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Scott Walker given fake $900m check from Koch brothers for 'climate denial' Scott Walker given fake $900m check from Koch brothers for 'climate denial'
(35 minutes later)
Wisconsin governor Scott Walker encountered what looked like a group of young supporters during a campaign stop on Monday at a local pizza shop, only to be presented with a fake check from the billionaire Koch brothers by a group of climate activists. Walker, one of the top-tier candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, was in the midst of a meet-and-greet with prospective voters in the early primary state of New Hampshire. The governor held the event ahead of a forum on Monday evening where 14 Republican contenders are set to participate in what has evolved into a pre-debate before the first official GOP debate on Fox News later this week.For the most part, the dozens of New Hampshire residents gathered at the eatery – Theo’s Pizza & Restaurant – were enthusiastic about Walker’s visit and eagerly waited their turn for a handshake and quick chat with the candidate. Among them was Tyler McFarland, who approached Walker for a picture while holding a sign that read “Walker 4 president”. But as the photo was snapped, McFarland flipped the sign to reveal a supposed $900m check made out to Walker from the Kochs, the industrialist family and Republican mega-donors, for the “presidency”.“I’d like to present you with this check from the Koch brothers for climate denial,” McFarland, 23, told Walker.The governor did not engage with this, choosing instead to brush the incident off and continue mingling with actual supporters. McFarland, an organizer for the climate change group 350 Action, said later he wanted to draw a contrast between Walker and the clean power plan unveiled by Barack Obama on Monday and regarded as the president’s most significant action on climate change to date.“We presented Scott Walker with a 900m novelty check from the Koch brothers today, because Scott Walker is the most dangerous candidate on climate change,” McFarland told the Guardian. “As Obama reveals his clean power plant today, we just wanted to highlight the fact that Scott Walker is poised to receive $900m from the Kochs, particularly to continue climate denial and implement disastrous environmental policies.”The Obama administration’s new rules are designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 32% by 2030. The plan also aims to move away from coal power plants and boost wind and solar power generation instead. Republican presidential candidates have strongly rejected the proposal, arguing that it would drive up electricity costs and place undue burden on businesses.“President Obama’s plan should be called the ‘costly power plan’ because it will cost hard-working Americans jobs and raise their energy rates,” Walker said in a statement Monday in response to the announcement. “It will be like a buzz saw on the nation’s economy. I will stand up for American workers and stop the ‘costly power plan’.” Wisconsin governor Scott Walker encountered what looked like a group of young supporters during a campaign stop on Monday at a local pizza shop, only to be presented with a fake check from the billionaire Koch brothers by a group of climate activists.
Walker, one of the top-tier candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, was in the midst of a meet-and-greet with prospective voters in the early primary state of New Hampshire. The governor held the event ahead of a forum on Monday evening during which 14 Republican contenders are set to participate in what has evolved into a pre-debate before the first official GOP debate on Fox News later this week.
For the most part, the dozens of New Hampshire residents gathered at the eatery – Theo’s Pizza & Restaurant – were enthusiastic about Walker’s visit and eagerly waited their turn for a handshake and quick chat with the candidate. Among them was Tyler McFarland, who approached Walker for a picture while holding a sign that read “Walker 4 president”.
But as the photo was snapped, McFarland flipped the sign to reveal a supposed $900m check made out to Walker from the Kochs, the industrialist family and Republican mega-donors, for the “presidency”.
“I’d like to present you with this check from the Koch brothers for climate denial,” McFarland, 23, told Walker.
The governor did not engage with this, choosing instead to brush the incident off and continue mingling with actual supporters. McFarland, an organizer for the climate change group 350 Action, said later he wanted to draw a contrast between Walker and the clean power plan unveiled by Barack Obama on Monday and regarded as the president’s most significant action on climate change to date.
