signer of the No Climate Tax Pledge, received $10,000 from Koch Industries PAC in the 2010 election.

Once in the House, Pompeo proposed an amendment to H.R. 1 to cut $8.5 million, or roughly half the fiscal year 2010 budget, from the EPA’s greenhouse gas reporting program. Pompeo said at the time, “This data is the very foundation of the EPA's effort to pursue its radical anti-jobs agenda.”

Another amendment was proposed by Republican Rep. John Carter of Texas, who wanted to ban using money to enforce a rule on cement manufacturing emissions. He was one of the first representatives to sign the No Climate Tax Pledge. Carter and two other Texas Republicans proposed an amendment that would have prohibited the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases emitting from stationary sources, such as factories.

Republican Rep. Ralph Hall of Texas, also in that first group of representatives to sign the pledge, sponsored an amendment — which passed — to stop the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from creating a National Climate Service, which was intended to be “a one-stop shop” for climate information.

Republican Rep. Morgan Griffith of Virginia sponsored an amendment — which passed — that stopped funds for EPA guidelines on surface coal mining operations. 

Republican Rep. Kristi Noem of South Dakota signed the pledge in 2010 and received $5,000 from KochPAC. She sponsored an amendment — which passed — to prohibit money from being used to change the air quality standards regarding coarse particulate matter (dust).

However, neither these amendments nor the bill survived in the Senate.

Many of the 85 freshman Republicans sponsored bills in the House to limit the EPA’s regulatory power or to expand oil and natural gas drilling. Koch Industries Public Sector LLC, the lobbying arm of Koch Industries, lobbied for H.R. 910, the Energy Tax Prevention Act, which would have rolled back the Supreme Court’s ruling that the EPA could regulate greenhouse gases.The bill was sponsored by Republican Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan and co-signed by 92 Republicans (and three Democrats), 61 of whom also signed the pledge. Had it passed, the Energy Climate Prevention Act would have prevented the EPA from defining greenhouse gases as air pollutants and prohibited all federal research or programs on climate change research.

In June 2011, Rep. Griffith of Virginiaalso introduced the EPA Regulatory Relief Act, which would have allowed companies to ignore future EPA rules on industrial boiler and heater emissions while delaying the implementation of any rules that would constitute the “least burdensome regulatory alternative.” The bill eventually gained 101 Republican and 25 Democratic co-sponsors, 67 of whom signed the No Climate Tax Pledge.

Griffith said he signed the No Climate Tax pledge because he believes national limits on greenhouse-gas emissions harm Virginia’s coal industry and the jobs it provides. He said he didn’t feel any pressure to sign the pledge from Americans for Prosperity, which he credits with helping him win a seat in Congress in 2010 by campaigning against the policies of his Democratic predecessor, Rick Boucher. 

Griffith also said that the $5,000 his campaign received from Koch Industries in June 2010 had no influence on his decision to sign the pledge less than two weeks later. Opposing President Obama’s “war on the coal industry” was a top issue during his campaign, he said.

“When I was running in early 2010, this was already on my agenda,” Griffith said. “I was talking about these things long before I even knew that the Koch brothers and AFP were involved in these issues.”

The pledge isn't limited to those in Washington. Among other office-holders who signed it is Oklahoma Schools Superintendent Janet Barresi, who declined to talk about her reasons for signing the pledge in August 2010. But through her press secretary, Barresi said in statement that the school district relies on property taxes from power plants and oil and gas production.

"Oklahoma's schools depend on revenue from fossil fuels, and the destructive power of a tax on these fuels is not justified by questionable science," Barresi said in the statement.

Contributing: Julia Broemmel

3/19

https://www.eenews.net/articles/committee-roster-exposes-republican-fault-lines/

One has a deep background in climate and coastal adaptation. One is a good friend of the Koch political network. Two come from coal country.

The Republican roster for the climate change select committee reflects the party’s larger variety of stances on climate change, although its most outspoken advocates for aggressive action on emissions were left off.

In short, the GOP is all over the place. the roster of Republicans for the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, announced yesterday by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), will be led by Rep. Garret Graves.

The Louisiana lawmaker served on his state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, where he helped craft a massive coastal restoration and levee program after Hurricane Katrina. And he was once a staff director for the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Global Climate Change and Impacts under then-Sen. David Vitter (R-La.).

Graves is in some ways the quintessential Republican on climate. He’s concerned about the effects of sea-level rise on his district, but he’s not hesitant to tout the benefits of natural gas in reducing emissions or the "all of the above" energy agenda.

"I’ve been working in this area for a while, and Louisiana’s in a unique spot just because we have both sea rise facing us and we’re one of the top energy producers," he told E&E News last month. "I think it’s a unique perspective."

Graves could use his spot on the panel to push climate adaptation measures for sea-level rise, which he said is "the threat that’s closest to the door." He’s already worked on water infrastructure issues on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and was heavily involved in the Disaster Recovery Reform Act,a major set of disaster reforms enacted last year.

But other Republicans on the select committee have openly disputed climate science or have deeper ties to the fossil fuel industry and conservative donors who have long opposed action on climate change.

They’ll sit across from a group of Democrats, led by Chairwoman Kathy Castor of Florida, who will be tasked with driving home and publicizing the party’s message on climate change (:{Greenwire:(style="box-sizing:border-box"):}:, Feb. 7).

