Oxymoron:

What is a Republican Environmentalist?

Records of the Republican Candidates speak for themselves.

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Subject:   What is an oxymoron?----Or, What is Republican Environmentalist?-----
Date:       Sat, 26 Feb 2000 10:20:38 -0500
From:        Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization:     Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)

To:     Lyndon Hawkins <hawkins@empm.cdpr.ca.gov>
          State of California, Department of Pesticide Regulation
          Integrated Pest Management

Lyndon, I thought you might be interested in an article from the Environment News Service (ENS) entitled: GOP Enviros Portray McCain as Able

SAN DIEGO, California, February 25, 2000 (ENS) - Republicans for Environmental Protection has endorsed Arizona Senator John McCain as their preferred candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.

Vice president and co-founder of Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP), Aurie Kryzuda, announced the endorsement Thursday in San Diego, California at a rally for McCain. REP, formed in 1995, has members in 48 states.

McCain was the only candidate to respond to an environmental questionnaire REP sent to all Republican candidates to evaluate their positions on clean air, water, public lands and wildlife, among other issues.

We were "dismayed" that [Texas] Governor [George W.] Bush did not take the time to respond to our questionnaire and repeated phone calls," Kryzuda said.

REP explored McCain's voting and legislative record and found he was "far ahead of other (Republican) candidates on the issue of conservation." The group's statement mentioned the senator's support for laws designating 3.5 million acres of wilderness in Arizona, protection of the Grand Canyon National Park from noise pollution by aircraft, and creation of the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution.

In contrast, REP says the Bush environmental record is neither compassionate nor conservative, contrary to the slogan by which Governor Bush describes himself as a "compassionate conservative."

"When we asked his campaign if the governor supported the proposal of a Bush adviser to sell off all national parks and forests and other federal lands, the governor refused to answer. He has issued no major policy statement on the environment. He never raises the issue in debates or interviews. Looking back on his record in Texas, one finds virtually no affirmative acts by Governor Bush to protect the environment," REP said.

REP is concerned about Bush's favors to polluters who contribute to his campaign war chest. "The deterioration of Texas' air and water has occurred at the same time while Governor Bush has received enormous contributions form the biggest polluters, and then fought to exempt them from mandatory compliance with Texas clean air laws."

"The companies and people who benefited from Governor Bush's 'voluntary compliance' program, which has been a failure, were huge contributors to his gubernatorial race and have given over $1 million to his presidential campaign," REP claims.

McCain equated a conservative political position with conservation in a December 1999 campaign statement. "What could be more conservative than conserving for ourselves and our posterity clean air, safe water and the gifts of unspoiled creation? These are not benefits doled out by government to favored constituencies. ... It's time to comprehensively review our nation's environmental laws to assure they are relevant to today's needs and capabilities. That's not code for weakening standards, it's a call for strengthening our methods for addressing the threats to human health and the environment, and for seeking ways to make them more sensible and less costly."

But Senator McCain is by no means an environmentalist. He scored a low 11 percent on environmental protection votes during the current session of Congress, according to the Congressional Environmental Scorecard released earlier this month by the League of Conservation Voters (LCV).

Out of the nine environmental votes scored by the LCV, Senator McCain voted on the side of environmental protection on just one. He voted against unlimited mine waste dumping.

In the other eight votes scored by the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Senator McCain was absent for five and voted against environmental protection in the other three.

In one case, he voted to withhold federal funds to phase out commercial fishing in Alaska's Glacier Bay. In another case, McCain voted against an amendment that would have added $62 million to the Energy Department’s solar and renewable energy programs.

In the third case, McCain voted to allow a delay in reforming a royalty system that permits oil companies to avoid paying royalties to the federal government. Since 1991, oil and gas companies have underpaid royalties by more than $2 billion. This has the effect of shortchanging the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which sets aside a portion of oil royalty revenue to buy natural places and habitat.

McCain has declared himself against the Clinton administration's plan to permanently ban road building in 40 million roadless acres of America's national forests.

In December 1999, McCain indicated that if elected he would reverse the roadless area protection policy now under development. In his statement, McCain said he favors local control over federal lands.

The national conservation group American Lands, headed by former Democratic congressman from Indiana Jim Jontz says that in the past, local control over federal lands has meant "giving logging, mining and grazing interests carte blanche to exploit public resources for private gain, while leaving the taxpayers the cleanup bill."

Well Lyndon, it would seem to me an oxymoron is a Republican environmentalist. What do you think?

Respectfully, Stephen L. Tvedten.

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