Of course, they'll try to pass it off as a citizen rally like the insurance industry groups sabotaging health care town hall meetings. But a look at the event sponsors includes the usual list of corporate self-interest groups who lobby for their right to pollute your air and water without having to pay for cleaning up their own mess.
Grist found an internal industry list of event contacts, which I also found on my own with a simple google search. Most organizers for these Energy Citizens rallies are lobbyists for oil companies and related trade associations. Springfield's tea and crumpets rally in the Crown Plaza Ballroom is organized by Illinois Petroleum Association lobbyist Dave Sykuta.
(Have a milkshake at my rally!)
Ironically, groups sponsoring the rally frequently shield themselves by claiming they aren't against federal climate change legislation, but their actions show otherwise. It says a lot about the political atmosphere that even groups fighting tooth and nail to weaken any action on climate change realize that it's too politically risky to openly admit their opposition.
There are some disappointing sponsors of the rally who have much to lose from the impacts of climate change, like the Illinois Farm Bureau, and others who would benefit from the federal bill, like the Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative in Auburn. The oil and coal industries are adept at using their financial relationships to convince organizations to take stands that go against the best interests of their members.
The oil industry has every right to advocate for more unregulated pollution. They don't have the right to falsely present themselves as an unaffiliated grassroots citizens group and mislead the public about the federal energy bill without being corrected.
Honest reporters interested in telling the true story will report this as a polluters rally and treat their scare tactics about lost jobs and economic ruin with skepticism.