Low scores, big dollars

The Republican roster is primarily defined by low ratings from environmental groups and big campaign donations from the fossil fuel industry.

It also represents a mix of energy interests and could help rally around the Republican claim that natural gas and nuclear are the path forward on climate.

Reps. Morgan Griffith of Virginia, [ koch astro took out durbin boss rep] Buddy Carter of Georgia, Gary Palmer of Alabama, Carol Miller of West Virginia and Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota round out the GOP roster.

While all the GOP picks are conservative, Griffith and Palmer are members of the House Freedom Caucus, the hard-right group filled with climate deniers and deep doubts about the regulatory role of EPA.

The conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute, a fierce EPA critic, recommended six members for the panel, but only Griffith made the cut. The Virginia lawmaker said he has not talked with the group about the opening.

An Energy and Commerce Committee member, Griffith has often fought EPA rules that target coal, a large economic driver in his district located in the southwestern part of the state. He has sought funding for the redevelopment of abandoned mines.

"As long as we make it clear they have to follow rules and realistic science, I am fine with it," Griffith said when asked about EPA’s role in regulating greenhouse gases.

Griffith does not deny climate change but has raised concerns that other countries are doing less than the U.S. to cut global emissions, a common Republican line echoed across the Energy and Commerce panel. He’s an ally of the Koch political network, which helped him oust Democrat Rick Boucher, one of the lead authors of the 2009 cap-and-trade bill.

Asked about allies on the panel, Griffith said he gets "along well" with Palmer and knows Democratic Rep. Don McEachin of Virginia from their days in the state Legislature.

Since his election to Congress in 2010, Griffith has taken more than $700,000 from the fossil fuel industry and electric utilities, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. He has a 5 percent lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters.

Palmer, who sits on the Science and Transportation and Infrastructure committees, has gone further than many Republicans in questioning not only the cause, but whether climate change is even underway. He has questioned the accuracy of global warming studies and was forced to correct himself in 2017 when he said Arctic ice sheets were expanding rather than, in fact, shrinking.

Palmer has consistently argued that Congress never gave EPA the right to regulate greenhouse gases and believes the courts are wrong in backing that right. Still, he told E&E last year it’s "political nonsense" to say the GOP wants to eliminate all regulations, saying it only wants "sensible" ones.

Elected in 2014, Palmer has received $139,000 from energy and natural gas interests, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. He has a 1 percent lifetime LCV score.

Carter has a similarly abysmal record in LCV’s estimation, coming in with a zero percent lifetime score,but he doesn’t take as hard a stance on climate science.

"I acknowledge that climate change is a problem," Carter said during his campaign last year, according to the Savannah Morning News. "I question sometimes how much of it is man-made but I acknowledge that we need to address it and I’ve always done that."

His district runs the span of Georgia’s coast and is near Plant Vogtle, currently the nation’s sole nuclear power project.

The two freshmen selected for the panel hail from rural states heavily reliant on the fossil fuel industry.

Armstrong, an attorney who worked for his family oil business and owns a few hundred wells himself in North Dakota, is the sole congressman from a state with huge gas and oil holdings in the Bakken Shale.

He has argued against the United States going it alone on climate policy and prefers that states, not EPA, regulate the environment (*E&E Daily*, Jan. 11).

Armstrong was elected to replace Kevin Cramer (R), who is now in the Senate, and his largest source of campaign donations was the oil and gas industries, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Miller, who won an open-seat race, is certain to tout White House policies that promote and protect domestic coal, one of West Virginia’s leading exports.A bison farmer who owns a car dealership, she also has expressed doubts over federal spending on the expanding use of renewable fuels. In a year that saw a large number of women elected to Congress, Miller was the only new female GOP member.

‘I’ll take that two ways’

While conservative and moderate climate activists praised Graves, there were also some notable omissions from the panel.

Not a single member who was on the Climate Solutions Caucus last Congress made it onto the roster, nor did Reps. Francis Rooney (R-Fla.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), the two most outspoken House Republicans on climate issues.

But Rooney suggested it might be a good thing he wasn’t selected if the committee ends up being a forum for partisan bickering about established science.Rooney had even asked McCarthy to be on the panel, as had Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), the former ranking member of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming from 2007 to 2011.

"I’ll take that two ways," Rooney told reporters yesterday. "First of all, it shows that they’re not where I am yet, and it makes me feel really good about being where I am."

Still, it’s "a bit puzzling" that none of the Republicans from the Solutions Caucus made it onto the panel, said Steve Valk, spokesman for Citizens’ Climate Lobby.

"Graves appears to be a good pick for ranking member," Valk said in an email. "His district faces many challenges with climate change, and he’s expressed the need for action."

Alex Flint, executive director of the Alliance for Market Solutions, a conservative carbon tax group, similarly praised the selection of Graves.

"That is a clear signal that the Republican leadership is comfortable with someone who acknowledges climate change leading Republicans on this issue," Flint said in an email.

But even Graves has just a 3 percent lifetime rating from the League of Conservation Voters and took more than $130,000 from oil and gas political action committees in the last election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

‘We’re speaking for ourselves now’

The mix of Republican ideologies — and the tension between deniers and nominal believers — is also evident elsewhere on Capitol Hill.

On Wednesday, the Congressional Western Caucus gathered reporters outside the Capitol to rail against climate science and the "Green New Deal." House Natural Resources ranking member Rob Bishop (R-Utah) ate a hamburger, saying that the "Green New Deal" would ban cows, and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) falsely suggested that carbon dioxide is not bad for the planet because plants use it for photosynthesis (*E&E Daily*, Feb. 28).

