The 2010 election season is in full swing, and the League of Conservation Voters is gearing up to defeat politicians who protect their polluting corporate campaign contributors at the expense of a cleaner, safer, healthier planet. LCV has already named the first four members of our "Dirty Dozen" list, but we want members of the DailyKos community to help us pick our next target.
We all know that when voters and activists get engaged – from the grassroots to the netroots – we can stand up to powerful special interests and the dirty politicians they support. That’s why, since 1996, more than 60 percent of Dirty Dozen members have been defeated. (And that’s probably why Senator Blanche Lincoln was so upset by her recent nomination this past January; she even called LCV "extremists.")
Now you can decide who deserves to be the next member of the 2010 Dirty Dozen from among a crop of candidates who have all sided with Big Oil over a new clean energy future. The "People’s Choice" of LCV’s 2010 Dirty Dozen will be open to an online vote until this Friday at 6:00 PM EST.
Who’s your pick? Tell us now with your vote for the next Dirty Dozen member!
This year’s Dirty Dozen nominees are some of Big Oil’s best buddies:
• Pennsylvania Senate Candidate Pat Toomey (R-PA) – Toomey, who served in the House from 1995-2005, regularly parrots Big Oil’s misinformation on climate legislation while also supporting efforts to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. A former president of the polluter-funded (and polluter-loving!) Club for Growth, Toomey earned a miserable lifetime LCV score of only 11% while he was in Congress.
• Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN) – Bachmann not only voted against the American Clean Energy & Security Act, but spread misinformation leading up to the vote, claiming that carbon pollution, which contributes to global warming, is a harmless gas. Bachman, whose ludicrous denials of global warming science have made her a laughing stock at debates, is the proud owner of an LCV lifetime score of only 3%.
• Representative Bobby Bright (D-AL) – Bright is a freshman who voted against the American Clean Energy & Security Act, and is currently working to prevent the EPA from regulating global warming pollution. Bright has also distinguished himself as a prolific spewer of anti-energy reform talking points, repeating false claims about the costs of clean energy and attacking the House climate bill for being 1,200 pages long. Bright has a lifetime LCV score of only 36%.
• Former Representative Tim Walberg (R-MI) – A veteran of LCV’s Dirty Dozen list, Walberg consistently voted against repealing subsidies to Big Oil and against increasing the use of clean energy while in the House. At a time when his state’s auto industry was struggling against competitors like Toyota, Walberg also opposed fuel efficiency standards that encourage the building of popular fuel-efficient vehicles. Walberg has an abysmal lifetime LCV score of 3%.
• Representative Dan Lungren (R-CA) – Lungren has repeatedly opposed incentives to boost clean energy production and protect our air and water, which includes voting against American Clean Energy & Security Act last year. Lungren, who in 2008 challenged John Boehner for the right to lead opposition to any and all efforts to reform our failed energy policies, has a lifetime LCV score of just 3%.
The candidate which receives the most votes during this period will be targeted for defeat this election as part of the 2010 Dirty Dozen campaign.
LCV's trademark Dirty Dozen program targets candidates for Congress — regardless of party affiliation — who consistently vote against clean energy and conservation and are running in races in which LCV has a serious chance to affect the outcome. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Congressman Roy Blunt (R-MO) and former Congressmen Steve Pearce (R-NM) and Richard Pombo (R-CA) are currently on the 2010 Dirty Dozen list.
LCV is determined to build on our current Dirty Dozen record and will pull out all the stops to defeat Big Oil’s best friends at the polls this November.
Help us decide who will be next. Please vote today, then spread the word!