Well before Senate Democrats passed their health care bill on Christmas Eve, the debate over health care reform was dividing progressives. Now there is an even larger division among progressives, as some will support any candidate running as a Democrat in 2010, while others will not.

I told you the other day about Tuesday’s policy forum hosted by Newsweek magazine and the American Petroleum Institute. At the time, Howard Fineman defended his magazine’s role in providing a forum for communication between powerful special interests and members of Congress:

Rep. Ed Markey, the chief sponsor of the House cap-and-trade bill and a leading environmental advocate, is a full participant in the open, on-the-record discussion with no control by API over the questions or flow. Dem Sen Byron Dorgan is also participating and will reflect various views in Dem caucus. Rep Fred Upton, who opposed the House bill, will also participate. I see nothing wrong with an open, on-the-record balanced discussion like this. Newsweek has a long tradition of enviro reporting, including our annual green issue.

It looks like I wasn’t the only one who took issue with Fineman’s take. TPM Muckracker ran the headline: Fineman: “I See Nothing Wrong” With Newsweek/Oil Lobby Panel. Jamison Foser of Media Matters wrote:

Seriously? The “discussion” featured the president of the American Petroleum Institute — which just happens to fund Newsweek — but no representatives of environmental organizations … and Howard Fineman calls that a “balanced discussion”?

Apparently to Newsweek, “balance” means “Industry representatives who fund us and–Hey! Look over there!”

About a month ago, a strange email hit the inboxes of many congressional staffers. It was an invitation to an ‘Executive Forum’ on climate and energy policy hosted by the American Petroleum Institute. What was strange about this invitation was the sender of the email and the co-host of the policy forum: Newsweek magazine. The event is scheduled for today at 4pm.

Greenpeace’s Executive Director Phil Radford, understandably, took issue with this when the event was announced:

At present, the panel’s only member is American Petroleum Institute (API) President Jack Gerard.As you know, Mr. Gerard is the nation’s top registered lobbyist for Big Oil. API and its biggest member, ExxonMobil, have aggressively lobbied against global warming policy solutions that will inevitably limit global consumption of oil. API and its members have spent tens of millions of dollars over the past decade alone on propaganda efforts and front groups to undercut public confidence in the wide and deep global scientific consensus that global warming is real, that human consumption of fossil fuels is driving it, and that the problem is a serious threat to America and the rest of the world.

Either Fineman can’t read or he’s making shit up to make a point. In either case, it’s unacceptable.