Sierra Club and League of Conservation Voters Give McCain a Big, Fat Zero

The Sierra Club sent out an email today highlighting the efforts of another environmental organization, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV). LCV just put out their annual Congressional Scorecard, and the Sierra Club wants everyone to notice that John McCain received a big fat zero. McCain scored as low as anyone could on environmental issues.

Here is the email from the Sierra Club:

Two weeks ago John McCain was the only Senator to duck a crucial vote on the future of clean energy in America -- dooming to failure the measure that would have helped make renewable energy more affordable and accessible. Now it turns out this missed vote is part of a pattern.

Last week, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) released the 2007 National Environmental Scorecard giving Senator McCain a score of ZERO. According to the scorecard, McCain was the only member of Congress to skip all 15 crucial environmental votes scored by LCV.

Can you help spread the word about McCain's 0% environmental voting record and write a letter to the editor? The opinion page is widely read in most communities -- and a well-placed letter can reach a broad audience. We've included sample text to get you started.

McCain's LCV score exposes the real record behind the rhetoric -- a lifetime LCV score of 24, a history of siding with the polluters and special interests, and a consistent pattern of ducking important environmental votes.

Let's place thousands of letters in papers around the country. Click here to let us know you're writing a letter.

Thanks for taking action.

Sincerely,

Carl Pope
Executive Director
The Sierra Club

So McCain rates a zero. To be complete, I will note that the LCV gives Hillary Clinton a 73% and Barack Obama gets a 67%. These are not as high as I like to see in a Democrat, but they sure as hell beat McCain's abyssmal zero.

Looking back over the years, McCain's environmental record is actually declining. Yes...even as the threat of global warming is more and more urgent and widely accepted, John McCain becomes less and less willing to listen to scientific evidence and vote for the environment. Here are McCain's scores over the years: 2006: 29%; 2005: 45%; 2004: 56%; 2003: 53%. In other words, as with so many other issues, McCain is losing his independent, "maverick" status and becoming just another right wing extremist Bush Republican. His environmental score has consistently declined.

Clinton is fairly consistent in her support of the environment. 2006: 71%; 2005: 95%; 2004: 92%; 2003: 89%.

Obama usually does better than he did in 2007: 2006: 100%; 2005: 95%. Looking before that Obama scored between a 75 and 100% from the Illinois Environmental Council, the closest equivalent I find for his time in the Illinois State Senate.

Both the Sierra Club and League of Conservation Voters are non-partisan organizations who fairly rate politicians on environmental issues. McCain has no excuse for his abyssmal rankings. He has sold out to the Bush family and become an extremist.

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