Yesterday, at about 3 p.m. PT, the blanche4senate Twitter account posted the following:
Chairman Lincoln is to be congratulated for her forthright stand for Arkansas in a poisonous Washington climate: http://tinyurl.com/...
Wow, Lincoln's campaign thinks their candidate should be congratulated? Whatever for? So I followed the link:
U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., has joined with U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, to sponsor Senate Joint Resolution 26 (S.J. Res. 26). This resolution "disapproves" of the endangerment finding that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concluded in December 2009 and would close the door to regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act (CAA). It currently has 40 co-sponsors in the Senate.
This resolution has drawn the attention of special interest groups that have launched the typical fear and misinformation advertising campaign.
Ahh, so Lincoln joining 38 Republicans and Ben Nelson is worthy of congratulations, because it's forthright! And joining obstructionist Republicans is somehow dealing a blow to the poisonous Washington climate, by poisoning the climate!
It would be more impressive if Lincoln got 38 Republicans to join her in something that actually helped her constituents. Instead, she lies about this effort to gut the EPA's ability to regulate the very greenhouse gasses that are leading to global climate change.
Well, the truth is S.J. Res. 26 will not gut the Clean Air Act. It will, in fact, halt the EPA's efforts to expand the legislation beyond its intended boundaries.
When you are joining climate change denier James Inhofe, Tom Coburn, Jeff Sessions, Richard Shelby and the rest of that gang, you know you're on the wrong side environmentally. In fact, it's telling that the only Republicans who have refused to sign on to the latest effort to trash our environment are the real moderates in their caucus -- the Maine twins, along with Scott Brown, who will actually try to be reelected.
Lincoln appears to think she's clear in the primary, but that's a dangerous assumption to make. Her betrayal of labor has certainly stirred up that hornet's nest, and her efforts to join Inhoffe and Co to gut the EPA's ability to do its job have certainly drawn the attention of the League of Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club. How has Lincoln responded?
“Threats from extremist groups from outside our state tell me I’m doing something right for Arkansas.”
Yeah, she's gone the full Inhofe.
MoveOn has joined the fray, urging Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter to challenge Lincoln. And of course, we here at Daily Kos as well as our colleagues across the progressive blogosphere are itching to jump on a Halter bandwagon. There's a critical mass building, with an unprecedented netroots/labor/environmental alliance in the works to take out a corrosive and tone deaf Senate incumbent.
Lincoln needs to pay for her betrayal of Democratic principles on health care, the environment, and labor. And, we need to hold the seat in November. Lincoln won't be in the Senate next year. The only question is whether Lincoln is forcefully retired by Halter, an outsider populist who can hold the seat, or another odious Republican this November.
So encourage Bill Halter to primary Lincoln, either by signing the petition at Draft Halter, or signing the MoveOn petition.