You’ve made a difference on healthcare reform. You’ve called your representative, you’ve signed petitions, you’ve attended town halls, tea parties, and rallies, and your grassroots support means that a bill will not pass the House without a public option. Health care reform is approaching an end stage, although there’s still work to be done.
While you’ve been active, something else looms on the horizon. You’ve read predictions of gloom and doom for our planet. You know the different names for climate change legislation: ACES, Waxman-Markey, cap and trade. You know that the same people who manufacture anti-healthcare reform rallies also forge supposedly grassroots letters on energy and sic Glenn Beck on President Obama's aides. Maybe you sense that something is wrong in your world: the cherry trees bloomed early last year and even earlier this year, your lawn is half-dead from drought-caused water rationing, and the frogs of your neighborhood have fallen silent.
You can make a difference again.
The American Clean Energy & Security Act (ACES, aka climate change legislation, aka cap & trade bill) passed the House in June, where it was also known as Waxman-Markey and HR 2454. The progressive grassroots did not pay a lot of attention to Waxman-Markey as it wound its way through the House, resulting in a bill that its own author, Henry Waxman, regrets because it's not strong enough. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA)plans to introduce her version of ACES next week, and it'll start off stronger than the House bill on at least one key point -- the renewable energy standard will be raised from 17% to 20% by 2020. This time, we will make a difference.
On DailyKos, we’re affecting the climate change debate, strengthening ACES, and helping to pass it in the Senate, by adopting Senators. You’ve seen my sig line and you’ve seen diaries on particular Senators’ positions, most recently on Jim Webb (D-VA). You may have seen Meteor Blades' story. The Adopt A Senator For ACES program is a whip tool to track and influence votes.
We target, or adopt, particular Senators. We evaluate their voting records, see what influence if any they have on committees relevant to ACES, who they receive contributions from, public statements about climate change and climate legislation they have made, whether they have aides on their staff with background relevant to the legislation, and any other pertinent points. We want to understand each targeted Senator’s point of view, including reasons to vote for the bill. For example, one Senator might seek to hold down costs, another might want jobs for a home state, and a third might wish to burnish a legacy. When the time comes, we will praise them when they speak in favor of the bill, and we will call them out when their stance wavers.
Diaries on important issues on DailyKos and Congress Matters are seen by Senate staffers to gauge grassroots support on important issues. Our work here matters.
So far, over 20 Senators have been adopted by a great group of volunteers, but your help is needed to adopt more Senators. We’ve identified 10 fence sitters who still need to be adopted:
Begich (AK): Alaska has the most to win, and the oil and gas lobby state with the most to lose, by climate change legislation.
Brown (OH): Mixed record, probably needs to know that the bill is not a jobs killer. thank you, StateofGrace
Conrad (ND): On record in favor of gutting the climate change provisions entirely and watering ACES down to renewable energy.
Dorgan (ND): See Conrad.
Graham (R-SC): One of a group of pro-nuclear Republicans who may be persuaded by enough nuclear provisions...or not.
Gregg (R-NH): Mixed record on prior climate change legislation.
Lincoln (AR): New chair of Agricultural Committee professes to be concerned about costs, believes that a bill can wait.
Pryor (AR): Likewise concerned about costs.
Rockefeller (WV): Still believes in "clean coal."
Tester (MT): Has been quiet on issue; may follow Baucus' lead.
These are the Senators most in need of adoption, and this is where volunteer activism will make the biggest difference. You don’t have to live in the Senator’s state. You simply have to care about affecting climate change legislation. We’ve got plenty of resources to help you track your Senator. This is a collaborative project. We help each other with research, exchange tips on reading between the lines, edit, and reach out with other groups, all to get the best possible bill onto the President’s desk. We seek to have at least one person assigned to each of our chosen Senators, but ideally we’ll be working in teams.
In addition, we've identified 10 "probably yes" votes who also should be adopted, but haven't yet:
Baucus (MT): He may have learned something from the recent healthcare reform debacle, and as chair of the Finance Committe he's going to play a role in shaping the bill.
Bennet (CO): No record on climate change legislation; primary and reelection battles may influence his position.
Burris (IL): Also no record on climate change.
Cantwell (WA): Hydropower is an issue; has competing cap and dividend bill. Thank you, OntheLeftCoast
Casey (PA): Leader of Gang of 10 favoring protection for industry.
Feingold (WI): See Casey.
Franken (WI): See Casey.
Johnson (SD): Prior record is mixed, but has recently realized power of wind to boost SD economy.
Snowe (R-ME): Even more endangered than Ursus maritimus, the Republicanus moderatus.
Warner (VA): Coal state Senator.
If you don't see a particular home state or other favorite Senator on the list but still wish to be involved in this important work, let me know through comments or in email. For example, there's a group of 10 "probably no" Senators, all Republicans; some may demand concessions bipartisanship, while others are genuine potential crossover votes where your diaries can have some influence. That group includes Alexander (R-TN), Brownback (R-KS), Cochran (R-MS), Corker (R-TN), Crapo (R-ID), Isakson (R-GA), Risch (R-ID), Thune (R-SD), and Voinovich (R-OH). For another example, you might want to be part of a team working on a particular Senator already adopted.
The forces allied against us will make the anti-healthcare reform advocates look like attendees at a tea party dithering over Darjeeling. Through one mouthpiece Glenn Beck, they’ve already taken out President Obama’s best spokesperson for green jobs. Healthcare reform is important, which is why I’ve made phone calls to my Senator and Representative on healthcare; climate change legislation affects our existence on this planet.
No one pretends that ACES, alone, is a magic bullet to fix a global problem. The House version is particularly unimpressive. Nevertheless, ACES is the way in which we affect climate change in the national political arena. As President Obama told the UN today, "We must not allow the perfect to become the enemy of progress." We’re choosing activism over pacifism. Join us by volunteering to adopt a Senator for ACES, and to hope for our planet.