Then, the next morning at the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change, the Republican climate evolution some activists have been claiming to see for years was on full display.

Members including Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) and full committee ranking member Greg Walden (R-Ore.) continued to rebut the legality of the Paris climate agreement, but they also called for bipartisan climate action that stresses"innovation," pleas that would have been stunning just a few years ago.

"We’re speaking for ourselves now," as opposed to letting Democrats control the message on climate, Walden told reporters.

"There’s a lot of stuff we can work together on," he added.

What that atmosphere means for climate legislation and for debates on the select committee is still not clear, but Rooney said he’s hoping to turn freshly converted Republicans into carbon tax believers.

Some Republicans might even jump on board with carbon pricing to counter the progressive "Green New Deal," which would rely heavily on government spending on infrastructure, research and development, Rooney said.

"I think the ‘Green New Deal’ may have gotten people’s attention," Rooney said. "It certainly got Walden’s."

Asked about carbon pricing yesterday as he ducked back into the House chamber, Walden didn’t rule it out.

"I’m not going to get into all those discussions yet," he said.

==

A new bill, H.R. 3641: EPA Maximum Achievable Contraction of Technocrats Act of 2013, would slash EPA staff by 15%.

This comes at a time when the EPA’s workforce is already at 20-year low—and its funding is near an all-time low as a percentage of GDP. These cuts have already forced the EPA to reduce planned enforcement activities in the coming year.

H.R. 3641’s sponsor, Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-WV), is using loaded phrases like accusing the Obama EPA of “waging a war on coal,” and is trying to position his bill as some sort of compromise—the alternative, of course, being that we just shut down the EPA altogether.

==

wikifluff

Howard Morgan Griffith (born March 15, 1958) is an American politician who has been the U.S. Representative for Virginia's 9th congressional district since 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district takes in a large swath of southwestern Virginia, including the New River Valley.

He was the majority leader of the Virginia House of Delegates and represented the 8th District, serving from 1994 until 2011. The district included all of Salem, Virginia and parts of Roanoke County.^[3]

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1 Early life, education, and career
• 2 Early political career
• 3 Virginia House of Delegates
• 4 U.S. House of Representatives
  • 4.1 Elections
  • 4.2 Committee assignments
• 5 Electoral history
• 6 Political positions
  • 6.1 Immigration
  • 6.2 Gay rights
  • 6.3 Gun rights
  • 6.4 Health care
  • 6.5 Death penalty
  • 6.6 Abortion
  • 6.7 Taxes and spending
  • 6.8 Medical marijuana
• 7 Personal life
• 8 References
• 9 External links

Early life, education, and career:{:(style="margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px"):}:[edit:{]}:

Griffith was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but his family moved to Salem, Virginia while he was a baby. He attended Andrew Lewis High School, graduating in 1976. He attended Emory and Henry College, graduating in 1980. Griffith completed his education with a J.D. from the Washington and Lee University School of Law in 1983.

After law school, Griffith settled in Salem where he worked as a private attorney with a focus on traffic violations and DUI. On June 23, 2008, Albo & Oblon LLP, a law firm run by fellow Republican delegate Dave Albo, announced that Griffith was joining the firm as head of its new Roanoke/Salem office.^[4]

Early political career:{:(style="margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px"):}:[edit:{]}:

Griffith first became seriously involved in politics in 1986, when he was chosen as the chairman of the Salem Republican Party. He held that position from 1986 to 1988 and from 1991 to 1994.

Virginia House of Delegates:{:(style="margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px"):}:[edit:{]}:

In 1993, Griffith was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, defeating Democrat Howard C. Packett. He served as the Vice-Chairman of the Rules Committee in the House of Delegates. He served on the Courts of Justice Committee, and was the chairman of its Criminal Law Subcommittee. He also served on the Commerce and Labor and the Militia, Police, and Public Safety Committees.^{[citation needed]} He was elected House Majority Leader in 2000 and was the first Republican to hold that position in Virginia's history.^[5]

U.S. House of Representatives:{:(style="margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px"):}:[edit:{]}:

Elections:{:(style="margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px"):}:[edit:{]}:

2010

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia, 2010 § District 9

Griffith was the Republican nominee to face longtime U.S. Congressman Rick Boucher (D-VA) who was first elected in 1982. A "GOP Young Gun", Griffith won the election.^[6] Griffith's home in Salem was located just inside the neighboring 6th District, represented by fellow Republican Bob Goodlatte. The bulk of his House of Delegates district, however, was located in the 9th.

