Senator and Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (D-VT) has been one of the leading voices in Congress when it comes to ending oil exploration and subsidies for oil companies in the United States. He has also been loudly sounding the alarm bells, warning that fossil fuels are leading to catastrophic global warming, for years.
But it turns out that the senator's anti-oil stance does not apply when it comes to taking money from the owners of oil companies themselves.
According to OpenSecrets.org, Sanders political action committee, "Progressive Voters of America" took a $1,000 donation from members of the Krumme Oil Company, during the 2013-2014 election cycle.
Krumme, based in Bristow, Oklahoma, is a smaller oil company that rakes in $20 to $50 million a year.
Sanders himself, also took a $2,400 donation from the oil company in the 2011-2012 cycle when Sanders was running for re-election to the Senate.
George Krumme, the CEO of the company until his death in 2013 was active in Democratic politics for a half century and served as a National Committeeman from 1976–1996.
In the early days of his campaign Sanders has attempted to distance himself from other presidential candidates with claims that his fledgling presidential campaign has raised the majority of its money from small donors rather than from Super PACs or "billionaires."
Sanders was a vocal opponent of the Keystone XL pipeline and while the Senator has railed against "Big Oil" he seems to have little problem taking money from small oil companies such as Krumme.
In 2008, one person died and three were injured after an oil well that was leased to Krumme Oil, exploded, resulting in oil covering the entire vicinity surrounding the well.
Sanders has repeatedly pressed for the need to “transform our energy system away from fossil fuel.” Given his opposition to to the oil industry it seem unusual that he would use that industry's money to fund his campaigns.