In case you missed it, the Washington Post ran a story Sept. 23 saying SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s lobbying on behalf of President Obama’s plan to outsource human spaceflight to companies like SpaceX had caused some heartburn with the GOP.
The story doesn’t quote any disgruntled Republicans, but it does say that Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) has refused to meet with Musk and points out the partisan disparity in Musk’s recent political giving ($71,000 for Democrats this year versus $7,000 for Republicans — a break from Musk’s tendency to divide his contributions more evenly between the two parties).
“During a recent interview, Musk bristled at the notion — increasingly asserted by Republican detractors — that he has become a Democratic partisan. After all, he’s an avid supporter of Republican Meg Whitman, the California gubernatorial candidate who oversaw the acquisition of PayPal when she headed eBay.
“But Musk also acknowledged that he is ‘a fan of Obama,’ calling him ‘a good president’ and ‘a big proponent of competition.’ He said he has been disappointed in GOP opposition to the administration’s NASA plans.”
Other details of note: SpaceX has 15 lobbyists registered on its behalf.
