Kerry, Cantwell Join to Fight Arctic Drilling

[kerrygoddess]

Kerry, Cantwell Join to Fight Arctic Drilling
14 March 2005

I reported earlier that Senator Cantwell would be sponsoring an amendment in opposition to the GOP’s insertion of an amendment to drill in the Arctic Refuge into the budget.

The fight is on to save the Arctic Refuge. John Kerry’s Senate website just released a press release regarding a press conference tomorrow with Senator Cantwell to announce the Cantwell-Kerry amendment:

Washington, D.C. - Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) will be joined by colleagues and supporters as they announce their plans to introduce a budget amendment in opposition to efforts to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge at a Capitol Hill press conference tomorrow - Tuesday, March 15.

The Cantwell-Kerry amendment rids the budget of language that opens ANWR to drilling. Kerry and Cantwell are leading the charge to protect this valuable natural refuge, and supporters and colleagues will share their views on this important fight.

WHAT: John Kerry and Maria Cantwell announce budget amendment to block arctic drilling

WHO: Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Senator John Kerry (D-MA), Savannah Rose Walters, 13 year old girl from Florida who is fighting to save the Arctic Refuge, Bishop Mark McDonald from Alaska, Other colleagues and supporters

WHEN: Tuesday, March 15, 2005 11:00 a.m. WHERE: Russell Senate Office Building Russell Caucus Room (Room 325)

The founders of LightUpTheDarkness.org feel that this is a critical fight that must not be overlooked. We urge our readers to participate in the various Actions Alerts here on our Blog and our Environment page.

http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/default.asp?view=plink&id=544

[TheFarseer]

1. let's just let then do it

and let them find out it doesn't make a damn bit of difference to gas prices. maybe we can have a program, where senators that vote for it are forced to "adopt a caribou"

[GetTheRightVote]

2. Nice to see Kerry backing up Cantwell on this w/ Boxer as well

The Dems are fighting together and it is a beautiful site for my eyes indeed it is beautiful.

:kick:

[kerrygoddess]

4. Kerry spoke up about fighting this days/weeks ago...

Maybe you missed that! I posted this here on March 2nd, along with a press release of Kerry. Needless to say, Cantwell & Boxer are backing Kerry on this. Kerry has led this fight for years!

ANWR: The Gloves Are Off
2 March 2005

Last night I wrote about the GOPs’ plan to sneak drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge into the budget reconciliation in the coming weeks. Thanks to “Mass” for giving me the heads up on this wonderful editorial in Outside Magazine from John Kerry on ANWR. Kerry has been a longtime foe of drilling in ANWR and one of our country’s greatest environmental activists throughout his entire career.

The Gloves Are Off
An ANWR defeat would deal a major blow to the entire concept of wilderness protection. In this exclusive essay, Senator JOHN KERRY vows to take the fight to the GOP leadership.
By John Kerry

Ask yourself: What if a Republican named Theodore Roosevelt hadn't helped write conservation into our national character? What if our march to progress and modernity had meant the step-by-step stripping, mining, and development of every inch of territory from coast to coast?

That's a big question. We're still wrestling with it as a nation, and ground zero is Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Like many incomparable treasures of the West, ANWR sounds desolate, uninhabited. But it's not. It's the last 5 percent of Alaska's North Slope that's closed to drilling, and nothing like it exists anywhere else in the world. Peregrine falcons thrive there, and thousands of Porcupine caribou roam the refuge, along with gray wolves and black, brown, and polar bears. Yet some in Washington are ready to sell it to the highest bidder.

We need to stop them, and we need more Teddy Roosevelt in our hearts, our vision, and our guts.

The environmental risks of drilling in ANWR are devastating. Oil companies operating the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and the Prudhoe Bay fields spill oil or other chemicals more than once a day and release more than twice as much nitrogen-oxide pollution as Washington, D.C., does. Protecting the refuge is a test of whether this country has a conservation ethic, and there's no room for error. When pristine wilderness is lost, it's lost forever.

George Bush and his allies plan to make ANWR drilling a top priority this year, and I plan to be on the front lines of the battle. They fought us on this in 2001 and 2002, and we stopped them by forcing the debate to the floor of the Senate, where we filibustered, making it clear we'd rather shut down the Senate than surrender. This spring, the Republicans will use the federal budget to railroad drilling through Congress. We need to hold the line, and we need to demand that thoughtful Republicans never permit their conservative leadership to hijack bipartisan bills.

MORE -
http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/default.asp?view=plink&id=450

[elshiva]

5. Actually this is one of Kerry's best issues, the environment.

[kerrygoddess]

6. Yes it is!

I was lucky enough to be in NH when the LCV endorsed JK in the primaries. Kerry is the #1 Enviromentalist in the Senate.

