Chafee endorsement followup (poll)

I haven't seen anyone else following up on the diary Markos wrote last week about the Rhode Island chapter of the Sierra Club endorsing Senator Lincoln Chafee for re-election.

So...below the fold, I set forth in its entirety the reply I just received from the national Political Desk at the Sierra Club, which contains their arguments supporting the endorsement.  After I had read the diary, I had sent the people at the Desk an e-mail message asking who the idiots who decided to endorse Chafee were.

I don't consider the response the last word in the matter, but I thought that fellow Kossacks might like to see it.

The Sierra Club publicly announced its endorsement of Senator Lincoln Chafee on Wednesday, April 19th. While this announcement may appear controversial to some, Senator Chafee is a key leader in our work towards a pro-environment majority in the Senate.  As a key member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and chair of the subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Water, he has consistently demonstrated independence and leadership on issues ranging from clean air, to global warming, to cleaning up toxic waste and protecting special places.  Some of the highlights include:

   A champion for rallying colleague votes to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,
   A leader who single-handedly made sure the Clean Air Act was not weakened to produce more polluting oil refineries
   A thoughtful Senator who is making sure that the Endangered Species Act is preserved despite attacks from special interests.

      The Sierra Club Political Committee has a policy of generally endorsing incumbents who have solid environmental records. Senator Chafee meets that criteria with his League of Conservation Voters scorecard ranking of 90%. In addition, the Sierra Club analyzes votes for a
scorecard we send out to our members. In 2004, our own analysis of 4 key votes showed he voted correct on 100%. While we are still putting together this cycle's scorecard, we have reviewed 6 environmental votes and one trade vote. Chafee voted correct on 100% of the environmental votes.

      Even with a great record on environmental issues, any endorsement requires a 2/3s vote by two volunteer committees - one at the local level and one at the national level. Sierra Club volunteers at several levels
of the Club were engaged in this endorsement. The Rhode Island political committee and the Rhode Island Executive Committee both voted unanimously in favor of endorsing, and the volunteer national Political Committee voted
unanimously too.

      The Board of Directors' appointed Task Force that reviewed the goals and the underlying strategies of the political program concluded that there should continue to a focus on conducting our work and making our endorsements in a manor that works to protect our reputation and
credibility. The underlying reason for this recommendation was:

      "The strength of our endorsements and our reputation is in our ability to declare in a nonpartisan/bipartisan manner which candidate is the best choice for the environment. Our opponents seek to diminish our power in this arena by labeling us as a special interest, so we
need to constantly strive to maintain our reputation."

      The Sierra Club's decision to endorse and draw attention to our support of Senator Lincoln Chafee fits solidly with the mission of the political committee to use the political and electoral process to advance our conservation goals.

Regards,
Political Desk

•  Tip jar, or slam container

  Look, I consider it a public service to display the response I received from the Sierra Club's Political Desk.  You may not feel that way.

  by JTML on Tue Apr 25, 2006 at 03:47:17 PM PDT

  •  Of Course!

    It's useful to know that their reasoning is really as weak as I thought it was.

    by ChesapeakeBlue on Tue Apr 25, 2006 at 07:12:05 PM PDT

•  I suspect the divide will remain

  More Here

  by muledriver on Tue Apr 25, 2006 at 03:52:27 PM PDT

•  My reply

  Dear Sierra Club,
  You can afford to be bipartisan when Democrats are in control of the Senate, but you can't right now. The most important vote Lincoln Chaffee casts each term isn't on your scorecard--it's the one he casts for Majority Leader, and as long as Bill Frist is Majority Leader, your goals and projects are threatened. What are Frist's percentages from Sierra Club and the LCV? How do they stack up against Harry Reid's scores? These votes are the ones that matter, and right now, Lincoln Chaffee is on the wrong side of those votes.
  Sincerely,

  by incertus on Tue Apr 25, 2006 at 04:14:43 PM PDT

  •  It isn't even about D's vs. R's.

    These particular Republicans are dangerous.  While Chafee is relatively moderate in the Republican party, he is still an enabler for the Right wing of Bill Frist and George W. Bush.  

    by CO Democrat on Tue Apr 25, 2006 at 05:17:10 PM PDT

    •  That's my point, really

      If we were dealing with honest (relatively speaking) brokers on issues in Congress, then this wouldn't be a big deal, but we aren't. We're dealing with douchebags.

      by incertus on Tue Apr 25, 2006 at 05:47:12 PM PDT

•  Thanks for posting this

  I know most people here will not open their minds enough to really read what the Sierra Club is saying, but it was important that this was shared. I knew Markos wasn't going to post it.

  I've been a member of the Sierra Club for over 20 years and I'm very active in my local chapter. On the Kos, we don't talk about what the Club does right because it's always easier to criticize.

  I honestly can see both sides of the argument. I can understand why the first knee-jerk reaction is to condemn the Club, forgetting that their charter says nothing about being a political arm of the Democratic Party.

  But I can also see the Club's need to reward and support pro-environment politicians.

  Of course, if the Dems hadn't thrown away their Senate majority by their own doing, the Sierra Club wouldn't be getting this heat.

  by Naturegal on Tue Apr 25, 2006 at 04:49:02 PM PDT