The Smoligarchs: Deborah Gabe
Hoo owns Indiana's political candidates
The Smoligarchs is a series on the biggest political donors in Indiana. Every state has influential real estate developers, auto dealership owners, medical industry insiders, large agribusiness farmers, and other wealthy individuals with outsized sway in their communities and at the state level. Many of these folks keep their far-right politics hidden behind philanthropy or operate in the shadows, shunning attention altogether. These are the small-scale oligarchs who own the politicians and REALLY make policy in the Hoosier State.
Why is she on this list?
Deborah Gabe has contributed over $150,000 to the gubernatorial campaign of Republican Eric Doden.
Where did the money come from?
Deborah is the widow of Tom Gabe, late founder and CEO of Heritage Petroleum. According to their website, “the firm began more than 50 years ago as two companies, Gabe’s Oil and Wannamuehler Oil, which was combined in 2002 to become the largest independent petroleum distributor in Southern Indiana.” His biography on the site states,
“Heritage Petroleum Patriarch Thomas Keith Gabe had more than 40 years’ experience in petroleum distribution and environmental services. Tom Gabe founded Heritage Petroleum in 2002. He was previously the owner of Gabe’s Oil, Inc., which he began in 1977. In 1989 Gabe also formed Subsurface Technology (Sub-Tech), an environmental services and emergency spill response company servicing 33 states across the country; it was acquired by Koester Companies, Inc. in 1994. He served as Executive Vice President for Koester Companies from 1995 to 2000.”
Their son Aaron now serves as President and CEO of the company, which absorbed Omaha-based Allied Oil & Supply in 2021.
Also, a note about Sub-Tech. If the owner of a petroleum company also starting an oil spill cleanup company isn’t a perfect example of “create the problem to sell the solution,” I don’t know what is.
But wait, there’s more. The other co-founder of Sub-Tech Environmental Services is our old pal (and I mean that in the most sarcastic way possible), the Christian nationalist, rape-apologist, Richard Mourdock, who was vice president of Koester Companies when they acquired the cleanup firm. Among Koester’s many subsidiaries was Vigo Coal.
Brilliant. Befoul the environment and get paid to clean it up. It’s exactly what CEO Jesus would do.
Whoa! Why’d you go and bring Jesus into this?
I didn’t bring him; I found him here. According to Mr. Gabe’s obituary, “Tom's goal in life was to tell as many people as possible about his Lord Jesus Christ, and everyone that knows him well will share that Tom had a gift of evangelism.”
That evangelism extended right down to the company’s mission because, if nothing else, the Lamb of God stood for limitless growth and fossil fuel extraction.
Gabe also supported proselytizing organizations like Overseas Council/United World Missions, I Am Second, For Evansville, Luis Palau Ministries, and The Steve Amerson Music Ministries.
Now, I don’t doubt the goodness in someone’s heart or question their intent, but let me be clear where I stand: missionary work is spiritual colonialism, and very often, actual colonialism.
“The idea that people desperately need some random foreigner to save them is often harmful and frankly, narcissistic.” - Zoha Malik
It’s rarely good news when someone shows up preaching “The Good News.” And that goes for domestic missionary work, too. Your neighbor’s heart doesn’t need colonized, either. Really. We’re fine.
Alright! Back on task! Where else does the money go?
The Gabe Family, aside from the whopping contributions to Doden, have not been megadonors.
When the Gabes have contributed (Tom 1/2, Deborah 1/2, Aaron on OpenSecrets) they certainly have a type:
Lots of line items for Mike Pence, Christian extremist
Hey, there’s our buddy Mourdock again, Christian extremist
Donald Trump, Bible salesman & official golden calf of Christian extremism
Why Doden?
Doden is probably running the most faith-forward campaign of the major Republican candidates (sorry, Jamie Reitnour, I said major). Doden’s father, Daryle, and the late Mr. Gabe seem to have been two peas in a pod - an evangelical, missionary, fanatical pod. See, it’s okay to hoard wealth and resources because an all-powerful, all-knowing God needs rich white guys with money to build his Kingdom on earth. It’s in the Bible.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in political contributions” - Jesus, I guess
I am so glad I found your publication. It's astonishing how these people can move through life in our state and no one knows who they are or the strings they're pulling. Thanks for shining a light.
Your latest installment reeks of sarcasm. I love it! It also reeks of the truth and shows just how powerful, sneaky and rich the right wing evangelical extremists will go to overturn everything we need to fight for.