After getting caught trying to set up a shadow campaign to influence Alabama’s upcoming elections for the Public Service Commission (PSC), the California-based “Citizens’ Climate Lobby” has canceled a scheduled meeting for September 26 in Auburn.
The meeting was first published in the Opelika Observer, however, the paper’s article stated that it was the PSC itself holding the event. The mistake came from utilizing a press release orchestrated by the Climate Lobby, which was, at best, very poorly worded and, at worst, intentionally misleading.
After the PSC saw the article and contacted the Observer, the paper issued a retraction on Friday apologizing for the mixup. They also reported that the Climate Lobby canceled the meeting. This cancellation followed the group’s failed attempt to seemingly organize the meeting from behind the scenes.
Nowhere in the published press release was the Climate Lobby’s name mentioned or involvement disclosed. It opened, “The Alabama Public Service Commission, referred to as the PSC, has the responsibilities …” and ended with details about the meeting, which would be to “discuss the PSC and its role in future energy sources for Alabama consumers. In addition to knowledgeable sources regarding the PSC, candidates for the up-coming PSC election have also been invited to attend.”
While it is unclear what “knowledgeable sources” referred to since no one employed by or associated with the PSC was actually scheduled to attend, the true meaning of the botched meeting was revealed with the buzzwords “future energy sources.” This followed a paragraph in the press release containing all the traditional language of the Obama-era environmental mandates.
In reality, this meeting was supposed to be the opening salvo in the anticipated upcoming push of out-of-state liberal environmental groups to boost the flailing Democratic candidates for PSC Place 1 and PSC Place 2, both of whom are running in a rare way – as an unofficial package deal.
As seen on their joint social media pages, the two Democrats are running largely based on anti-affordable energy and anti-Trump policies, instead wanting to boost energy sources that would raise Alabamians’ power bills for the sake of left-leaning climate policies implemented during the Obama years.
In stark contrast, the current energy policies supported by Commissioners Chris Beeker and Jeremy Oden, along with PSC President Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh, have led to Alabama’s utility rates being ranked best in the nation by the national publication Area Development.
The Climate Lobby has shown their intentions for the weeks leading up to Alabama’s November 6 election, and voters should anticipate similar shadow games yet to come.
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