2012

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia, 2012 § District 9

Griffith defeated Democratic nominee Anthony Flaccavento 61.3 percent to 38.6 percent.^[7]

Committee assignments:{:(style="margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px"):}:[edit:{]}:

• Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Power
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Electoral history:{:(style="margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px"):}:[edit:{]}:

Virginia House of Delegates, District 8: Results 1995 to 2009^[8]| Year | | Republican | Votes | Pct | | Democrat | Votes | Pct | | Third Party | Party | Votes | Pct |

Virginia's 9th congressional district| Year | | Republican | Votes | Pct | | Democrat | Votes | Pct | | Third Party | Party | Votes | Pct |

Political positions:{:(style="margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px"):}:[edit:{]}:

Immigration:{:(style="margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px"):}:[edit:{]}:

Griffith has voted to allow the Commonwealth of Virginia to enforce federal immigration laws to criminalize knowingly employing illegal immigrants or undocumented workers,^[9] and also voted to criminalize possession of firearms by illegal aliens.^[10]

Gay rights:{:(style="margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px"):}:[edit:{]}:

While serving in the Virginia House of Delegates, Griffith supported a constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriage by defining marriage as between one man and one woman.^[11] He voted in favor of a motion to effectively kill a bill to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation for government employees in Virginia.^[12]

Gun rights:{:(style="margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px"):}:[edit:{]}:

Griffith voted in favor of several bills to reduce restrictions on gun ownership, including a bill to allow concealed weapons in vehicles without a permit^[13] and to allow concealed weapons permit holders to carry their firearms in restaurants and bars.^[14] Griffith also voted to prohibit consumption of alcohol while in possession of a concealed weapon.^[15] In 2004 Griffith voted to prohibit carrying firearms or ammunition in the non-secure areas of airport terminals, including baggage claim areas.^[16][17]

Health care

Early in 2010, Griffith voted in favor of a bill to prohibit any individual mandate to purchase health insurance.^[18] This law passed Virginia's legislature before the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was enacted, which Virginia has used to challenge the individual mandate in federal court.^[19] However on July 17, 2013 Griffith was the lone GOP member of the House to vote against delaying the implementation of the individual mandate.^[20]

Just prior to the United States federal government shutdown of 2013, Griffith issued press release in which he endorsed the final House version of Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014, which would have continued funding for federal government operations while delaying implementation of the Affordable Care Act.^[21] Griffith voted against the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014, the Senate-proposed compromise that ended the shutdown without defunding the Affordable Care Act.^[22]

Death penalty:{:(style="margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px"):}:[edit:{]}:

Griffith has voted consistently for expansions of the death penalty to include eligibility for accomplices to a murder, as well as for those who murder a judge or a witness.^[23][24][25]

Abortion:{:(style="margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px"):}:[edit:{]}:

When surveyed in 1999 on his political positions by Project Vote Smart, Griffith indicated that he supports legalized abortion in the first trimester and to save the life of the mother,^[26] while favoring the restriction of abortion through parental notification laws and prohibition of partial-birth abortion. Griffith's voting record has generally been consistent with his 1999 survey, voting in favor of restrictions on late term abortions such as parental-notification and parental-consent, while voting against bills that would restrict first-term abortions. In 2010 Griffith voted to restrict state funding of abortions,^[27] and to require abortion clinics to meet the same licensing requirements as surgical centers. In 2006 Griffith voted to restrict state funding for fetal stem cell research.^[28]

In 2007 Griffith voted against ^[29] a bill in the Virginia General Assembly, HB 2797, which stated: "That life begins at the moment of fertilization and the right to enjoyment of life guaranteed by Article 1, § 1 of the Constitution of Virginia is vested in each born and preborn human being from the moment of fertilization"^[30] This was the only bill introduced to the General Assembly during Griffith's tenure that would have affected the legality of first-term abortions on the principal of the fetal personhood as opposed to regulating abortion on other grounds.^{[citation needed]}

Griffith's 2010 campaign website reported that Griffith has a "100% pro-life" voting record and an "A" rating from the Virginia Society for Human Life (VSHL). However, VSHL's report on 2007 legislation in Virginia omits reference to HB 2797^[31] Project Vote Smart indicated that Griffith declined to take their survey again in 2010.^[26]

Taxes and spending:{:(style="margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px"):}:[edit:{]}:

Griffith supports raising the retirement age and reducing the number of American troops serving overseas as means of reducing the federal budget deficit.^[32]

Medical marijuana:{:(style="margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px"):}:[edit:{]}:

In 2014, Griffith introduced legislation to move marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule II narcotic, which would effectively make the drug legal for medical purposes under federal law.^[33]

Personal life:{:(style="margin-right:0px;margin-left:0px"):}:[edit:{]}:

Griffith is married to the former Hilary Davis. The couple has three children.

---

Title:EPA Maximum Achievable Contraction of Technocrats Act of 2013

Introduced:Dec 3, 2013 (113th Congress)

Sponsor: Track[Rep. H. Morgan Griffith [R-VA9]](http://dyn.realclearpolitics.com/congressional_bill_tracker/person/h._morgan_griffith/G000568)

Status:Referred to Committee - Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, Agriculture, and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Full Text:View the full text by choosing a version below:

• Dec 3, 2013 - H.R. 3641 (version: ih)

Cosponsors

Total: 4 [4R]

•  TrackRep. Shelley Moore Capito [R-WV2]

(joined Dec 12, 2013)

•  TrackRep. Trent Franks [R-AZ8]

(joined Dec 12, 2013)

•  Track[Rep. Don E. Young [R-AK]](http://dyn.realclearpolitics.com/congressional_bill_tracker/person/don_e._young/Y000033)

(joined Dec 12, 2013)

•  TrackRep. Roger Williams [R-TX25]

(joined Dec 4, 2013)

lesser optimum vikings? (medieval?)

