Climate protesters target a Pennsylvania Society tradition

Pennsylvania Society, the 123-year-old gathering of the Keystone State’s business and political elite in Manhattan, is a series of invite-only receptions and cocktail parties.

But this year, some uninvited guests showed up.

About a dozen activists with Pennsylvania Action on Climate traveled to New York on Saturday morning to protest the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association annual event, chanting, “You take bribes! The planet dies!” as attendees filed into the Metropolitan Club.

Michael Bagdes-Canning, who lives in Butler County, said the protesters targeted Pennsylvania Society because it’s a place where the rich and powerful meet with elected officials behind closed doors.

“It’s a way for the plutocrats to bribe our legislators,” Bagdes-Canning said. “They can wine and dine them here, and then they throw money at them. And then they do awful legislation.”

» READ MORE: At Pennsylvania Society, a Republican reckoning and shift on mail ballots

He added that there is broad support in Pennsylvania for the fossil fuel industry among Democrats and Republican elected officials.

“It’s a bipartisan corruption issue, and a bipartisan climate issue,” Bagdes-Canning said.

The Manufacturers’ Association lobbies in Harrisburg on behalf of a range of industries across the state, including natural gas. Its annual event features a buffet breakfast and a series of speeches from high-profile Pennsylvania politicians.

This year, U.S. Sens. Pat Toomey and Bob Casey were scheduled to speak, as well as Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and Pennsylvania House Democratic leader Joanna McClinton of Philadelphia.

The protesters briefly entered the Metropolitan Club and sang a protest song before being asked to leave. They then lined up outside the club’s red carpet entrance to chant at people entering.

David N. Taylor, the president and CEO of the Manufacturers’ Association, criticized the demonstrators for protesting against an event that is known for its civility and bipartisanship.

“This is exactly the kind of foolishness we are trying to overcome. Our representative system can’t function if all we do is yell at each other,” Taylor said. “So we are very pleased that we had another successful program that was bipartisan, where our most prominent elected officials speak to a VIP audience at length without interruption. Thats the whole point.”

Taylor also defended the oil and gas industry, saying fossil fuels are vital to modern life.

“Human thriving is made possible by steel, cement, plastics, and ammonia,” Taylor said. “All four of those things require coal, oil, or natural gas.”