New Ad Highlights George Allen's Work for Big Oil

Hey, Virginians! Do you want a senator who's signed a pledge to protect special interest tax giveaways for multinational corporations that are already massively profitable? Well then let the Majority PAC & League of Conservation Voters tell you about George Allen:

 

Republicans for Environmental Protection Keeps Swimming Upstream

Today's generation of Republican leadership has long since abandoned its party's historic tradition of supporting science and conservation, selling out their values to everyone from Big Tobacco to the Koch brothers. Nowhere is that generational contrast more stark than here in Virginia, where George Allen's fancy designer cowboy boots have replaced John Warner's muddy riding boots.

But Republicans for Environmental Protection is still fighting the good fight, trying to get its party's leadership to back off its attacks on clean air, clean water and public lands:

"Ronald Reagan signed more wilderness bills than any other president, before or since his administration. And what we're trying to say is that conservation is conservative. It is part of the conservative ethic to care for the land and to be good stewards."

Of the 19 bills, two were sponsored by Virginia Republican Congressman Rob Wittman. One promotes restoration of Chesapeake Bay and the other deals with an extension of the Wetlands Conservation Act. [ REP spokesman Jim] DiPeso understands that Congress has been swamped, but says there is no good reason to delay bills that lawmakers actually agree on.

"When we wrote that letter to Speaker Boehner, we were pointing out, 'Look, you have all these conservation bills that have Republican sponsors. Let's go ahead and pass 'em.'"

I wish REP luck, but the truth is its party's leaders have long since turned their backs on anyone who'd dare stand up for America's natural resources. Moderates like Lincoln Chafee, Jim Jeffords and Arlen Specter knew it all too well and left the party, while others like Bob Bennett, Mike Castle and Charlie Crist have been cast out as insufficiently extreme.

The GOP misses leaders like Teddy Roosevelt who knew the outdoors were a place to be men - a literal man cave. But today's Republican leaders only like the great outdoors when they're using it as cover for extramarital affairs.

UPDATE: REP just announced it's changing its name to ConservAmerica.

George Allen Named Inaugural Member of 2012 LCV Dirty Dozen

Virginia GOP U.S. Senate candidate George Allen has been named the first member of the 2012 League of Conservation Voters Dirty Dozen:

GOP Leaders Act Like Pro Wrestling Referees On Energy

"There must be this whole school where they teach you to just kind of run around and not notice anything. They sit you down, show you a film of the rubout scene from The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, and if you don't see anything illegal going on, you're hired."

- Jerry Seinfeld on pro wrestling referees

The Energy Star program helps make sure your appliances use less electricity to do the same job, saving millions of Americans money. The U.S. House Republican Study Committee budget plan cries foul, targeting the program for a $52 million budget cut.

But the $36.5 billion dollars in subsidies the federal budget doles out over the next decade to oil & gas companies, which are already making massive profits off rising gas prices? The GOP doesn't see anything wrong with that - Big Oil's pork is protected by that House GOP budget blueprint.

It's a similar story here in Virginia. While Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli jokes about global warming, he sees nothing wrong with blowing billions on job-burning coal plants. And it's no surprise that Cuccinelli's top donor, the Republican State Leadership Committee, is fueled by oil, with Devon Energy & Exxon Mobil among its leading contributors.

And let's not forget George Allen, whose willingness to look the other way for Big Oil's benefit makes George W. Bush look as fair-minded as Judge Mills Lane by comparison. Allen refuses to even admit America has a problem with imported oil, saying Bush was wrong to call out our addiction. Of course, it's not the glare off his designer boots that's blinding him - George Allen has been on Big Oil's payroll for years.

But now President Obama has laid out an energy policy that sounds like it was designed by rank & file Republicans - calling for development of not just clean energy but natural gas, nuclear & even coal, if it can clean up its act. Can GOP leadership keep running around pretending to not notice gas creeping back to $4 a gallon?

Kaine & Allen to Debate Energy & Enviroment

UPDATE 8:57am: You can see the live blog here.

The Green Miles is awake early and getting hopped up on Starbucks Organic Sumatra-Peru coffee, preparing to live blog this:

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) and former governor and senator George Allen (R) will represent the two presidential candidates in a debate about energy and the environment [Wednesday] morning in Northern Virginia. [...]

The debate, sponsored by the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce, will be held at the Washington Dulles Airport Marriott. The debate begins at 8 a.m. and will be moderated by Norah O'Donnell, MSNBC chief Washington correspondent.

"Energy and the environment are going to be huge issues facing the next president," said Peter Ryus, chairman of the chamber's environmental committee. "Virginia is an important setting for this debate because of its swing electoral votes, its demographics and its strategic proximity to Washington."

And of course the event is sponsored by ... wait for it ...

Sponsors: Platinum: Dominion

Almost time to hit the road, but live blogging should begin over at RK just before 8am.