The Plot Thickens: Far-Right Group Joins Chorus for Keystone XL
Last week Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) introduced a bill (S. 2041) that would give Congress the authority to approve the controversial transcontinental Keystone XL pipeline, without the President's approval. Forty-four Republicans and three Democrats signed on as co-sponsors.
According to MapLight, which analyzes industry campaign contributions to members of Congress, one of the top 12 funders supporting Hoeven's bill is the John Birch Society, a conspiracy-minded network that led Red-baiting campaigns in the 1950s, organized against the civil rights movement in the 1960s, and recently has raised its ugly head to crush collective bargaining in Wisconsin and elsewhere.