February 14, 2008

Mr. Carl Pope, Executive Director, The Sierra Club

Mr. Gene Karpinski, President, The League of Conservation Voters

Dear Carl and Gene:

Several REP members, as well as others who know about our endorsement of Senator John McCain, have brought to my attention an email alert from the Sierra Club that attacks him for missing a recent vote on the economic-stimulus package and accuses his staff of lying about the vote. We also received a recent LCV missive touting Senator Obama’s global warming plan.

It seems that the Sierra Club and LCV, before the primary season is even over, are already taking sides in preparation for the November general election. We at REP believe that for high-profile —and ostensibly “non-partisan”—representatives of the environmental community to take such an approach is counter-productive.

For the first time in recent history, our nation will have Republican and Democratic nominees for president who are both good on environmental issues. The likely nominees of both parties have pledged that fighting climate change will be a high priority. The environmental community should take time to celebrate this accomplishment, rather than perpetuate the partisan atmosphere that has so often hurt our cause.

Senator McCain deserves enormous credit for championing the climate issue and energy conservation during the Republican primaries. He featured the climate change problem in flyers he sent to voters in New Hampshire. He told conservative reporters that drilling in the Arctic Refuge would be just as bad as drilling in the Grand Canyon. He advocated for fuel economy standards in Michigan while his opponents pandered to the auto industry. He repeatedly raised the climate issue in the Republican debates—even when the questions did not directly relate to it.

Senator McCain articulated these positions in a primary environment where such stances were previously untested and carried significant political risk. This type of courage is exactly what the environmental community should be encouraging and praising during the GOP presidential race.

Furthermore, it is a fact that Senator McCain has a record of leadership and commitment on climate change that is unequalled by any of the other candidates, Republican or Democrat. In addition to introducing and securing floor votes on the Climate Stewardship Act, Senator McCain’s effort to educate other members of Congress has made passing a cap-and-trade bill more likely. The trips he led to Antarctica, Alaska, Greenland and New Zealand have changed congressional minds on this critical issue.

It is also worth noting that neither of the Democratic candidates has a perfect record when it comes to the environment. Senator Obama’s Coal-to-Liquid Fuel Promotion Act of 2007 and Senator Clinton’s Homeowners’ Defense Act of 2007 come immediately to mind as examples.

As a Republican organization dedicated to improving our party’s stewardship ethic, REP serves a unique role. We are proud to have played a role in bringing forward a conservation-minded GOP nominee for president. As you both know, we did not endorse President Bush in 2000 or in 2004. This is the first time in our organization’s twelve-year lifetime that we can enthusiastically support our party’s nominee for president.

One of REP's goals as an organization is to eventually make strong environmental stewardship something that both political parties embrace and make a high priority. We seek to make protecting the environment, as one former Republican president said, “a cause beyond party and beyond factions.” Only then can we be assured of steady progress that is not held hostage to ever-shifting political winds.

As two of the nation’s best-known environmental organizations, the Sierra Club and LCV will be instrumental in setting the tone for how the environmental community approaches the November election. I want to encourage your organizations to take advantage of this opportunity to make protecting the environment less polarized.

As non-partisan organizations, you can choose to be neutral in this race and work to build a positive relationship with both nominees. This would position the environmental community well regardless of the outcome. At the very least, harsh rhetoric against Senator McCain is uncalled for and is counter-productive. It will especially be problematic if he prevails in November.

Gene and Carl, I think you know that REP often defends the Sierra Club and LCV against the widely held perception in GOP circles that your organizations are not truly non-partisan. Many Republicans consider them mere front groups for the Democratic Party. We at REP cite the instances where both organizations have endorsed Republican candidates, even as, regretfully, we also point out that far too many Republicans have not been worthy of such support.

However, if either the Sierra Club or LCV works hard this year to defeat the greenest Republican nominee in decades—and especially if your attacks on him begin well in advance of the fall campaign—then it will be difficult to credit that effort to anything other than partisanship. Such a perception does not help advance the goals of the environmental community, in which we are all partners.

Thank you both for considering REP’s views. I will be happy to discuss this further with you if you like.

Sincerely,

Martha A. Marks, Ph.D., President

mmarks@rep.org; my direct line: 505-690-9601