Looking at the 2nd District Congressional race from the perspective of which candidate has a greater concern for the environment, I would guess it is pretty much a toss-up between Congressman Charles Bass and challenger Paul Hodes. I think both would be applauded in most environmental camps.

But as I look at the situation from a purely pragmatic, political point of view, I see a beneficial environmental element that has actually played itself out within the last year.

When the issue of Arctic drilling was on the Congressional table, Bass not only voted against it, but he rallied support from other Republicans to do the same thing. He added 25 other Republicans to the cause and those 26 Republicans put the issue right in Tom DeLay’s face. Arctic drilling was dead.

Bass also did the exact same thing to Tom Delay’s smarmy leadership. It was Bass who led the charge to vote Delay off the island. The bottom line here is that we have a Congressman who is willing to work the halls of Congress to build coalitions into extremely powerful forces.

The pragmatist will quickly see that Bass represents more than just one vote. It’s not talk – it’s demonstrated, historical fact.