We asked our more that 260,000 members to tell us who they wanted to be on LCV's 2008 Dirty Dozen. The results of our online survey are in: Mitch McConnell -- the people's choice of the worst members of Congress on the environment.
He joins Senator Jim Inhofe and Congressman Joe Knollenberg in this infamous designation.
In the coming weeks we will be naming the rest of this year's Dirty Dozen. Stay tuned and join the League of Conservation Voters at www.lcv.org
LCV Members Elect Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell the new Don of the "Dirty Dozen"
Self-proclaimed "Godfather of Green" Continues to Stand for Polluters while Standing in the Way of Clean Air, Clean Water, and Clean Energy
Louisville, KY – The members of the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), the independent political voice for the environment, today added Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) <www.lcv.org/mcconnell> to its 2008 "Dirty Dozen" list (www.lcv.org/campaigns/dirty-dozen).
LCV members voted online to decide which 2008 candidate had committed the most egregious offenses against the environment. 25,000 concerned citizens voted for the next member of the "Dirty Dozen," and chose Sen. McConnell by an overwhelming margin.
"Our members know that Mitch McConnell has voted against our health and safety since he came to Washington. They know that he stands as an impassable roadblock in the way of a clean energy future for this country," said LCV President Gene Karpinski. "They know that it is time to tear down this roadblock. That’s why Mitch McConnell, this ‘Godfather of Green,’ is the new ‘Don’ of the Dirty Dozen."
McConnell’s lifetime LCV score of 7% is among the worst in Washington <www.lcv.org/mcconnell>. In 24 years in the Senate, he earned an annual score of 0% twelve times, and in the last fourteen years, McConnell has cast only two pro-conservation votes. Since becoming his party’s Leader in the Senate, McConnell has served as the chief enforcer for Big Oil and other corporate polluters, leading efforts to derail and weaken legislation that would protect our families and keep America’s land, air, and water clean.
LCV’s trademark "Dirty Dozen" program targets current and former members of Congress who consistently vote against the environment and are running in races where LCV has a serious chance of affecting the outcome.
"In 2006, our members brought down nine members of the Dirty Dozen, nine of the worst politicians in Washington. With that kind of record, this Dirty Dozen election may be the last vote that Senator McConnell ever wins," Karpinski said.
McConnell joins Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), and former Rep. Bob Schaffer (R-CO) on the 2008 Dirty Dozen. LCV will name the rest of the 2008 Dirty Dozen members in the coming months.
For information on LCV’s "Dirty Dozen" program, visit http://lcv.org/... For more facts on McConnell’s voting record, visit http://lcv.org/...