"The Chamber of Commerce stunned DC on Monday by calling a last-minute press conference to announce a dramatic about-face in its climate policy—it would not only stop opposing the Kerry-Boxer climate bill but would work with them to make it better. But the whole thing turned out to be a hoax mounted by the Yes Men, a notorious band of anti-corporate pranksters.
Reporters received a press release early Monday stating that the Chamber would be "throwing its weight behind strong climate legislation" at an event at the National Press Club in downtown Washington, DC. But when I and others showed up, we were met by a fellow dressed in a suit looking like a typical corporate PR man. This wasn't Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue. And I recognized him as Yes Man Andy Bichlbaum. (I've written about the group previously.) He soon was telling reporters, 'We at the Chamber have tried to keep climate science from interfering with business. But without a stable climate, there will be no business.'"
Kate Sheppard reports for Mother Jones October 19, 2009.
See Also:
Partial Video of Incident (YouTube)
"A Yes Man Talks About the Chamber Prank" (Mother Jones)
"Fox Business Network On Chamber Climate Hoax" (YouTube)
"Yes Men Pull Off Chamber Of Commerce Hoax On Climate Change" (Huffington Post)
"White House Plan: Neuter the Chamber" (Reuters)
"CNBC, Reuters Fall for Climate Hoax" (Politico)
FAKE Press Release (TOTALLY FAKE FROM YES MEN)
"Chamber Says Climate Change Statement a 'Hoax'" (Reuters)
"White House Turns Its Guns On The Chamber Of Commerce" (Huffington Post)
"U.S. Chamber Executive Urges Members to Stay Put Amid 'Activist' Uprising" (Greenwire)
Book on 'Climate Coverup' Picking Up Steam (DeSmogBlog)
"Chamber Challenges MoJo to Fact-Off, and ..." (Mother Jones)
"Chamber Quintuples Quarterly Lobbying Spending" (Washington Examiner)
"Washington Sketch: The News Is Broken" (Washington Post)
Steven Pearlstein Column: "Defections Expose Chamber's Dirty Little Secrets" (Washington Post)
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