Enron Lobbyist Plotted Strategy Against Democrats

February 11, 2002

THE FALL OF ENRON
FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

Enron Lobbyist Plotted Strategy Against Democrats
By MARK Z. BARABAK
TIMES STAFF WRITER

February 11 2002

While the Bush administration was drafting its national energy policy, a leading lobbyist for Enron Corp. was plotting strategy to turn the plan into a political weapon against Democrats, according to a newly obtained memo.

Edward Gillespie, who parlayed his close ties to the Bush White House into a lucrative contract representing the energy giant, warned that the administration faced "a classic liberal-conservative ... dynamic," which cast Republicans as the party of big business and enemies of the environment.

"Instead of picking the fight that has been picked for us, we should pick a new fight," said the confidential April 2001 memo, presented to energy companies and industry groups. The memo suggested the industry "change the dynamic by 'Carterizing' the Democrats"--an allusion to the dour ex-president. "We need to make them the 'eat your peas' party." Gillespie's simultaneous lobbying and campaign strategizing underscore Enron's influence in Washington before its collapse last year, as well as the way politics and policy often blur under the loophole-filled laws governing their combination.

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