Second, in defense of the RI and National political committees, there are two sides to this issue. As one poster noted, the Sierra Club is a small-d organization. No one person made this decision, and I am sure there were some lively discussions and some lost sleep before it was resolved. While it was not what I would have decided, I respect the decision, because I understand and respect the process that the club uses to make these decisions.

Third, it is irresponsible for Kos and FDL to repeat media talking points without checking them out, and it is grossly irresponsible for FDL to make the groundless and unsupported assertion that the Sierra Club wants the republicans in power so we will get more donations. Try telling that to all the California Sierra Club members I know who rode busses to Nevada to walk precincts for Kerry in 04, and walked and phoned for Busby in CA50 this year. Tell it to the thousands of Sierra Club volunteers who give up evenings and weekends to work on environmental and political campaigns.

Take a look around the Sierra Club web site, learn what we do and how we do it, and then get out your checkbook.

Chafee got a 90% last year. Know what? So did Cantwell. And Boxer. I’m not supporting the Sierra Club on this one, and wrote them about it. But I am pretty pissed at the people trashing the SC over this (even more at dKos than here, actually). It’s one endorsement, and not a clearcut case. CTG and big-tent ideas tell me I’m supposed to support Cantwell despite CAFTA, the Patriot Act, the Iraq War resolution, etc.

So why on earth are so many of you dropping Sierra Club memberships because of one endorsement?

Nobody, especially longstanding members like my family, is sy[m]pathetic to mindless and ill-informed bashing of the Sierra Club

Nonetheless, the CTG argument has to be dealt with. In the current political realm it is not at all clear that people like Chafee are SC friends. Votes on single issues may well be in line with SC recommendations, but the overall effect of having a republican in office in THIS Senate, with THIS House and THIS President is not necessarily serving SC’s membership.

I think you need to address this issue directly and forthrightly. Explain to your membership why they are better served by a Republican who will support commmitee chairs hostile to SC positions, whose voting pattern will be less in line with SC positions than a Dem challenger, and who has voted to confirm Supreme Court justices actively hostile to environmental issues.

If this were a fight between an environmentalist republican and a corporate interest democrat, I’d be on board. But the democratic challenger in RI is likely to be more environmentally sound than Chafee, and will also vote for democratic leadership.

I don’t get it. I think CTG is right here. Can you explain why this argument is wrong?

Neal,

Thank you for contacting the Sierra Club regarding our recent
endorsement
of Senator Chafee. The Sierra Club Political Committee (SCPC) is the
political action committee through which Sierra Club endorses and
supports
candidates for office. The goal of the SCPC is to elect Democratic,
Republican and Independent pro-environment candidates to the U.S.
Senate
and House. Our goal is a pro-environment majority. The Sierra Club
is a
nonpartisan organization that endorses candidates of any party if they
meet
our criteriaâ€â€which does not include party affiliation. It’s true
that
we’ve endorsed a lot of Democrats, but it’s because in recent
history, they
tend to generally have better environmental records. We are extremely
pleased to support Republican candidates with good environmental
records.
In this case Senator Chafee has one of the best environmental records
of
any Senator of any party.

For more information on the Sierra Club Political Committee, please
contact:

Jonathan Ela, Chair
jonathan.ela@sierraclub.org

Information on the activity of the Sierra Club Political Committee is
available on-line at:

http://www.sierraclub.org/politics/

We don’t list or post the recipients of political contributions on our
website but this information is reported to and regulated by the
Federal
Elections Commission. The Sierra Club is a nonprofit 501(c)(4)
organization. (c)(4) money does get used to communicate with members
in
Rhode Island encouraging them to support Chafee. The FEC website
features
FEC filings, receipt and distribution information for political action
committees, candidates and campaigns. Please feel free to contact them
at:

http://www.fec.gov/

The real strength of the Sierra Club is mobilizing our members in Rhode
Island as well as informing voters in the pro-environment majority of
RI
about Senator Chafee’s record of protecting our families’ clean air,
clean
water and special places. The Sierra Club takes many factors into
account,
but mainly our endorsement is based on the candidate’s overall
environmental record and platform. The number for a 20% approval
rating is
inaccurate. We use the League of Conservation Voters. Chafee did have
a
50% in 2004, he currently has a 90%. 2004 was a year with very few
environmental votes. Their record is measured by their history of
public
service, public statements, responses in Club interviews and
questionnaires. Chafee’s accurate LCV numbers are:

109th, 1st Session (2005) 90%
108th Congress (2003-2004) 72%
107th Congress (2001-2002) 68%
106th Congress (1999-2000) 100%

The Sierra Club takes its endorsements very seriously. In order to
ensure
that we have a fair process that results in a mutually beneficial
endorsement, we often consider several candidates for endorsement.
While
Senator Chafee clearly is an environmental leader, we believe our
endorsement carries more weight and credibility when we can say that we
have carefully looked at the candidates before making our decision.
Senator Chafee has an excellent environmental record. He has voted to
protect clean air-he was the deciding vote to stop Bush’s Clear Skies
plan
which would have gutted the Clean Air Act. He is a leader on
protecting
the Endangered Species act. He protected Clean Air laws again by being
the
deciding vote to stop a plan to build more oil refineries without
environmental protections. He is a leader on global warming on energy
issues. Senator Chafee has been there for the environment when the
environment needed him the most. We cannot take party affiliation into
account when someone who has been a loyal friend to the environment
needs
our support.

Hopefully this will help answer some of your questions and clarify why
the
Sierra Club has chosen to support Senator Chafee. Please let us know
if
you have any additional questions or concerns.

“Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet.”

Best Regards,

Tammy Erwin
Sierra Club Information
(Please include this email in your reply)