"Americans for Prosperity — the group backed by David H. and Charles G. Koch that has been pouring millions of dollars into competitive Senate races to the rising alarm of Democrats — was also among the politically active groups on the ground in this month's special House election on Florida's Gulf Coast.
But its agenda had little to do with the fate of David Jolly, the Republican candidate who won that race. The group's ground troops — including those who knocked on doors, ran phone banks and reached out through social media to gauge ways to motivate voters — were part of a much greater project, with a prize much larger than a congressional seat."* The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks it down.
*Read more here from Carl Hulse and Ashley Parker / NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/21/us/...
**********
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May 04, 2014
BOSTON — A federal judge has ruled in favor of Cape Wind in the latest lawsuit challenging the 130-turbine offshore wind energy project planned for Nantucket Sound.
U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns on Friday granted several motions to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the project's opponents, including the town of Barnstable, the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound and various businesses and individuals.
The lawsuit filed in January claims that the approval by state regulators of an above-market contract to sell power from the project to NStar, which delivers power to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and other parts of the state, violated two clauses of the U.S. Constitution: the Commerce Clause and the Supremacy Clause. The suit was filed against Cape Wind, state officials and NStar.
The plaintiffs argued that NStar was forced to sign the contract with Cape Wind as a condition for the state approving a merger between the utility and Northeast Utilities and that the state infringed on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's jurisdiction over setting wholesale electricity rates.
"Both sides in the dispute claim the mantle of environmentalism, although for present purposes, plaintiffs have doffed their green garb and draped themselves in the banner of free-market economics," Stearns wrote in the 28-page ruling, which lays out a succinct overview of the project's long legal history.
Stearns found that the plaintiffs, who had sued officials at the state Department of Public Utilities and the state Department of Energy Resources, were barred from doing so under the 11th Amendment of the Constitution, which restricts lawsuits in federal court against a sovereign state for past actions.
In addition, he found that, even if the lawsuit had passed the 11th Amendment test, it would still have lost on the merits.
"The allegation that DPU dictated that NStar procure power from Cape Wind at a specified price is misleading and ultimately untrue," Stearns wrote in a footnote.
In a final footnote, Stearns resorted to some of the strongest language to date regarding the use of the courts in the 13-year fight over Cape Wind.
"If instead of a judicial robe, I were to wear the hat of John Muir or Milton Friedman, I might well conclude that the Cape Wind project should have been built elsewhere (or not built at all), or that the NStar-Cape Wind contract should never have been approved," Stearns wrote. "But in this case, the governor, the Legislature, the relevant public agencies, and numerous courts have reviewed and approved the project and the PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) with NStar and have done so according to and within the confines of the law. There comes a point at which the right to litigate can become a vexatious abuse of the democratic process. For that reason, I have dealt with this matter as expeditiously as possible."
In an email Saturday to the Times, Alliance president Audra Parker pledged to appeal the decision.
"(Friday's) ruling is based on a legal technicality that does not address our claim that state regulators acted illegally," Parker wrote. "The state's action forcing NStar to purchase Cape Wind power at more than three times the price of competing green energy producers is a clear violation of federal law and one that puts an unfair financial burden on consumers. The NStar-Cape Wind contract is unconstitutional."
Barnstable assistant town attorney Charles McLaughlin said Saturday that he needs to review the decision and consult with his clients and the Alliance to determine the next steps.
The Dirty Energy Kochs are funding Barnstable's legal challenge.
The case is the latest in a long line of legal challenges to the 130-turbine wind farm in Nantucket Sound.
The Alliance is awaiting final action on two outstanding matters in another federal lawsuit and considering future appeals, Parker said this week after a hearing on the motions to dismiss. The two outstanding matters relate to a federal judge's ruling in mid-March that threw out most of the opponents' challenges to the Department of Interior's 2010 approval of the wind farm project but sent two findings on birds and whales back to federal agencies for further action.
In a statement released Saturday morning, Cape Wind president Jim Gordon said Friday's decision "provides further momentum for Cape Wind to secure project financing and produce the energy, economic and environmental benefits to the region and the United States by launching a domestic offshore wind industry."
Gov. Deval Patrick called Friday's decision another significant step forward for what will be America's first commercial offshore wind project.
"We hope (Friday's) decision sends a positive signal to everyone that this important project has been properly approved at every level of government," Patrick said in a statement released through the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. "Now is the time for this industry to take hold in the United States with Massachusetts as a hub. It's time for Cape Wind to deliver the long-awaited
environmental benefits and jobs to Massachusetts."
The project, which is expected to cost at least $2.6 billion, has made headway recently in securing financing.
In March, Cape Wind officials announced that, with The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., they had added Natixis and Rabobank as "lead arrangers" for the project. The banks expect to provide more than $400 million in debt themselves in addition to $900 million in potential financing from other sources.
Staff reporter Mary Ann Bragg contributed to this report.
