As Jim (No) Talent tries to
desperately and pathetically distance himself from his Republican party and from President Bush in order to win a tough Senate race against Claire McCaskill, his pesky Senate voting record keeps getting in the way.
I will periodically try to help expose just how much of a rubber stamper Talent has been for the Bush administration and the GOP Congress over the past four years, and demonstrate just how out of step he is with today's voters. In this diary I'll tackle Talent's dirty ol' mess of an environmental voting record. Jump down for the filthy details.
During his time in the Senate, Talent has enthusiastically done as he has been told by Bush & Cheney to appease the oil and gas lobby and further advance the ruination of our environment. That point is made painfully clear in a
June 2006 report by the League of Conservation Voters, which named Talent one of its "Dirty Dozen" politicians with the worst environmental voting records during the 109th U.S. Congress, and with good reason. The report shows that Talent has received more than a quarter million dollars in campaign contributions from oil and gas interests, and he has paid them back handsomely with votes such as these:
- Voted for the Energy Conference Report, "arguably the most anti-environmental legislation signed into law in recent memory," according to LCV. The bill provided more than $25 billion to polluting energy interests through tax breaks, direct spending and authorizations (Senate Roll Call Vote 213, July 29, 2005).
- Voted against a Senate amendment requiring electrical utilities to produce 10% of their electricity from clean, renewable resources by the year 2020 (Senate Roll Call Vote 141, June 16, 2005).
- Voted for Senate Amendment 925, which allows automakers to produce fewer high-mileage cars as long as they also make vehicles that run on ethanol and gasoline. This measure would have increased our oil dependence by 150,000 barrels of oil per day by 2008, according to LCV (Senate Roll Call Vote 156, June 23, 2005).
- Voted against the bipartisan "Sense of the Senate" Resolution, which put the Senate on record that global warming is real and that mandatory limits are necessary to slow, stop and reverse the growth of global warming pollution. Before the resolution could be voted on, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) offered a motion to kill the resolution, and Talent voted with Inhofe (Senate Roll Call Vote 149, June 22, 2005).
- Voted to allow an EPA decision to stand which delays the meaningful reduction of mercury emissions for 20 years (Senate Roll Call Vote 225, Sept. 12, 2005), despite the fact that according to the EPA, every lake, river and stream in Missouri is under a fish consumption advisory due to mercury contamination.
- Voted three times against raising fuel efficiency standards.
The report also highlights some lovely little quotes from Talent that help crystallize his views on the environment:
- "...the Earth's warming trend is natural and beneficial." (statement before the House Committee on Small Business' Oversight Hearing on the Kyoto Protocol, 7/29/98, when he was in the House).
- "With all due respect, I cannot understand what coherent political philosophy cuts off its own country from oil... It is time to open up the Arctic..." (press conference on gas prices at Russell Senate Building, 4/27/06).
If you visit the Talent for Senate website, you'll notice that Talent does not even mention the environment in his list of issues. Claire McCaskill, on the other hand, makes it very clear where she stands on protecting the environment. Some highlights of McCaskill's positions on the environment, from her website:
- Claire believes in upholding and enforcing the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act so that Missourians can rely on healthy air, clean rivers and safe water for drinking, swimming and fishing.
- Claire believes clean energy solutions are a key part of any plan for a strong economy and healthy environment. In order to reduce our reliance on foreign oil, Claire believes we need to invest more in energy efficiency, affordable renewable energy technologies and conservation measures.
- Claire believes we must seek innovative and responsible solutions to slow the rate of global warming before it's too late. A big part of addressing global warming is ensuring America's energy independence by investing in clean energy technologies and lessening our reliance on foreign oil.
Some of you may say that this is pretty safe, boilerplate stuff. But compared to Talent, the difference between the candidates is like night and day, my friends, night and day.
Please contribute any time or money you can to Claire McCaskill's campaign at claireonline.com.