Varney: Is California Governor Newsom condemning PG&E a question of contradiction or hypocrisy?
The governor and his family have been taking a lot of money from a utility company which they consider the epitome of corporate greed
California Governor Gavin Newsom derides PG&E while his campaigns have accepted hundreds of thousands in contributions over the past two decades from the utility provider, FOX Business’ Stuart Varney said.
PG&E gave $227,000 to Newsom’s campaigns over a 20-year span and an additional $358,000 to a non-profit organization founded by the governor’s wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom, according to The Washington Post. Newsom campaigns collected a further $70,000 from PG&E employees and a charity run by the governor’s sister Hillary received $10,000 from the utility company, Varney said.
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All the while, Newsom held PG&E to blame for the wildfires devastating his state.
“It’s dog-eat-dog capitalism meeting climate change,” the governor said of the fires. “It’s about decades of mismanagement, focusing on shareholders and dividends,” he continued.
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“So the governor and his family have been taking a lot of money from a utility company which they consider the epitome of corporate greed. That’s either contradiction or hypocrisy; you choose!” Varney said.
Varney also pointed out the fact that while Newsom accuses PG&E of mismanagement, the company is subject to intense regulation by the state.
“The state tells ‘em what to do, but its PG&E’s fault when the state’s rules lead to catastrophe,” Varney said.
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The “one-party” Democratic state of California, Varney said, is a place where “irrational climate policies” are hurting everyone and where a utility company is driven to collapse, despite buying political influence.
After PG&E failed to prevent a pipeline explosion that killed eight, former Governor Jerry Brown gave back some of the money the company gave to his campaign.
“Will Governor Newsom do the same?” Varney asked.