This showed up on my twitter feed just now as a ‘Promoted’ tweet.

Now, I don’t tend to squander any love on Bloomberg, Steyer, or Soros, but I was curious enough to look up this group, Power The Future, and look at what I found on the group’s timeline:

Hmmm, I thought, something seems off. Here is the linked story:

Beto O’Rourke to major Democratic super PAC donor: “Thanks, but no thanks”

Tom Steyer, one of the biggest Democratic donors in the country, openly mulled spending on O’Rourke’s behalf via his environmental super PAC, NextGen America.

Wait, is it..possible that O’Rourke said, “Thanks, but no thanks” for a reason completely different than the fact the Steyer is supposedly “anti-energy”?

From the article:

“We are intrigued by Texas, and we are aware what we have to do in order to have an impact on a state that big. We need a lot of resources, but we have not made a decision to be involved with it,” Steyer said. O’Rourke has long said he would not accept corporate PAC or super PAC money for his campaign, but he has no control over whether Steyer or anyone else runs ads on his behalf through an outside group. “He can still do it,” O’Rourke said. “Literally, not only do I not have any control but I’m prohibited by law from coordinating. Having said that, for he and anyone considering doing this, we don’t want that. It’s not the way to run this, and I’m convinced it’s not the way to win.” The El Paso Democrat was emphatic outside of the U.S. House chamber when asked about Steyer’s comments. “Thanks, but no thanks,” he said. “That’s my response. [I] don’t want it. That’s not how we’re doing this.” O’Rourke added: “This is going to be a real test for Texas and for the country and our democracy to see if people are a match for the PACs and the super PACs and the special interests and the corporations, and I’m all in on the people.”

So what is this group Power The Future?

We are a 501C4 with the mission of offering truth, facts, and research that will enrich the national conversation on energy.

Well, for starters, here the Linkedin page for the group’s Director, Daniel Turner:

(H/T to the DK Climate Denier Roundup Community for that LinkedIn link. Yep, in the course of my research I found that they had done a piece on this group twelve days ago.)

Wait, what’s that? Daniel Turner used to work at the Charles Koch Institute?

And what is Generation Opportunity?

Generation Opportunity is a center-right political advocacy organization in the United States focused on economic policy and aimed at young adults. It is a sister organization to the Americans for Prosperity-led political network initially funded by the Koch family.[1]

And then, there’s this part:

In 2013, Politico reported that Generation Opportunity had received a $5 million grant from Freedom Partners, a group of about 200 donors that is associated with Charles and David Koch.

Back to the group’s tax status. From the DK piece:

Despite declaring that it does not lobby, Power the Future’s About page says that its non-profit designation is a 501c4. This tax designation means a lot. There are two main types of nonprofit organizations, 501c3 and 501c4. Organizations with c3 status are charities and are allowed to do minimal lobbying (typically less than 10 percent of its budget.) C4s, on the other hand, can do unlimited lobbying on issues and legislation relevant to their social welfare missions. Despite claiming not to be a lobby shop, Turner created a front designed to do unlimited lobbying.

From PTF’s FAQ page:

Do you lobby? No, we’re not a lobbying shop. We aren’t advocating for specific legislation or promoting energy policy. But we do want to talk to everyone and anyone about these issues, and make sure the whole truth of every energy conversation is shared in the halls of Congress, in the White House, and above all, in the media.

Good work DK ClimateDenierRoundup Community! Gotta give credit where credit is due.

This group, Power The Future, is just another Koch operation and them using Beto O’Rourke’s desire to be a people-powered campaign to attack clean energy proponents is the height of cynicism. Not to mention outrageously deceptive and potentially harmful to a good candidate, and to our planet.

Thumbs down Daniel Turner and Power The Future! Consider yourself officially exposed.

These dark money groups ALL need to be exposed and done away with asap, for the good of this country, and for the good of the entire planet!

EDIT: I changed the title a little, taking out the Koch-funded part, until I can confirm that PTF is, indeed, directly funded by the Kochs. It seems likely that they are, but I don’t want LD to get into any trouble on my account.

UPDATE: I found a piece written last week about this man Daniel Turner and his new group.

Conservative energy group gears up to fight enviros

Turner worked at the State Department during the George W. Bush administration, on the 2012 Romney for President transition team and at other organizations including Booz Allen Hamilton, Generation Opportunity and the Charles Koch Institute. His uncle, Bob Turner, was a Republican congressman from New York between 2011 and 2013.

When you read this next bit, please keep in mind that this group is a brand new one-man operation:

Turner said he has raised several million dollars in seed money from donors that “care deeply about the energy industry from a national perspective, and they care about the activism of these well-organized, ridiculously well-funded groups and the damage they do to our national conversation.” But he would not name specific donors for his new energy group and did not comment on whether the Kochs are backing Power the Future.

Shall we get Daniel on the line and extract out of him WHO donated all that “seed” money??