JOHNSTON, IOWA — Rep. Steve King, a champion of the federal ethanol mandate, tonight tore into an ethanol industry lobby group for its attacks on Ted Cruz, a mandate opponent whom King is nonetheless endorsing.
“Who are you really working for?” King asked of America’s Renewable Future, an ethanol-industry-backed lobby group running vicious attack ads against Cruz in Iowa. “Who funds you?”
ARF is running a radio ad that says “politicians like Ted Cruz support subsidies for Big Oil, but want to end support for ethanol.” The ad says Cruz opposes ethanol subsidies because of his personal investments in oil, “and the SuperPACs backing his campaign have received over $25 million from oil interests.”
Cruz’s campaign has asked radio stations to pull the ad, saying it’s untrue that Cruz supports oil subsidies — he’s supported a bill to end all energy tax credits, including credits for oil.
King, who disagrees with Cruz on the mandate, made his critiques of ARF on a conservative Simon Conway show on Des Moines radio station WHO. Of ARF’s attack ad on Cruz, King said, “There’s not a factual basis for those allegations.”
ARF has given positive ratings to Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Marty O’Malley, Chris Christie, Donald Trump, and a few minor GOP candidates.
Earlier in the radio show, King suggested ARF may be working for Democrats.
Timothy P. Carney, The Washington Examiner’s senior political columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]. His column appears Tuesday and Thursday nights on washingtonexaminer.com.