==

1. ### ALEC Alumni in Congress - :{SourceWatch:(style="font-weight:bold"):}:

www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/ALEC_Alumni_in_Congress‎

:{:(style="border-color:#006621;;border-style:solid;border-width:4px 4px 0px;width:0px;height:0px;margin-left:3px;top:370.5px;margin-top:-4px;position:absolute;left:0px"):}:

-

Nov 6, 2012 - George Allen (R-:{VA:(style="font-weight:bold"):}:) (currently running for U.S. Senate against former :{VA:(style="font-weight:bold"):}:Gov. Tim Kaine (D)) **...** :{Morgan Griffith:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: (R-:{VA:(style="font-weight:bold"):}:); Rep. Brett Guthrie  **...**

2. :{:(style="float:left"):}:

Rick Boucher - :{SourceWatch:(style="font-weight:bold"):}:

www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rick_Boucher‎

:{:(style="border-color:#006621;;border-style:solid;border-width:4px 4px 0px;width:0px;height:0px;margin-left:3px;top:370.5px;margin-top:-4px;position:absolute;left:0px"):}:

-

Oct 3, 2011 - He lost to Republican :{Morgan Griffith:(style="font-weight:bold"):}:. **...** Born August 1, 1946, Congressman Boucher is a native of Abingdon, :{Virginia:(style="font-weight:bold"):}:, where he currently lives.

3. :{:(style="float:left"):}:

:{Virginia:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: and coal - :{SourceWatch:(style="font-weight:bold"):}:

sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Virginia_and_coal‎

:{:(style="border-color:#006621;;border-style:solid;border-width:4px 4px 0px;width:0px;height:0px;margin-left:3px;top:370.5px;margin-top:-4px;position:absolute;left:0px"):}:

-

:{Virginia's:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: average retail price of electricity is 6.86 cents per kilowatt hour, the **....** of King Coal holding Governor McDonnell and Representative :{Morgan Griffith:(style="font-weight:bold"):}:,  **...**

http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Virginia_and_coal

May 2011: Protest against MTR permit

On May 27, 2011, 50 Virginia residents and Mountain Justice activists marched through through downtown Appalachia to celebrate Ison Rock Ridge - a mountain in southwest Virginia targeted for mountaintop removal by coal companies - and protest its pending demise. They called on the Environmental Protection Agency to deny the proposed surface mine permit for Ison Rock Ridge and keep the ridge standing. People marched with puppets of King Coal holding Governor McDonnell and Representative Morgan Griffith, with signs saying “Keep Ison Rock Ridge Standing” and “Friends of Mountains and Miners."

1. :{

Alpha Natural Resources - :{SourceWatch:(style="font-weight:bold"):}:

}:

www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Alpha_Natural_Resources‎

:{:(style="border-color:#006621;;border-style:solid;border-width:4px 4px 0px;width:0px;height:0px;margin-left:3px;top:370.5px;margin-top:-4px;position:absolute;left:0px"):}:

-

In December 2002 it bought the "majority of the :{Virginia:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: coal operations" of the **...**Morgan Stanley was lead adviser for Alpha on the $7.1 billion buyout, with **.....** (R-MO) $2,000; Cory Gardner (R-CO) $2,000; :{Morgan Griffith:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: (R-:{VA:(style="font-weight:bold"):}:) $5,000; Andy  **...**

• Results for similar searches

• :{:(style="float:left"):}:

:{Morgan Griffith:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: says EPA treats milk spills same way as oil spills **...**

www.politifact.com/virginia/.../morgan-griffith/morgan-griffith-says-epa...‎

:{:(style="border-color:#006621;;border-style:solid;border-width:4px 4px 0px;width:0px;height:0px;margin-left:3px;top:370.5px;margin-top:-4px;position:absolute;left:0px"):}:

-

Mar 11, 2011 - H. :{Morgan Griffith:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: is milking his opposition to the Environmental Protection **...** Boucher, a 14-term congressman from coal-rich Southwest :{Virginia:(style="font-weight:bold"):}:.

More results for**morgan** **griffith** **politifact** **virginia**

The lesson one Republican congressman learned from the government shutdown is that the Environmental Protection Agency should lay off more of its workforce.

According to Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA), because 94 percent of EPA staff were deemed “non-essential” in the shutdown, they are also unimportant. “If that is the case they should be able to cut 15 percent,” he told a Virginia paper. Griffith will introduce a bill that would force the EPA to cut 15 percent of its staff.

Griffith also argued last month that the EPA should devote more time and staff to hearing concerns in coal country.

Every day, the EPA oversees basic functions that protect the environment, air, and water. During the shutdown, toxic waste site cleanups, clean air and water regulations, mileage standards for vehicles, the Energy Star program, and more came to a halt. Even now, the EPA is still playing catch up on important work sidetracked by the shutdown. It missed a deadline for a final rule requiring 1,000 power plants to obtain Clean Water Act permits. Likewise, the EPA delayed chemical safety rules and public hearings that follow this summer’s Texas plant explosion by at least a month.

But Republicans celebrated these effects of the shutdown. Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) even declared the shutdown was not “all bad” because the EPA could not enforce many of the regulations the Republican disagrees with.

If Griffith’s bill came to the floor, it would easily pass, The Hill’s Pete Kasperowicz writes. After all, this is a Congress that regularly challenges EPA authority and passed 317 anti-environment bills in its last session

Tags:

• Environmental Protection Agency
• House of Representatives
• Morgan Griffith

==

The first chance that the bloc of 85 freshman Republicans had to influence environmental policy was with H.R. 1, the bill that would fund the federal government for fiscal year 2011. The House passed a 27 percent budget cut for the EPA, which, had it passed the Senate, would have been the agency’s largest cut since 1981.

