Tom DeLay, Inc. and Enron: Kissy, kissy:
rollcall.com
In a January 1998 meeting at his home in Sugarland, Texas, DeLay reviewed plans to have Enron bankroll a new grassroots operation to jump-start the deregulation debate with three of his operatives: Ed Buckham, who had just left the Congressional payroll as DeLay's chief of staff while simultaneously launching his own lobbying firm; Karl Gallant, a consultant to DeLay's political action committee; and John Hoy, a partner in the California-based consulting firm of Schuman, Hoy & Associates, which worked for DeLay during the 1996 GOP convention.
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Shortly after the Sugarland meeting, a coalition financially dominated by Enron, Americans for Affordable Electricity, awarded a $750,000 contract to DeLay's operatives, despite reservations among other coalition members and a late entry into the bidding process.
The previously undisclosed connection between DeLay and Enron offers a glimpse into how the Texas lawmaker and the corporate giant combined forces behind closed doors to deliver a bare-knuckled political punch aimed at breaking a legislative logjam frustrating efforts to deregulate the $300 billion-a-year electricity market, a top goal of both Enron and DeLay.
snip
Buckham strenuously denied having anything to do with pitching a lobbying deal to Enron or developing plans to launch a grassroots drive for deregulation.
But the detailed memo proposing just such a campaign for Enron was faxed to the Majority Whip's office on Nov. 12, 1997, more than a month before Buckham officially left.
"We envision an aggressive field force operating under the direction of Enron and capable of engaging the opponents of competition wherever necessary," the memo read in part. "Additionally, this would put in place an operation capable of addressing state regulatory and legislative issues of concern to Enron."
...and much more. |
