Dicks crony connected to Solyndra
10-18-11, Larry Killion, Tea Party Patriots Citizen Journalist.

Solyndra, the bankrupt California solar company at the center of a growing political scandal, was a stimulus success story according to the Obama administration but they shut down Aug. 31, despite having received a $535 million loan guarantee in 2009. According to lobbying disclosures filed with the U.S. Senate, the firm founded by Steve McBee, a former aide to Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Bremerton), went to work for Solyndra in 2009 getting Department of Energy loan guarantees.

Congressional Republicans have launched an investigation, citing emails they say show the administration ignored warnings about speedy approval of the federal loan. Cronyism often leads to corruption but there is no indication McBee Strategic Consulting did anything illegal. Between 2009 and this year, Solyndra paid McBee Strategic Consulting $380,000. They lobbied for the loan guarantees and federal legislation to benefit the solar-power industry, according to data maintained by OpenSecrets.org.

McBee’s company is known as one of the top lobbyists in D.C. due to it’s connections with Northwest Lawmakers like Rep. Dicks, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Pasco). Along with McBee, Cantwell’s former aide Angela Becker-Dippmann, Hasting’s former aide Jeff Markey, and Murray’s former chief of staff, Rick Desimone, also work for the firm.

Democrats have pointed out that the government began moving toward approving the loan during the Bush administration but they repeatedly praised the solar company as a symbol of how their stimulus plan could get people back to work while investing in a clean-energy future for America. Then Solyndra filed for bankruptcy, shutting down its plant and laying off 1,100 employees. On Sept. 8, the FBI raided the company’s headquarters as part of an apparent investigation.

Jesse Young, a Republican candidate running against Dicks, Democrat incumbent in the Washington sixth Congressional District, said, “I have a slightly different take on the Solyndra case. It is very tempting as a candidate to weigh in on the dealings that surround this case, especially as concern my opponent. I’ve found it prudent to instead focus on the root causes of such systemic failures and leave the details to concerned citizens like the Tea Party Patriots.

The truth is – government intervention in private business, whether by Republican or Democratic leadership, nearly always leads to massive waste, and in extreme cases, colossal failures such as Solyndra. Crony capitalism is bad business. Not only is it unconstitutional, it is ineffective.

We must recognize that the beef of the free market will be far more bountiful for our district than any pork that my incumbent opponent could bring to this district and the Solyndra situation is a prime example of how such pork makes us sick. Therefore, as a congressional representative, I would not have supported the corporate welfare Obama and Dicks provided to Solyndra.

Once elected, I will be very happy to consider alternative energy sources. In fact, in terms of national security and jobs growth, you can expect that I’ll be a leading advocate for alternative energy growth. The difference is that I won’t waste time on options that cannot sustain themselves, without government subsidies, in the open and free market.”

Numerous sources are now reporting that the California-based solar panel company, Solyndra, donated $7,500 to the California Democratic Party. In addition to that, the company employees also contributed more than $20,000 to Democratic candidates. Grassfire Nation, a grassroots organization with a petition drive to stop “Eco-Cronyism” has alleged that this is a payback to Democrats for handing over half-a-billion of hard-earned tax-dollars to them. Even worse, the Detroit News reported that the Obama administration was so eager to give Solyndra taxpayer money, Energy Secretary Steven Chu ”personally approved more cash even though they had already defaulted on one loan.” This is likely just the tip of the ”Eco-Cronyism” iceberg.

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