“We were trying to tell our brothers on the Republican side that they’re never going to get this through the Senate, but they were posturing,” said Norm Dicks, a Democrat, and the former ranking member on the House Appropriations Committee. “They wanted to make the cuts. They thought they were going to win political points with the Tea Party-types for cutting the EPA budget.”

Lawmakers also attempted other cuts by proposing 162 amendments, 22 of which would have cut EPA programs or limited the government’s enforcement of environmental regulations and its ability to study climate change. However, H.R. 1 never became law because the House and Senate were not able to reach a budget compromise until April 2011, when H.R. 1473 narrowly avoided a government shutdown. After negotiations with the Senate, the two houses agreed on a 15.6 percent cut, the largest enacted cut since the EPA lost 16 percent of its budget in 1986.

The 22 amendments proposed in H.R. 1 signaled how this group of freshmen Republicans, and pledge-signers, wanted to limit the EPA and climate-change research. :{**Think Progress**:(style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px"):}:, a liberal blog, researched climate change statements by members of the 112th Congress, and found many members of Congress were doubtful of climate-change science. The Investigative Reporting Workshop matched the Think Progress statements with the list of members of Congress who signed the pledge from Nov. 16, 2010, and found 17 of the 20 Senators who had signed the pledge said they doubted climate change science, as did 78 of the 156 representatives who had signed the pledge.

Throughout the House’s debate on H.R. 1, several pledge signers proposed amendments that would limit government regulation of climate change.

Rep. Mike Pompeo, a Republican who represents the Kansas district where Koch Industries is headquartered, and is a signer of the No Climate Tax Pledge, received $10,000 from Koch Industries PAC in the 2010 election.

Once in the House, Pompeo :{**proposed an amendment**:(style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px"):}: to H.R. 1 to cut $8.5 million, or roughly half the fiscal year 2010 budget, from the EPA’s greenhouse gas reporting program. Pompeo said at the time, “This data is the very foundation of the EPA’s effort to pursue its radical anti-jobs agenda.”

Another amendment was proposed byRepublican Rep. John Carter of Texas,who wanted to ban using money to enforce a rule on cement manufacturing emissions. He was one of the first representatives to sign the No Climate Tax Pledge. Carter and two other Texas Republicans proposed an amendment that would have prohibited the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases emitting from stationary sources, such as factories.

Republican Rep. Ralph Hall of Texas, also in that first group of representatives to sign the pledge, sponsored an amendment — which passed — to stop the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from creating a National Climate Service, which was intended to be “a one-stop shop” for climate information.

Republican Rep. Morgan Griffith of Virginia sponsored an amendment — which passed — that stopped funds for EPA guidelines on surface coal mining operations.

Republican Rep. Kristi Noem of South Dakota signed the pledge in 2010 and received $5,000 from KochPAC. She sponsored an amendment — which passed — to prohibit money from being used to change the air quality standards regarding coarse particulate matter (dust).

However, neither these amendments nor the bill survived in the Senate.

Many of the 85 freshman Republicans sponsored bills in the House to limit the EPA’s regulatory power or to expand oil and natural gas drilling. Koch Industries Public Sector LLC, the lobbying arm of Koch Industries, lobbied for H.R. 910, the Energy Tax Prevention Act, which would have rolled back the Supreme Court’s ruling that the EPA could regulate greenhouse gases. The bill was sponsored by Republican Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan and co-signed by 92 Republicans (and three Democrats), 61 of whom also signed the pledge. Had it passed, the Energy Climate Prevention Act would have prevented the EPA from defining greenhouse gases as air pollutants and prohibited all federal research or programs on climate change research.

In June 2011, Rep. Griffith of Virginia also introduced the EPA Regulatory Relief Act, which would have allowed companies to ignore future EPA rules on industrial boiler and heater emissions while delaying the implementation of any rules that would constitute the “least burdensome regulatory alternative.” The bill eventually gained 101 Republican and 25 Democratic co-sponsors, 67 of whom signed the No Climate Tax Pledge.

Griffith said he signed the No Climate Tax pledge because he believes national limits on greenhouse-gas emissions harm Virginia’s coal industry and the jobs it provides. He said he didn’t feel any pressure to sign the pledge from Americans for Prosperity, which he credits with helping him win a seat in Congress in 2010 by campaigning against the policies of his Democratic predecessor, Rick Boucher.

Griffith also said that the $5,000 his campaign received from Koch Industries in June 2010 had no influence on his decision to sign the pledge less than two weeks later. Opposing President Obama’s “war on the coal industry” was a top issue during his campaign, he said.

“When I was running in early 2010, this was already on my agenda,” Griffith said. “I was talking about these things long before I even knew that the Koch brothers and AFP were involved in these issues.”

The pledge isn’t limited to those in Washington. Among other office-holders who signed it is Oklahoma Schools Superintendent Janet Barresi, who declined to talk about her reasons for signing the pledge in August 2010. But through her press secretary, Barresi said in statement that the school district relies on property taxes from power plants and oil and gas production.

“Oklahoma’s schools depend on revenue from fossil fuels, and the destructive power of a tax on these fuels is not justified by questionable science,” Barresi said in the statement.

