(WI) U.S. Senate candidate Johnson may hang onto BP stock

Things that make you go "hmmmmm ..." You could almost consider this as Big Oil indirectly funding senate candidates.


http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20100727/GPG0101/7270557/Senate-candidate-may-hang-onto-BP-stock

MADISON — Republican Senate candidate Ron Johnson said Monday he hasn't decided whether to sell his BP stock, two weeks after he told reporters he would get rid of it. Financial disclosure forms show the Oshkosh manufacturer owns between $116,000 and $315,000 in BP stock. On July 9, his campaign said he would move his investments into a blind trust. Then after a campaign rally days later, Johnson told reporters he planned to sell the BP PLC stock to help finance his campaign against Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold. Monday, he said the sale wasn't certain.

<snip>

"I think that will eventually happen, but I'm going to do it based on market conditions," Johnson said after a lunch hosted by the political website wispol itics.com. "I'm going to have to finance this campaign. ... At some point in time, to get my message out, that will probably happen. But it's going to be based on market conditions."

<snip>

"The fact that he now says he is waiting to make a profit off of his investment in BP so that he can continue to fund his campaign to defend big oil, shows that he is more interested in corporate profits than doing the right thing," said Feingold's campaign strategist John Kraus.


:wtf: :wow: :wow:

then what is the significance of corporate profits ? BP's share values have sfa to do with either their balance sheet or whether or not they make a profit.

not trump all. My vote is for Senator Feingold.

The stock won't return to its pre oil spill levels for a long time, probably years. There is no way he is going to make a profit on the stock. Also, him selling or buying stock doesn't affect BP. Any sale he makes will be to another consumer. The BP issues the stock once, then it is only traded between parties, unless BP offers to buy it back. If you want to finance a campaign, it takes money, so trying to get more money from selling assets is good business sense.

to the fate of BP? A person who will want to minimize the cost to BP of their criminal decisions? Hell, he'll not only want Obama to apologize to BP, he'll be wanting the government to bail them out with nice, big subsidies to compensate them for their bad luck in the Gulf, and will no doubt want to let BP drill in the Great Lakes as a sop to their hurt feelings.

He is not a senator yet, so he isn't passing any laws.

Also, he has several million in stocks. I would say his holdings in BP probably make up less than 5% of his portfolio, so his personal fortune is not tied to BP.


John Kerry has 150,000 in Excon stock, does that make him biased towards the oil industry as well?

I didn't know that Kerry owned that much in excons, and sort of wonder why he's investing in former prisoners. (Is that 150,000 ex-cons or $150,000 worth of ex-cons? How much do they charge for one ex-con?)

At least someone saw my point. :hi: