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Five national environmental groups to target Schaffer

By Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News

Published April 24, 2008 at 11 p.m.

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Bob Schaffer will find himself a target of a major campaign attack by five national environmental groups determined to elect his opponent, Mark Udall, to the U.S. Senate this fall.

The League of Conservation Voters, Clean Water Action, the Sierra Club, Environment America and Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund on Thursday announced a coordinated campaign focusing on three U.S. Senate races in Colorado, New Hampshire and New Mexico.

Benefiting will be Udall, a Democrat and current U.S. representative viewed by activists as a candidate with strong green credentials.

Schaffer, a Republican and former member of Congress, will be tied to big energy companies based on previous votes and his work for an oil company after leaving Congress.

The environmental coalition called Udall "a leader on renewable energy since his time in the Colorado House and as co-chair of the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus."

The League of Conservation Voters said Udall has a lifetime rating on the group's environmental voting scorecard of 99 percent.

"It's a contrast with Bob Schaffer, who voted for the first Bush-Cheney energy bill in 2001, that gave $33 billion in subsidies to (oil) companies and other energy companies," said Tony Massaro of the LCV.

Schaffer's campaign manager, Dick Wadhams, responded that "it is predictable as the sun coming up in the morning, that environmental extremist groups would support Boulder liberal Mark Udall."

Udall moved out of Boulder to neighboring Eldorado Springs in 2004.

Wadhams castigated environmental groups for criticizing Schaffer's support of the oil industry.

"For the most part, these are a bunch of elitist liberal trust-funders who want to kill jobs and the economy with their extremist policies," he said.

The LCV fired its first salvo against Schaffer in January, when it named him to its "dirty dozen" list of politicians and candidates the group argues are polluter-friendly.

Environmental organizers said they would also focus on electing Democrats Tom Udall in New Mexico and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire to the Senate.

"Together, these three will represent a new generation of leadership in the Senate," said Cathy Duvall of the Sierra Club.

hartmant@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5048

Comments

  • April 25, 2008

    11 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Jonah writes:

    Thanks Bob? Besides being in Big Oil's pocket, Schaffer wants to fire any teacher or public servant who has different political views than his own and is bold enough to let them be known.

  • April 25, 2008

    5:46 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Reefsaver writes:

    I am a lifelong environmentalist and an environmental scientist who considers protection of the environment the most critical issues facing mankind. However, I think we should all be very very careful of these big environmental groups.

    A lot of their political effort is backed by big Democrat billionaire money, and it isn't always what it seems at first glance. A lot of this type of effort is driven by environmental lawyers who like getting paid, or people with competing financial interests, not necessarily what's safe and sensible for the environment and economy.

    Let's keep an open mind. Always give the other candidate a chance to respond.