Michael Bloomberg Targets Attorneys General With Ads on Carbon Emissions
Originally posted on nytimes.com
Former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York City will run millions of dollars in political television ads against four state attorneys general who are suing the Obama administration over new regulations on carbon emissions from power plants.
The ads, which Mr. Bloomberg’s advisers said would cost more than $10 million across four states, signify a new venture for the billionaire philanthropist, who has already spent heavily from his personal fortune to try to limit the number of coal-burning power plants nationally.
They amount to a defense of the White House over its Clean Power Plan, which have been met with opposition, primarily – but not only — from Republican-elected officials. But Mr. Bloomberg’s goal, his aides insist, is to explain how the issue of clean energy impacts people in major cities and living near power plants.
Still, the ads will run in four states that are historically presidential battlegrounds, and on an issue that has gained increasing attention from both political parties. The ads will run in Missouri, Florida, Michigan and Wisconsin, and target Republicans and Democrats. The lone Democrat in the group of four, Chris Koster of Missouri, is running for governor next year.
The ads will begin running over the coming days, with two of them describing the attorneys general as accepting donations from “polluters” and bowing to special interests. The ad targeting Mr. Koster portrays him as an opponent of President Obama’s environmental agenda, and as someone who is not doing the right thing by Missouri’s families.
In Michigan, a similar commercial will accuse Attorney General Bill Schuete of “putting polluters and his campaign contributors ahead of protecting Michigan families.” In Florida, the spot describes Pam Bondi, a Republican, as “an attorney general for polluters, not for us.” The ads are being paid for through Mr. Bloomberg’s political arm, Independence USA PAC.
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