Bush's TVA board nominees are big political donors

Nov 23, 5:44 PM EST

Bush's TVA board nominees are big political donors

By DUNCAN MANSFIELD
Associated Press Writer

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- None of the five business people nominated by President Bush to the Tennessee Valley Authority's board of directors has experience with utilities or environmental conservation. But they share a common trait that may be just as important for a political appointment: all are big campaign contributors.

Together, the White House's five nominees to oversee the country's largest public utility and fifth largest river system contributed at least $296,250 to mostly Republican candidates and political organizations since 1990, according to Federal Election Commission records.

"We are concerned this appears to be more of a Who's Who list for the Republican Party than it does a list of people who are going to bring experience and wisdom to the TVA board," said Stephen Smith, executive director of the environmental group Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

Four of the five donated a total of $17,500 to Bush's presidential campaign, according to FEC records compiled by the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics. Three of them gave $14,000 to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and a fourth contributed to a political action committee that gave money to Frist.

"Oh sure, they are Republicans. And they are friends and this is the nature of the Bush administration," said Erwin Hargrove, a retired Vanderbilt University political science professor who authored a book about TVA.
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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SOU_TVA_BOARD_TNOL-?SITE=TNCLA&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

comes to important positions. None are qualified other than being loyal repubs and contributors to the GOP.

He hires everyone who gives him some sort of help.

to a hardcore fellow Democrat at the TVA - he's gonna shit his britches when he hears this. I feel for him......