Environmental scorecard for Oregon's congressional delegation
Kari Chisholm
After each session, OLCV puts out an environmental scorecard that rates our state legislators. The national scorecard comes from the national League of Conservation Voters, and the 2010 edition is out.
How did Oregon's delegation perform in protecting the environment?
Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley both scored a perfect 100%, as did Congressmen David Wu and Earl Blumenauer. Rep. Kurt Schrader scored a 93%, while Rep. Peter DeFazio scored 79%. Rep. Greg Walden was the only dismal failure of the bunch, posting a well-below-average score of 43%.
Over at OLCV's blog, Toby Van Fleet notes the key votes:
One of the House votes scored was legislation introduced by Oregon’s own Rep. Kurt Schrader (D). Schrader's bill, which passed the House last November 292-133, proposed federal protections to 21.3 miles of the Molalla River under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.While a range of other environmental bills were also scored, the standout accomplishment in the House was passing the landmark American Clean Energy and Security Act last summer with a bipartisan vote of 219-212. This vote marked the first time that comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation passed either chamber of Congress. While not perfect, this bill would reduce global warming pollution 17 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050.
And that means jobs. From spurring local wind and solar businesses to the growing the business of retrofitting houses and businesses around the state for energy conservation, ACES would help create 1.7 million new clean-energy jobs around the country, including nearly 21,000 jobs good-paying jobs in Oregon that can never be outsourced.
There's more context and details over at OLCV.
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connect with blueoregon
Feb 22, '10
Your environMental scorecard obviously pays the politicians bills, but it doesn't pay mine.
I would love for one of the Progressive Socialists that run this site, actually dedicate a section of this website, to where people can find jobs that your beloved politicians "create" with our tax money.
For instance, can I get a job putting up signs that say "Your Tax Dollars At Work"?
Let us know! Post of some JOB links on your site, where's the jobs you promise in this Obamaeconomy?
5:20 p.m.
Feb 22, '10
If you could only get paid to sit at a computer and wait for a post about progressives to pop up and then respond with some sort of "this country is becoming a socialist state" whining, people like our troll friend, I mean Malcom wouldn't be complaining about being unemployed.
Hey Malcom, how about updating your resume while you are stuck in front of you computer. There ARE jobs out there, the question is, do you choose to do them, or are you qualified for them? Sometimes we need to suck it up and flip burgers to make ends meet. We can't all be CEOs.
Now, back to the topic at hand. I am very surprised with and applaud Kurt Schrader. A very thoughtful Congressman in a city full of reactionaries. Keep it up Congressman!
Feb 22, '10
Good for them but The Faz smokes the rest of that pack on my scorecard. Pete sees the forest for the trees and has never appeared to covet a 100% grade with any special interest group. We desperately need more like him.
Feb 22, '10
Just what purpose do these "scorecards" serve anyways? I mean, Dems score high on liberal agendas, GOP doesn't and vice versa. Well duh!
Feb 22, '10
Kurt Schrader has historically had a surprisingly green record given the districts he's represented.
I gotta agree with Brian C., though. DeFazio is usually nearly 100% in my book.
Feb 22, '10
Didn't I read a post here quoting someone recently saying about Oregon: '...a state already traumatized by the lethal combination of hard-left environmentalism and public sector appetite'?
Feb 22, '10
There is no such thing as a "green" job. It is taking money from business that creates profits to give to environmental debacles that suck money.
Global warming doesn't exist. Stop the madness and shut the EPA down.
Feb 22, '10
"While the average score in the U.S. Senate was 64 percent in 2009, Senators Jeff Merkley (D) and Ron Wyden (D) scored 100 percent."
It's really nice to not have Gordon Smith canceling out Wyden's votes anymore.
Feb 22, '10
Didn't I read a post here quoting someone recently saying about Oregon: '...a state already traumatized by the lethal combination of hard-left environmentalism and public sector appetite'?
Yeah, dude. It totally sucks here. You'd hate it. Better stay where you are and leave us to wallow in our own muck.
Oh, look! There's Sarah Palin, talking about her plan to bring America back to Jesus! Hurry, or you'll miss it...
Feb 22, '10
Frankly, the OLCV is one of those elitist, spoiled-brat, white, politically "safe" environmental organizations, like the Sierra Club and 1000 Friends of Oregon, who really just stand for protecting the prerogatives and recreational opportunities of the privileged. These organizations are a blight on society and a detriment to actually protecting the environment.