Related: Obama's clean power plan hailed as US's strongest ever climate action
“We presented Scott Walker with a 900m novelty check from the Koch brothers today, because Scott Walker is the most dangerous candidate on climate change,” McFarland told the Guardian. “As Obama reveals his clean power plant today, we just wanted to highlight the fact that Scott Walker is poised to receive $900m from the Kochs, particularly to continue climate denial and implement disastrous environmental policies.”
The Obama administration’s new rules are designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 32% by 2030. The plan also aims to move away from coal power plants and boost wind and solar power generation instead.
Republican presidential candidates have strongly rejected the proposal, arguing that it would drive up electricity costs and place undue burden on businesses.
“President Obama’s plan should be called the ‘costly power plan’ because it will cost hard-working Americans jobs and raise their energy rates,” Walker said in a statement Monday in response to the announcement. “It will be like a buzz saw on the nation’s economy. I will stand up for American workers and stop the ‘costly power plan’.”
I will stand up for American workers and stop the 'costly power plan'I will stand up for American workers and stop the 'costly power plan'
Walker also wrote a letter to Obama in May, in which the Wisconsin governor said the administration’s proposed rules were “riddled with inaccuracies, questionable assumptions and deficiencies that make the development of a responsible state plan unworkable”.Walker also wrote a letter to Obama in May, in which the Wisconsin governor said the administration’s proposed rules were “riddled with inaccuracies, questionable assumptions and deficiencies that make the development of a responsible state plan unworkable”.
Climate activists such as McFarland have long criticized Walker and other Republicans over environmental policy – namely the refusal of many candidates to state that human activity has contributed to global warming.Walker has taken an especially hard line against the Obama administration on the issue of climate change. The governor announced earlier this year that he would sue the Environmental Protection Agency over its new carbon rules. The Wisconsin chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a conservative non-profit backed by the Koch brothers, praised Walker for the move. Walker also signed the group’s “No Climate Tax” pledge to oppose any legislative efforts related to climate change “that includes a net increase in government revenue”. Climate activists such as McFarland have long criticized Walker and other Republicans over environmental policy – namely the refusal of many candidates to state that human activity has contributed to global warming.Walker has taken an especially hard line against the Obama administration on the issue of climate change.
The Koch-based network is poised to spend almost $1bn on the 2016 election, and the two brothers reportedly prefer Walker over his Republican primary opponents. Their political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity has spent millions of dollars on television ads, direct mail and other expenses in support of Walker’s agenda in Wisconsin and to successfully help him survive a failed recall effort in 2012. The governor announced earlier this year that he would sue the Environmental Protection Agency over its new carbon rules. The Wisconsin chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a conservative non-profit backed by the Koch brothers, praised Walker for the move. Walker also signed the group’s “No Climate Tax” pledge to oppose any legislative effort related to climate change “that includes a net increase in government revenue”.
Walker is not the only candidate who has been targeted by McFarland and the 350 Action group in New Hampshire over environmental policy. The same group interrupted Hillary Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner, during a town hall in nearby Dover, New Hampshire, last month. In that instance, two young women asked Clinton if she would commit to banning fossil fuel extraction on public lands. Clinton acknowledged that climate change was “an existential threat”, but did not go as far as the women had hoped – leading to a protest in which 350 Action organizers began chanting: “Act on climate.” The Koch-based network is poised to spend almost $1bn on the 2016 election, and the two brothers reportedly prefer Walker over his Republican primary opponents. Their political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity has spent millions of dollars on television ads, direct mail and other expenses in support of Walker’s agenda in Wisconsin and to help him survive a failed recall effort in 2012.
Walker is not the only candidate who has been targeted by McFarland and the 350 Action group in New Hampshire over environmental policy. The same group interrupted Hillary Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner, during a town hall in nearby Dover, New Hampshire, last month.
In that instance, two young women asked Clinton if she would commit to banning fossil fuel extraction on public lands. Clinton acknowledged that climate change was “an existential threat”, but did not go as far as the women had hoped – leading to a protest in which 350 Action organizers began chanting: “Act on climate.”