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A secret alliance of Republican officials and energy companies has been working together to conspire to thwart executive actions taken by President Obama.

The New York Times reported on a letter that had been written by an energy company and copied by state government stationery then sent to Washington,

The email exchange from October 2011, obtained through an open-records request, offers a hint of the unprecedented, secretive alliance that Mr. Pruitt and other Republican attorneys general have formed with some of the nation’s top energy producers to push back against the Obama regulatory agenda, an investigation by The New York Times has found. Attorneys general in at least a dozen states are working with energy companies and other corporate interests, which in turn are providing them with record amounts of money for their political campaigns, including at least $16 million this year. They share a common philosophy about the reach of the federal government, but the companies also have billions of dollars at stake. And the collaboration is likely to grow: For the first time in modern American history, Republicans in January will control a majority — 27 — of attorneys general’s offices.

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What The Times uncovered is an example of something that the majority of Democratic voters don’t understand. State elections are in some ways more important than federal elections. State elections in midterm years really matter.

Corporations and big money right-wing millionaires and billionaires have systematically been dumping money into state races for positions like secretary of state and attorney general. Unlike the purchase of the support of member of the House or Senate, having a state attorney general in their pocket can yield immediate access to power and results.

Corporations and the big money interests couldn’t beat the president at the federal level, so they are using Republican elected officials as proxies for their agenda in a state level fight.

It is amazing that this president has accomplished as much as he has given the well-funded opposition that he has faced. The media often focuses on the federal level party conflicts, but Republicans have their way in the majority of states.

If Democrats don’t grow their base beyond turning out for presidential elections, the special interests could take over the ground beneath their feet.