~

This article is written by:{Eric Holmberg  :(style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px"):}:and :{Alexia Campbell :(style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px"):}:, and is published at:{http://investigativereportingworkshop.org/investigations/the_koch_club/story/Koch_climate_pledge_strategy/:(style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px"):}:

OS

Top Contributors, 2009 - 2018

Top Industries, 2009 - 2018

--

Top Contributors, 2017 - 2018

Top Industries, 2017 - 2018

==

http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00032029&cycle=Career

Sector Totals

==

watchdog.org is rw bs?

By Paige Winfield Cunningham

A nation-wide flurry of political advocacy by groups who don’t have to reveal their donors is impacting Virginia races for better or for worse.

Looser Federal Election Commission enforcement and a loophole in the tax law are allowing organizations with a 501(c)4 tax status to directly support or oppose candidates—even though these groups don’t have to reveal who funds them.

In response, groups formed this year like Crossroads GPS and the American Action Network can collect donations, keep their sources under wraps and use them to influence key races around the country. Many come backed by conservatives — Karl Rove helped to form Crossroads and Fred Malek is chairman of AAN — putting spending by conservative groups versus liberal groups at a 2-1 ratio, according to data compiled by OpenSecrets.org.

Contenders in Virginia’s most competitive congressional races are being hurt and helped by efforts of these 501(c)4 groups.

Americans for Prosperity, an advocate of limited government, is spending $110,000 on a TV ad and radio buy this week against Democrat Rep. Rick Boucher, who is running in southwest Virginia against State House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith.

Boucher’s also opposed by Americans for Job Security, a group founded more than a decade ago and the fifth highest spender this year among groups that don’t have to reveal donors. AJS spent $350,000 last month on TV ads intended to persuade voters that Boucher is bad for business and jobs.

Americans for Tax Reform, another limited government group, has spent $32,000 to oppose Boucher and $31,000 to oppose Democrat Rep. Gerry Connolly in his race against Republican Keith Fimian.

And in the heated 5^th district race, Malek’s AAN has spent $49,000 to oppose Rep. Tom Perriello as the Democrat tries to defend his seat from state Sen. Robert Hurt.

While it’s been mainly Democrats criticizing the spending as a way for corporations to hide their donations, Gov. Bob McDonnell said Wednesday that he prefers Virginia’s method of donor disclosure.

“I think we do it the right way where we don’t have limits on giving, but we have full disclosure on a regular basis, so that people can decide whether money played a role in a particular legislators’ decision,” McDonnell said on WTOP’s “Ask the Governor” program.

Virginia: Virginia’s six Dirty Air Villains are Reps. Scott Rigell (R-VA2), Randy Forbes (RVA4),

Robert Hurt (R-VA5), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA6), House Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA7) and

Morgan Griffith (R-VA9). Virginia’s three Clean Air Heroes are Reps. Gerry Connolly (DVA11),

James Moran (D-VA8) and Robert Scott (D-VA3).

==

LAT:

Claiming an electoral mandate, Republicans on the

committee have launched an agenda of the sort long

backed by the Koch brothers. A top early goal:

restricting the reach of the Environmental Protection

Agency, which oversees the Kochs' core energy

businesses.

The new committee members include a congressman who has

hired a former Koch Industries lawyer as his chief of

staff. Another, Rep. Morgan Griffith of Virginia, won a

long-shot bid to unseat a 14-term moderate Democrat with

help from Americans for Prosperity, which marshaled

conservative activists in his district. By some

estimates, the advocacy group spent more than a

quarter-million dollars on negative ads in the campaign.

"I'm just thankful that you all helped in so many ways,"

Griffith told an Americans for Prosperity rally not long

after his election.

In recent months the congressman has made a point of

publicly aligning himself with the Koch-backed advocacy

group, calling for an end to the "EPA chokehold." Last

week the chairman released a draft of a bill that would

strip the EPA of its ability to curb carbon emissions.

The legislation is in line with the Kochs'

long-advocated stance that the federal government should

have a minimal role in regulating business. The Kochs'

oil refineries and chemical plants stand to pay millions

to reduce air pollution under currently proposed EPA

regulations...

Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), who represents Koch

Industries' home district, launched an aerospace company

with investment help from a Koch subsidiary. He sold the

company last year. His chief of staff is Mark Chenoweth,

a former Koch Industries lawyer.

Phil Kerpen, vice president for policy at Americans for

Prosperity, said the organization was pleased with the

committee's new members.

"From a policy standpoint, I think those are pretty good

choices," he said, mentioning Griffith in particular.

Griffith has questioned the EPA and the science behind

its proposed regulation of global warming. "We have to

be sure the EPA is reined in," he said recently.

An election took place last fall in Virginia that didn't garner national attention, but it should have - not for the candidates or issues - but for the giant pile of corporate cash manipulating events behind the scenes.

Rick Boucher, a then-28-year incumbent Democratic Congressman from the Ninth District - the longest-serving Congressman in that district since the Civil War - was surprisingly defeated by Republican Morgan Griffith. The upset came as a shock to many, since an early October poll showed Boucher ahead by double digits, including one measure earlier in the month that put him ahead by 10 percentage points.

C'est la vie. Such is political life.The National Republican Congressional Committee spent around $600,000 in ads, and the media framed the defeat as a Blue Dog, Boucher losing due to his support for cap-and-trade policies.

Except, there was more to the story. A Democratic Party official from Virginia, who asked to remain anonymous because he is still serving in an official capacity, says the "Boucher is an enemy of coal" narrative is a lie and that actually far more sinister actions are at play in Virginia.