DeFazio's 79% rating is a badge of honor, at least relative to the 100% ratings of the four empty politicians Wyden, Merkley, Blumenauer, and Wu, who duplicitously whore for a very elitist, very white, very piggish, very disgusting segment of the Portland metro-area vote and small slice of the vote outside Portland.
Feb 22, '10
Blueoregon gets an F- for being able to manage a discussion on any environmental issue.
The scorecards are hugely important to non-profits with paid, full time staff positions. They fire up the donor base. Most ignore such obvious gimmicks, but BO has lots of friends in that line of work, so we get a free advert.
HuffPo is a good example of how you can put out daily without becoming a whore. Here, we seem to have entered polygrip mode.
Feb 23, '10
Great to see the OLCV and BO heaping the love on Kurt Schrader, who I heard wants to join the Blue Dogs. He also thinks that since the recession is over, we don't need to keep extending unemployment benefits.
I hate the Republican Party, but stuff like this makes me a little excited about the likelihood of Democratic defeats in November. They truly don't deserve to stay in power.
Feb 23, '10
I'm not really sure what purpose these scores serve, other than for political purposes.
Feb 23, '10
HuffPo is a good example of how you can put out daily without becoming a whore.
Made me laugh and choke on my Cheerios, as it immediately brought to mind a whole bunch of jokes about the differences between "call girls" and "whores".
Feb 23, '10
Here's my problem with it:
LCV saw this bill as so monumental, it was double-scored in the Scorecard. Unfortunately, two of Oregon’s representatives, Peter DeFazio (D) and Greg Walden (R), voted against this critical legislation. It is worth noting that since the historic House vote, this bill has faced an unprecedented smear campaign launched by oil, gas and special interests dedicated only to protecting corporate profit. More than $160 million was spent to defeat this bill last year.
This shows a fundamental lack of actual insight into the operations of Congress. By lumping the Faz in with Walden, LCV seems to be reporting that Peter DeFazio fell victim to vicious smears by coal companies and huge misinformation by the oilers.
Sad, to be sure, when he spent months railing against inadequate verification processes for overseas offset projects and the creation of a game-able, speculative market like the one that brought our economy to its knees.
DeFazio is more of an environmentalist than anyone in Oregon's delegation, which is why he opposed the half-assed climate bill. LCV betrays its base, its ethos and its agenda by placing him with Walden as some sort of climate change-denying hack.
Feb 23, '10
Actually, I would have to disagree that DeFazio is more of an environmentalist than anyone in the delegation. Earl voted against the Healthy Forest Restoration Act, the only member of the delegation to vote against the bill. He also worked with Walden to open up oil drilling off our coast to pay for county timber payments. Peter is great on most issues, but let's keep the defense of him to a reasonable decibel level.
Peter voted against the climate change bill for the same reason he voted against the President's jobs bill, and it had nothing to do with being anti-environment. He is hyper-sensitive to the politics in his district and this tea bag political environment, and he saw two easy votes to separate him from his party. 4th CD voters can continue to say that Congress sucks, but our guy is awesome.
Feb 23, '10
Sloppy writing - Peter worked with Walden to open up oil drilling off our coast, not Earl.
3:49 p.m.
Feb 23, '10
Really? So companies like XsunX with a new fab going up in Wood Village, which just last March landed a $10 million deal with an Oregon developer to add to its $50 worth of lined up contracts, won't produce jobs?
Just because you are a global climate change denier doesn't mean that actual green jobs can be denied into not existing or being created.
3:53 p.m.
Feb 23, '10
Posted by: So What | Feb 22, 2010 9:46:04 PM
Heh. I see the cartoon online cut-out of a "progressive" blog commentator never seems to go out of style.
I love when conservatives try to pretend to be progressives online and post such drivel so as to prop up their cartoon villain images of real progressives.
3:54 p.m.
Feb 23, '10
ROFL.. oh wait.. that isn't snark?
Feb 23, '10
Posted by: lestatdelc | Feb 23, 2010 3:54:49 PM
ROFL.. oh wait.. that isn't snark?
Maybe Hunter Thompson shot himself before someone called gonzo, "snark".
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