The League of Conservation Voters, one of the nation's most influential environmental groups, has
enthusiastically endorsed Sen. Maria Cantwell for reelection to the US Senate. That Cantwell is the LCV's first endorsement of the 2006 season is no accident; they also plan to support her reelection with an independent, grassroots campaign.
"LCV is proud to make its first endorsement of the 2006 election cycle for Senator Maria Cantwell," said LCV President Deb Callahan. "Senator Cantwell is one of our nation's strongest environmental leaders in Congress, fighting every day for the health, quality of life and pocketbooks of Washington families, willing to stand up to big corporate interests, and working tirelessly to protect our wild places for future generations. In the coming weeks and months, we look forward to mounting an aggressive campaign to help reelect Senator Cantwell to the U.S. Senate."
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Ms. Callahan also commented that LCV's particularly early endorsement of Sen. Cantwell is because of her exemplary environmental record and leadership on behalf of Washington families. Senator Cantwell earned a 100% rating on LCV's 2004 National Environmental Scorecard - one of only two senators who received a perfect score last year.
The LCV plans to mobilize hundreds of volunteers for a multi-county, grassroots campaign that will include door-belling, letter writing, direct mail, and other activities.
This early endorsement and commitment to a grassroots campaign belies the notion that part of Cantwell's perceived vulnerability stems from a lack of enthusiasm from the progressive base of WA Democrats. While some of us certainly wish she had voted differently on a few issues (the Iraq war comes to mind), she has provided outstanding leadership on a number of issues of great importance to the voters of this region, including defending Snohomish County ratepayers from Enron's fraudulent contracts, and fighting to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The LCV's early endorsement and commitment to an independent campaign is not only an indication of how seriously they take her reelection -- cloture could hang in the balance -- but it also shows how enthusiastically environmentally-minded voters support Cantwell's reelection. If GOP hopeful Mike McGavick is counting on soft support for Cantwell amongst Democrats, he'll be sorely disappointed. And in WA state, independent voters tend to be strongly pro-environment as well.
Now if only Cantwell's own campaign can match the energy and enthusiasm of the LCV.
[Cross-posted at HorsesAss.org]
