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Murkowski and Holmstead: A Match Made on K Street?

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Greenpeace has developed a spoof Web site of the online dating company eHarmony that purports to match polluters with politicians.

PolluterHarmony’s first victim: Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).

The Web site features an actor playing Bracewell & Giuliani lobbyist Jeff Holmstead giving a testimonial on finding Murkowski.

“Lisa’s profile really jumped out at me — willing to ravage the environment, desperate for cash, able to justify her actions with ease,” the character playing Holmstead said. “And I thought to myself, ‘Perfect, for me and my clients.'”

Greenpeace’s Kert Davies said the environmental lobbying group created the Web site to draw attention to Murkowski and her efforts to stop the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating carbon dioxide.

“There’s an endless supply of these stories,” Davies said. “We are going to continue to illustrate everyone we can find that fits the bill.”

The site also highlights matches between Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Kansas-based oil and chemical corporation magnate Charles Koch and Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) with American Electric Power’s Michael Morris.

There’s no love lost between Murkowski and Greenpeace, according to her spokesman Robert Dillon.

“This type of personal attack is highly offensive and clearly crosses the line,” Dillon said in a statement. “This is a perfect example of what’s wrong with Washington. Too often outside groups go for the personal attack when they can’t win on the merits.”

Dillon noted previous Greenpeace campaigns insulting Murkowski, including babies smoking cigarettes.

“Greenpeace should be downright ashamed to be associated with, let alone paying for, these ads,” he added.

Holmstead, whose lobbying clients have included Duke Energy and Southern Co., was unavailable to comment. But Bracewell & Giuliani’s Frank Maisano, a member of the firm’s energy practice, said it’s just another example of Greenpeace having too much time and money to spend.

“It shows they are desperate to show some charlatan, some boogie man that they can use to try to slow down the momentum against the EPA regs,” Maisano said. “There’s widespread momentum that is not just the Republicans, but on the Democratic side. … They are desperate to do whatever they can to try to discredit the real concerns that Members have.”

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