[elshiva]

7. Oh, God bless him!

[kerrygoddess]

8. and goddess bless him too!

:kick:

[elshiva]

9. and Shiva bless him!

[kerrygoddess]

23. LOL! May all the Gods and Goddesses Bless JK! N/T

:kick:

[mtnsnake]

18. Yes it is & he deserves high grades for it, but for the life of me

I still can't figure out why he didn't talk much about the environmental issue during the campaign. It was such a strong point of his....and such a weak one of the Chimp, who rolled back so many good environmental laws during his first tenure that it was shameful.

[blm]

20. He did. ALOT. He even connected it to our national security all the time.

Now why didn't the mainstream media ever discuss it as an issue or at least report Kerry's remarks that he made at just about every campaign stop?

[GetTheRightVote]

3. Nice to see Kerry backing up Cantwell on this w/ Boxer as well

The Dems are fighting together and it is a beautiful site for my eyes indeed it is beautiful.

:kick:

[kerrygoddess]

24. Kerry was talking about protecting ANWR weeks before Boxer!

It is wonderful to see them working together... but I live in CA and I've heard more from JK in the past few weeks about ANWR than I have from Boxer. Actually did not hear a peep from BB until JK brought it up a few times in the past week.

I've been posting Kerry comments and OP/ED's on LUTD for about a month.

Credit where credit is due.

[freeplessinseattle]

10. whoa! guess Cantwell isn't that worthless after all! very cool. (nt)

[DesEtoiles]

11. kick

[DesEtoiles]

12. kick

[fujiyama]

13. Cantwell

has been impressing me a bit more lately. Earlier I thought she was a bit of a corporate shill but I gotta give her credit for voting against the bankruptcy bill, though I'm not sure if she voted for or against cloture.

Kerry and Boxer of course are both doing great. I'm glad they are doing their best to stop the destruction of the refuge. The pics I saw are quite beautiful and there seems to be no more than a year's worth there at the most anyways.

[flpoljunkie]

14. Cantwell, to her credit, voted against both cloture & the bankruptcy bill

Great to see them teaming up to fight drilling in ANWR.

[fujiyama]

15. Good for her

One of my senators (Stabenaw) has disappointed me greatly, voting for both the cloture and the bill itself.

Fortunately I can count on Levin to do the right thing.

[NVMojo]

16. me again, we must stop the neocons!

We need your help right now to stop oil drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge before it's too late!

President Bush and his pro-drilling allies in Congress are using a sneaky backdoor trick to pass their controversial proposal to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by inserting it in the must-pass federal budget bill. But Sen. Maria Cantwell from Washington State has proposed an amendment to strip Arctic drilling language from the federal budget.

Click here now to keep keep the Arctic Refuge free from drilling -- Tell your Senators to vote for the Cantwell Amendment.
Then call their offices at 1-888-894-5325 to reinforce your message.
Using the budget to open the Arctic Refuge is a sneaky backdoor trick to avoid democratic debate on this critical issue. Senator Cantwell's amendment will prevent such budget trickery.


There is no time to waste; a vote on the Senate floor will take place as early as TODAY. It's very important that your Senators hear from as many constituents as possible.

Click here now to keep keep the Arctic Refuge free from drilling --

http://capwiz.com/lcv/alert7091131.html

Tell your Senators to vote for the Cantwell Amendment.
Then call their offices at 1-888-894-5325 to reinforce your message.
A lot is riding on this decision. This incomparable wilderness is home to more than 250 animal species, including wolves, grizzlies, caribou, and millions of migrating birds. Unfortunately, it is also the target of an intense, relentless lobbying campaign by the oil industry.

We need you to help make some noise! If we can draw enough attention to this issue, we can stop oil industry allies in Congress from getting away with this attempt to slip Arctic drilling into the budget bill.

Click here now to keep keep the Arctic Refuge free from drilling --

http://capwiz.com/lcv/alert7091131.html

Tell your Senators to vote for the Cantwell Amendment.
Then call their offices at 1-888-894-5325 to reinforce your message.
Sincerely,

Betsy Loyless and the LCV Policy Team

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[dhinojosa]

21. I am often a critic of Kerry, but this deserves resounding praise....

Good work, this is what I love in our party.

[paineinthearse]

22. .

:kick:

[Muddy Waters Guitar]

25. Kudos to Kerry, Cantwell, Boxer and their supporters on this

These three are taking the reins of our party on the ANWR issue and standing up to the Repugs where they're most needed. As I've said for a while, IMHO Boxer should definitely be considered for the '08 nomination, and she and Kerry-- along with Dean, Gore, and Clark-- represent the true face of Dem leadership today, courageous and resolute yet effective as well.

[LittleClarkie]

26. I just hope we can get enough people on board for this

I'd like to see a victory after so many defeats.