Field Organizers for climate change have been getting warm fuzzies from Richard Lugar these last few weeks. While the senior Senator has never been in the 'yes' column on voting for climate change, we have always been hopeful that if we get Evan Bayh to vote yes, Lugar would become a possibility--and with good reason...
*Lugar has always thought of himself more as a statesman than a party member. While he is a conservative, Lugar more than any Republican besides Snowe and Specter (back in the day) could be counted on to break from party lines.
*He has been a proponent of clean energy and reducing greenhouse gasses for quite awhile. True, some of his clean energy support has been...faulty (ie. Ethanol), and has come from a view of "will this help my state" not "will this help the planet," but it is support nonetheless.
*There are strong rumors he may not run again. Not worrying about elections sometimes frees up a Senator to vote with his conscience, not with his constituents.
*He understands the need for clean energy from a national security standpoint--a standpoint that isn't talked about much in the news or from clean energy campaigns.
So yes, while he may have been a longshot, Lugar has been a possibility in the minds of clean energy organizers. Well, maybe not so much anymore. Bad news came from Lugar on Monday.
The Indianapolis Star had a front page article on Lugar titled "Lugar Likely Won't Back Emissions Cap"
I'll share some of the quotes from it below. I am going to do a full write up on Lugar--his views, stances, and weaknesses--in a few days as part of the Adopt-a-Senator project, but for now I wanted to get the word out on this article.
And while I have you here, I want to make a quick plea:
Today many clean energy organizations are hosting a National Call In Day to tell Senators that we support clean energy. A simple google search will find your Senator's phone number (I'm not going to list all 100 offices here), or you can use a simpler option.
Repower America (Al Gore's organization) has created a phone number (877-9-REPOWER) that will patch you in to your Senator's office once you enter your zip code. It will also offer you talking points on clean energy. Furthermore, using this number allows organizers to get a tally of how many people have called--and get that tally to the press.
Once again, that number is 877-9-REPOWER.
And now, the quotes:
Sen. Richard Lugar said today that he doesn’t know how a bill to limit greenhouse gas emissions could be crafted to win his support, despite his strong interest in climate change.
"To give the impression that somehow the Senate must pass a bill comparable to the House, or anything in that ballpark, seems to me is not a very good idea and is one I’m likely to oppose," Lugar said today in a meeting with reporters before he delivered a speech on world hunger.
Asked what kind of bill he could support, Lugar answered, "I frankly don’t know, although I’m deeply interested in this."
If Lugar is out--and this is a pretty strong indication that he is--getting Evan Bayh to vote 'yes' becomes that much more critical. If you live in Indiana, or have friends that do, get them to call his office TODAY. 877-9-REPOWER.