Many political candidates in Washington and on the campaign trail had plenty to say about oil company villainy during the 2010 election cycle. But some campaigns and political committees had little problem padding the profits of two embattled companies in particular — BP and Citgo.

The campaigns of at least 75 different Democratic and Republican candidates, as well as several party and political action committees, purchased fuel or other services at BP and Citgo service stations, according to an analysis of 2010 election cycle expenditure records by the Center for Responsive Politics.

More than 50 of those campaigns stopped to fill up at BP service stations in the months following the worst oil spill in the nation’s history. They include Republicans and Democrats alike, and many of them filled up even as the gusher raged and fear over a seemingly unending stream of oil and gas spread out across the Gulf of Mexico gripped the nation from late April to early August of 2010.

The re-election campaigns of prominent Democrats such as Reps. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio and John Conyers of Michigan, both longstanding members who were outspoken about the spill, logged several stops each at BP stations during the campaign.

According to expenditure receipts submitted by Kucinich to the Federal Election Commission, the re-election campaign of the eight-term congressman spent $196 at BP gas stations in the months between July and October last year, including a $25 purchase on July 21, while the well remained uncapped and oil continued to pour into the Gulf.

Kucinich was among the loudest voices to link the oil spill to the consequences of the U.S. dependence on oil, and to call for an immediate shift to safer and cleaner energy sources.

“The ultimate horror is that we can’t stop the oil flood, won’t stop consumption of oil products and fail to admit the limits of technology” Kucinich wrote in a May editorial on The Hill‘s Congress Blog.

Kucinich’s office did not answer repeated requests for comment by OpenSecrets Blog.

Rep. Sanford Bishop , however, says his campaign’s gas purchases are perfectly appropriate.

The nine-term Democratic congressman recently won re-election to Georgia’s 2nd District , and during his run, his campaign purchased more gas or other supplies than any other candidate to stop at either gas station during the 2010 election cycle. He offered no apology. “I don’t buy gas based on political philosophy,” he told OpenSecrets Blog. Indeed, Bishop issued a pragmatic reason for making the expenditures: need.

“What do you do when you’re driving an automobile that runs out of fuel? You have to fill up,” he said.

Top 10 Committees Filing BP Expenditures Party Total Spent Susan Bitter Smith for Congress R $5,713 Sanford Bishop for Congress D $2,726 Rudy Moise for Congress D $2,468 Chip Cravaack for Congress R $1,797 Democratic Executive Committee of Florida D $1,719 Rush Holt for Congress D $1,513 Democratic Party of North Carolina D $1,100 John Conyers for Congress D $1,001 Roy Herron for Congress D $775 Daniel Webster for Congress R $718

A campaign official with Democratic Representative Gwen Moore ‘s campaign also maintained that there was no memo or policy in place directing staff where they could or could not buy gasoline on the campaign trail. Moore’s campaign filed $368 worth of expenditures at BP gas stations.

Huffington Post that harshly criticized BP and Kenneth Feinberg, the government-appointed administrator in charge of overseeing the claims process for victims of the oil spill, for insufficiently compensating those affected. The re-election campaign of Conyers spent about $1,000 at BP gas stations in the months between late-April and October of last year. That includes a $40 expenditure logged on September 2nd — one day after Conyers wrote an editorial published in thethat harshly criticized BP and Kenneth Feinberg, the government-appointed administrator in charge of overseeing the claims process for victims of the oil spill, for insufficiently compensating those affected. The campaigns of at least 23 different candidates filed expenditure receipts that included hundreds of dollars at Venezuelan company Citgo gas stations during the 2010 election cycle, as well.

Citgo is owned and operated by the Venezuelan government under President Hugo Chavez — a leader whose vitriolic and at times outright hostile rhetoric against the U.S. has in recent years brought frequent denunciations and even calls to end diplomatic ties from lawmakers of both parties. But that didn’t keep many from stopping at some of the company’s many gas stations.

Both candidates also spoke about the need for energy independence on the campaign trail. In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Rubio even singled out Chavez, the leftist leader known for vitriolic anti-U.S. screeds, and whose government owns and operates Citgo. “The only issue before us is how much oil does America want to produce domestically and how much does it want to have to buy from maniacs like Hugo Chavez,” he said. Rubio, like most other candidates contacted for comment on BP or Citgo expenditures, did not respond to requests for comment from OpenSecrets Blog. Other representatives whose campaigns fueled up at Citgo include Conyers, as well as other Republicans recently elected or re-elected to the House of Representatives, such as Chip Cravaack, Candice Miller, Dan Benishek and Marlin Stutzman.

Top 10 Committees Filing Citgo Expenditures Party Total Spent Sanford Bishop for Congress D $4,228 Dan Benishek for Congress R $3,243 Russ Feingold Senate Committee D $1,940 Friends of Patrick J. Kennedy D $1,272 Democratic Executive Committee of Florida D $1,008 Candice Miller for Congress R $791 Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee D $758 Paul Ryan for Congress R $574 Steve Israel for Congress D $432 Campaign to Send Richard Cash to Congress R $430

Bishop, who pointed out that his district spans one-fifth the size of the state of Georgia, said he would use “preferred sources” if he has a choice. But he also pointed out that, regardless of which company owns the facilities, the stations where his campaign made pit stops are operated by his constituents, the support of whom he is happy to offer.

Citgo, for its part, agrees with Bishop. “Every Citgo station in the United States is locally owned and operated, so money spent there goes to independent business owners who supply jobs to their community,” the company said in a written statement. BP stations also operate as locally owned franchises.



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