Politics Local Biodiesel Activist Fund-raising with Karl Rove?
When Karl Rove comes to town this Friday he’ll be attending a fund-raiser for Republican Congressman Dave Reichert in Medina—an event that is set to be hosted by John and Kathy Connors and Martin Tobias, according to Seattle Times.
Tobias is the CEO and chairman of Imperium Renewables, which develops biodiesel technology. He’s also involved in a venture-capital company with John Connors.
Here’s a blog that seems to be written by the same Martin Tobias, in which the author gripes about “Big Oil” and notes the connection between terrorism and the U.S. dependence on Saudi Arabia. Which leads one Stranger tipster to note the irony in a biodiesel activist hosting a fund-raiser with Rove, whom he sees as having helped the Bush administration launch an “unnecessary war for oil”:
I find the affiliation of one of the heads of Seattle Biodiesel with this political figure at odds with the values which attract people to biodiesel as an alternative fuel in the first place.
The state Republican Party would not comment on whether Mr. Tobias is, in fact, this Mr. Tobias. An email to the media contact at Imperium Renewables has not yet been returned. And the Reichert campaign has not yet responded to a question about Mr. Tobias.
I can verify that the blog is indeed the blog of Martin Tobias, CEO of the biodiesel company. Mr. Tobias purchased a large piece of my art awhile back, and I was at that time directed to his blog to learn more about him (the piece was sold through a gallery, I did not meet him). It would surprise me greatly, however, that he is hosting a fund-raiser for Reichert.