So what should we expect if Mitt Romney becomes the 45th President of the United States? Well here’s a preview – Romney’s campaign just announced that Harold Hamm, a billionaire who made his money from the oil industry, will be the campaign’s “Energy Advisor.”
Mitt Romney, the front-runner for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, appointed Oklahoma oil billionaire Harold Hamm as energy adviser to his campaign.
Hamm, the 66-year-old founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Continental Resources Inc. (CLR), will be chairman of Romney’s Energy Policy Advisory Group, the candidate’s campaign office said in a statement today.
Hamm ranked 36th on Forbes magazine’s list last year of the 400 wealthiest Americans. His 68 percent stake in Enid, Oklahoma-based Continental, the largest leaseholder in the Bakken oil formation, had a value of $11.2 billion as of yesterday’s close.
And then there’s this from The Huffington Post: “The Romney campaign received $554,044 from 325 lobbyists and the political action committees of 38 lobbying firms that collectively represent more than 1,400 clients, according to The Huffington Post’s analysis of contribution disclosure forms filed with the Secretary of the Senate. These contributions may undermine part of Romney’s message that he is, in his own words, “from outside Washington, outside K Street.”
Conclusion: Major industries and Corporations pay millions to get their lobbyists to whisper in the ears of Congressional politicians. What we’re seeing with Romney’s appointment of an oil billionaire in charge of Energy is, in fact, paving the way for the lobbyist to have a direct link to a Romney presidency.
Call it, Romney’s intentional way of cutting out the middle man.
