Why Clean Water Matters in this Election

by Jonathan Scott, Communications Director This election is all about jobs and the economy, right? But I care about environmental issues – especially clean water. Where does this leave me and all the rest of us who care about our water? Let’s be realistic. Most people care about more than one thing when they’re deciding how to vote. But I would argue this makes environmental issues and the people who care about them all the more important. Some of my friends argue there’s really very little difference between President Obama and Gov. Romney – and so why does it matter who we vote for anyway? Well, if you look closely at the candidates’ environmental records, huge differences are revealed. Consider three recent high profile endorsements received by President Obama recently, from :

1. The normally conservative Economist magazine.
2. General Colin Powell, a respected member of the Bush Administration.
3. Independent New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The referenced media source is missing and needs to be re-embedded.

The referenced media source is missing and needs to be re-embedded.

The referenced media source is missing and needs to be re-embedded.

None of these had endorsed President Obama in the past. All cited multiple issues as the basis for their first-ever Obama endorsements. And all included the candidates’ positions on climate change as significant factors in the endorsement. In Mayor Bloomberg’s case, the endorsement announcement focused on global warming and was accompanied by a cover story in Bloomberg’s Business Week publication, proclaiming “It’s Global Warming, Stupid.” In choosing Obama over Romney, they said they were also choosing the candidate most likely to deliver sustained results, looking beyond the short-term interests of corporate campaign insiders and rhetoric-heavy quick fixes. I believe the candidates’ records and positions on key issues such as clean water and energy/climate change show this divide sharply – with President Obama as the clear leader. Clean Water Action’s endorsement for President Obama’s re-election reflects this as well. In my experience, where a candidate stands on environmental issues can be hugely revealing about their positions on a host of other issues I care about. For example, if a Member of Congress is voting consistently against clean water, and against clean air, and in favor of corporate special interests, what does that tell us? Or if a candidate claims to be pro-conservation but votes consistently against clean water then casts a few pro-environment votes as the election draws nearer, is that the kind of person you’d want representing you in Washington, DC? Why did a majority of Reps. in the U.S. House vote to weaken environmental and health protections, approving anti-environment measures more than 300 times – a rate of roughly once for each day the House was in session during 2011-12? Maybe it’s because they thought they could get away with it? Because they thought nobody was paying attention? Because they thought there would be no consequences? Voters who care about clean water and other environmental issues will have the final say on questions like these. We can’t afford to let them stand unanswered.

The referenced media source is missing and needs to be re-embedded.

Let me get personal and specific for a moment. Here in New Hampshire, where I’ve lived since 1989, my current U.S. Rep. is Charlie Bass. He’s been in and out of office for quite a few years, and may well have started his political life as a true moderate. In the distant past, he often took pro-environment positions and even voted a few times in line with the “moderate” “conservationist” image he seeks to cultivate with voters. But during his most recent stint in Washington, Rep. Bass has moved radically into the extreme anti-environment camp with his voting. On Clean Water Action’s recent Congressional scorecard, he posted the second-worst voting score of all representatives across New England – a very dismal 25%. The other low-scorer was Rep. Guinta (NH-2, a zero score from Clean Water Action), but at least Guinta does not make any pretense of being pro-conservation. That’s why I was so pleased with Clean Water Action’s recent endorsement of challenger Annie Kuster in this race to represent my District (CD-2). She is the kind of leader who can be counted on to stand up to the polluters and support policies that will protect clean water, build healthy communities. She recognizes that these kinds of policies will create more jobs and economic growth in the long run. So tomorrow, I plan on being first in line when my local polling place opens. I will cast my vote for President Obama, Annie Kuster, and other candidates I’m supporting as if environmental issues matter in this election. Because they do.