Obama campaign attempts to drag Romney into Thorne-Begland controversy

Stephanie Cutter is an important player in the Obama for America campaign infrastructure. As Deputy Campaign Manager, there is only one staff member higher on the organizational chart. As a regular surrogate for the campaign she regularly drives the discussion in frequent television and media appearances.

Cutter was on a local satellite tour Wednesday to talk about the campaign’s two-minute ad that attacks their opponent Mitt Romney‘s career at Bain Capital, a private equity firm. NBC12 was one of the stations where the ad aired, and we talked to Cutter about its impact on the election. Most of the interview as about the economy, but it was a general question about the shift back to the economy after a week talking about social issues where Cutter took the opportunity to wade into a very local issue. The failed nomination of Richmond prosecutor Tracy Thorne-Begland as District Judge.

Thorne- Begland is openly gay and made a very prominent stand against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” during his time in the Military.  His activism prompted conservative members of the Virginia House of Delegates to prevent his nomination from going forward. Cutter knew all about the fight and was not afraid to attack the GOP lead Virginia House of Delegates.

“I think that when things like this happen in this country and specifically Virginia, it turns people off,” Cutter said.   ”The man is overly qualified to be a judge and this is a real leadership moment for some people in Virginia.”

While the Thorne-Begland controversy has grown well outside Richmond to media reports in numerous national outlets, the battle is over a relatively low-level judgeship. One primarily responsible for traffic tickets and vandalism. Important, no doubt, but more Judge Harry Stone, than Judge Thurgood Marshall. The basis of the battle, the fight over gay rights was enough for Cutter to call out the republican candidate for president of the United States.

“I think that it is an opportunity for Mitt Romney to stand up and say what the legislature did is just plain wrong,” she said. ”I don’t know if he will show that type of leadership, he hasn’t so far.  

The Romney campaign had no interest in wading into this hyper-local issue that could put them at odds with republicans in Virginia.

“This is yet another example of how President Obama and his campaign would rather talk about anything other than his failed economic record,” said Curt Cashour, a Romney campaign spokesman.

The Romney Team did not specifically address the Thorne-Begland nomination at all. They chose not to support or condemn the House of Delegates move. Instead they tried to put the focus back on the Obama economic record.

“Obama’s presidency just hasn’t lived up to the promise of his 2008 campaign, and after more than three years in office, Americans are still suffering through one of the worst job markets in history,” Cashour said.

Meanwhile the battle over what is normally an easy nomination appears over. Andy Jenks today ran down all 36 members of the House of Delegates who didn’t vote to see how they would’ve voted, and why they decided to leave town. There appears to be no momentum to re-nominate Thorne- Begland who has gone back to his job as a prosecutor in the Richmond Commonwealths Attorney’s Office.

But while the battle is over, it appears the remnants of the is fight will continue on well into November.

You can see extended clips from Cutter’s remarks below:

Buying A Voice: American Energy Alliance

Gas price politics are pretty common to presidential elections, and 2012 will be no different. Several of you have asked us to find out more about an ad that blames President Obama for the hike in gas prices and predicts gas could get up to nine dollars a gallon.

Here is the ad, which aired on NBC12.

The group behind the ad has shelled out more than $3 million dollars to put the commercial on TV across the country and they have their own agenda.

It was paid for by The “American Energy Alliance” (AEA).  They are the political activist arm of the “Institute for Energy Research” (IER).

The group boasts on their web site that their role is “encourage policymakers to support free market policies.”

Spokesman Benjamin Coles said that AEA is a wholly owned subsidiary of IER. Despite their connection their fund-raising and spending are completely separate.

Both groups are not required to publicly reveal their donors. Coles said they track their funding very closely and have received numerous audits of their financial controls. The group however does not provide who specifically contributes to their operation. A legal practice.

The people running the group have ties to leaders in the oil industry, and fiscally conservative organizations, including their president Tom Pyle.

Pyle is a former employee of the Koch brothers, Charles and David. The Kochs are major donors to libertarian and free market causes. Politico reported in March that the Kochs plan on steering $200 million into conservative causes during the 2012 elections.

Cole said flatly that the Koch’s have no connection whatsoever to the ”Nine Dollar a Gallon” gas ad campaign.

Pyle started his political career as an aide to former republican House Majority Leader Tom Delay, who was eventually convicted of laundering money. While Delay is appealing his conviction, Pyle has never been accused of any type of wrong doing and has a spotless pubic service record.

But while numerous media outlets tie the Kochs and their allies to both the American Energy Alliance and the Institute for Energy Research, physical evidence of cash donations is hard to come by. Coles refutes many aspects of the Politico story, that relies largely on a 2008 IRS 1099 form, which is one of the few public records that ties the Kochs to AEA or IER.

Coles would not offer specific information about who donates to AEA. He said that the organization chooses to protect the identity of its donors, which is within their legal rights.

AEA does claim that more than 60% of their funding comes from individuals, not from corporations. However, the identity of those individuals remains secret.

All the detailed information about where we got our facts is below:

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*The American Energy Alliance web site can be found here.

*The American Energy Alliance’s staff page, which includes a biography for Tom Pyle, can be found here.  

*The Institute for Energy Research’s web site can be found here.

*Politico’s report on the Koch brother’s connection to the American Energy Alliance can be found here.