In fact, Boucher is the type of moderate Democrat that Progressives loathe. He is indeed a great friend of coal and went out of his way to preserve coals jobs in his district. Boucher did vote for cap and trade, but only because he feared the alternative was to leave regulation to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which he said would be devastating for companies that rely on coal and their employees. The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) actually praised Boucher for his commitment "to protect coal miners and the coal industry."

Griffith nonetheless seized upon the "Boucher is bad for coal" narrative and added it to his existing arsenal, accusing Boucher of being too cozy with President Obama (Boucher voted against both versions of the House health care bill, but refused to repeal the law).

These kinds of campaign smears aren't unusual, save for the fact that the "Boucher Betrayed Coal" ads that played in Virginia and that were so effective they eventually cost Boucher his seat, were paid for by the Americans for Prosperity, a special-interest group founded with the support of David H. Koch and Charles G. Koch of Koch Industries, and the same group that was so instrumental during the now infamous health care town hall debacles.

Boucher survived the Republican Revolution of 1994, but he could not survive propaganda funded by two of the wealthiest men in the world.

That wouldn't be the last time Virginia heard from the Kochs.

In January, a special election was held to fill the vacated seat of now-Congressman Griffith in the House of Delegates. The Republicans ran the former Chair of the Salem Democratic Committee, Greg Habeeb.

The Democratic nominee was Ginger Mumpower of Roanoke. Before the election, Mumpower held a press conference in December in front of a state-owned liquor store to publicize her opposition to Governor McDonnell's ill-fated plan to privatize such stores. The public was against the plan and the opposition was gaining momentum. That same day, Habeeb quickly reversed, leaving him vulnerable to the most-dreaded political accusation: being a "flip-flopper."

The Roanoke Free Press called it a "holiday hallelujah" moment for the Mumpower campaign, and Habeeb's swift reversal seemed like a gift that would help Mumpower secure victory.

Then, my source received a voicemail from Paige Winfield Cunningham, a reporter with virginia.watchdog.org and also a contributor for The Washington Times, as did the Mumpower campaign. Before returning the call, the official briefly viewed the web site and quickly dismissed it as a "right-wing misinformation site." He didn't return Cunningham's phone call.

Later in the week, Cunningham left another message on the official's voicemail, which he also didn't return.

Soon after, the official visited virginia.watchdog.org and saw that Cunningham had run a story in which she stated the country club to which Mumpower used to belong stated that she had not paid her past dues and that her home had been sold in a foreclosure auction. Obviously, the story caused a lot of embarrassment for Mumpower during an already chaotic political season.

Meanwhile, Habeeb raised over $138,000 for his campaign, more than five times what the Mumpowercamp had in their reserves, and he secured the tentative support of the Roanoke Tea Party, though they did express concern that perhaps the anti-choice, anti-gay marriage, pro-gun Habeeb wasn't conservative enough.

Ultimately, he won 64 percent of the vote, defeating Mumford.

The whole experience left my source feeling uneasy. Who had fed the reporter that information and what was the deal with that web site?

As it turns out, the [insert your state here].watchdog.org web sites are a franchise. Tailor the brand with a state, though not all states are represented, and a whole list of anti-union, anti-regulation, right-wing misinformation articles springs up in one's browser.

Plug in "newjersey.watchdog.org" and the web site will regale one with tales of greedy pensioners and the evils of the EPA. Type "washington.watchdog.org," and anti-union propaganda, helpfully tailored for the state of Washington, pop up.

According to the hub web site, watchdog.org is the brainchild of the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity, a 5o1(c)3 non-profit organization "dedicated to promoting new media journalism."

However, those "journalism" credentials have been called into question by groups like the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, which rates watchdog.org as being "highly ideological" and "somewhat transparent." The site has one editor, Steven Allen Adams, a stringer for Reuters and a contributor to a West Virginia entertainment news web site called Kanawha Valley Live that, sadly, closed operations in April.

The Franklin Center has well-established ties to right-wing groups, including the Sam Adams Alliance (SAA), which originally funded the organization. In addition to running partisan web sites, Franklin Center also funds partisan polls.

SAA, a non-profit organization based in Chicago, also has a litany of tries to the Kochs to the extent that the two groups function with a singular purpose. CEO Eric O'Keefehelped create American Majority, a Tea Party-candidate training organization. O'Keefe has attempted to take credit for being the architect of the entire Tea Party movement, and he once worked for Citizens for Congressional Reform, a project of David Koch's Citizens for a Sound Economy.

The group has always been wary of publicly displaying connections to their wealthy donors and even went so far as to scrub an internship recruitment page that originally connected it to Koch Industries:

"Interested parties can apply for a Sam Adams Alliance internship through the Charles G. Koch Summer Fellow Program administered by theInstitute for Humane Studies and the State Policy Network."

The internship is still posted. Charles Koch is still funding it. However, the Koch reference is now suspiciously absent from the redesigned SAA web site.

Examined from above, the range of the Koch brother spider web is enormously impressive. Here, we have a gigantic cash machine disseminating funding to a litany of Astroturf groups and nonprofits (doesn't that always sound so innocent?) that then splinter off to fund other nonprofits, which set up openly partisan web sites staffed with an army of hack reporters charged with destroying the credibility of Democratic candidates.

Truly, it's a wonder to behold.

http://truth-out.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2444:the-koch-spider-web