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Campaign documents from Grocery Manufacturers ethanol jihad posted online by Sen. Grassley

May 16, 2008

In Washington, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) posted documents from the Grocery Manufacturers Association  anti-ethanol story on his website. The documents are the original request for proposal from the lobbying group, and the response by Glover Park. The Grocers hired Glover and Dutko Worldwide for $300,000 to create a public perception of a link between biofuels and rising food prices.

Documents obtained by and published in Roll Call identify that the Grocery Manufacturers Association has launched a massive, global PR campaign, pledging to assemble a “global center-left coalition” including hiring “trusted third-party experts” to link ethanol mandates to global hunger, food industry job losses and inflation.

“GMA has concluded that rising food prices … create a window to change perceptions about the benefits of bio-fuels and the mandate,” said the organization’s Request for Proposals sent to PR firms.

The firm eventually hired by the GMA, Glover Park, said that it would employ an “urgent and remedy-based messaging strategy” to convince lawmakers that food prices is a “‘Now’ issue that is fast reaching crisis proportions for American consumers,” and said it would produce an “online, viral campaign” to link ethanol and food prices.

The GMA issued the RFP in March to, quoting from the RFP, “build a groundswell in support of freezing or reversing some provisions of the 2007 Energy Bill and for the elimination/reform of ethanol subsidies and import restrictions.” Subsequently the Governors of two states and 24 Republican Senators, including presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, called for a freeze. The GMA is a backer of McCain’s campaign, and the two Senators who received the most financial support from the GMA’s political action committee in this election cycle are among the 24 who signed the call for a biofuels review.

The GMA hired Andy Wright, former chief of staff to Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), to oversee a grassroots program to discredit biofuels.

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Written by Jim Lane · Filed Under The Daily Biofuel Summary 

Comments

One Response to “Campaign documents from Grocery Manufacturers ethanol jihad posted online by Sen. Grassley”

  1. simplicator on May 16th, 2008 12:22 pm

    These guys are scum. I expected this from Big Oil, but what do these idiots have to gain from kicking dirt on biofuels? Let’s make sure this sticks to John McCain and the rest of this rabble.

    Our dysfunctional electoral process is forcing politicians to spend millions of dollars to get elected, making them get in bed with special interests. The real issues take a backseat to payola. We need to figure out how to elect guys who really care about us and the rest of the world and once they are in office let them focus on fixing things instead of digging up more dirty money to get re-elected. Once again, I’m embarrassed to be represented by these kind of people.

    Let’s see if any of the media that has been spewing this Food vs. Fuel trash will retract any of it and publish the truth for a change.

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