It looks like the Democratic Party is putting on a “people’s convention” after all …
Less than a month after raising energy costs on South Carolina customers by $92.8 million, one of America’s largest power companies has guaranteed a $10 million line of credit to the organizers of the Democratic National Convention – scheduled for September 3-6 in Charlotte, N.C.
Duke Energy announced its intentions to subsidize this four-day infomercial for U.S. President Barack Obama just three weeks after S.C. Public Service Commission permitted the company to raise its rates on Palmetto State residents by 7.2 percent.
Days later, a 7.2 percent rate hike on North Carolina residents was approved – which will net the company another $300 million in new revenue.
News of the convention loan was first reported by The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer – although the paper made no mention of the company’s recent rate hikes.
According to Timothy P. Carney of The Washington Examiner (one of the few media outlets that’scovering this story), Duke Energy received more than $230 million from Obama’s 2009 “stimulus” plan. Not only that, the bank that’s handling the credit line received funds from former president George W. Bush’s Wall Street bailout.
Nice, huh?
A spokesman for the company hotly disputed the contention that federal stimulus funding had anything to do with the Duke’s pro-Obama efforts, adding that the company’s involvement with the convention is “not about supporting Obama” but rather “about showcasing Charlotte.”
“There’s no connection between the stimulus funding and the convention,” the spokesman told FITS. “One happened well before the other.”
That’s true, but Duke’s CEO Jim Rogers has donated more than $30,000 to Obama’s reelection campaign. The company has also agreed to raise $32 million to cover the cost of the convention.
Seems pretty cozy, doesn’t it?
Rogers is a proponent of what he calls “purpose-driven capitalism.”
“Purpose-driven capitalism is really an old-idea in a new suit,” he said recently. “It’s the recognition that business has a role to play in society beyond simply driving shareholder returns. Business serves a wide array of stakeholders, from customers and employees, to business partners, the government, and our communities. And I believe the true value of a business can only be measured in relation to its impact on its wide array of stakeholders, not just earnings per share.”
The value to South Carolina residents?
Higher energy rates so that this company can stage an extended prime time commercial for a president whose energy policies continue to make life more expensive for all us.
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