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2008 Election Candidate Forum:
The Questions
Question 7: Many people feel that the environment is not an important factor in deciding federal elections. Why do you think this is, and what strategies should the Club pursue for electing pro-environment candidates to office?
Candidate responses were limited to 150 words per question.Lane
Boldman
The environment in many ways is still seen as a special-interest issue when it comes to our national presence. We cannot continue to be seen as a special interest group to the politicians and the electorate and expect to win consistently, even in a favorable political climate.
The primary way that the Sierra Club can become a winning force is for our members to be seen as members of their communities. This is not just accomplished by increasing our numbers. We need to expand our base by broadening the kinds of people who engage in Club activities. I support the Club’s recent Diversity Initiative, and I work directly with programs that broaden our outreach. But diversifying our member outreach is a long-term strategy. In the short-term, we need to look at expanding our coalition partnerships, reaching across to different groups who have shared goals. Joni
Bosh
Questionnaire Not Returned Clark
Buchner
We have many tired people in public office, that have been on the dole from corporations so long they are totally jaded. We should target these people, expose their hideous voting records as archaic and neanderthal and get rid of them just like we got rid of Pombo in California. We need to cultivate candidates at the local levels first and develop loyalties with progressive people of both parties. We need to find ways to draw progressive Republicans to our side because like it or not we will need their help. The environment will become more and more of an issue, as the tide appears to be turning at long last. There is massive stupidity in this country and we need to thoughtfully combat it every way that we can. The partnering programs with Hunter/Anglers, Blue Green Alliances and incursions into faith based communities are steps in the right direction. Jeremy
Doochin
In past presidential elections, the environment has not been a large factor; however, it is quickly rising in the political scene. The vast majority of people now rank climate change as one of their top concerns, and more people are asking candidates about their environmental plans than ever before. Traditionally, however, the money that it is in people’s pockets (the economy) is the cause of the greatest concern. We must work to establish a greater personal connection between people and their environment. We can achieve this by showing people the money they can save by being environmental or by inspiring them with our outings programs. We can bring the environment into the political scene through effective coalition building and by organizing national coordinated political strategies. We can also help to elect pro-environmental candidates by striving to build an enduring and trusted relationship with candidates before they are elected. Jim
Dougherty
Sorry, but I don’t think that political strategizing should be conducted on public listserves. Larry
Fahn
Questionnaire Not Returned Barbara
Frank
For many people environmental concerns are important, but for many they are secondary to jobs, taxes, health care, etc. Candidates perceive this and have barely addressed it this election year. Commentators/Pundits have not helped. Tim Russert (Meet the Press) in 827 questions had zero questions about Global Warming and only 12 related at all to the issue; Wolf Blitzer on CNN out of 402 questions had only 2 about Global Warming, George Stephanopoulos, out of 767 had none on Global Warming and only 5 related questions. Fox News and CBS commentators similarly ignored the issue. We've got to push to raise the issue. It's too huge to ignore or allow to be ignored. The Club needs to think about bigger splashier responses. We get a lot of media hits, but maybe it's time to ratchet up. We should urge Al Gore to engage on this. David
Scott
Many voters wrongly assume that government is protecting the environment. When it comes to wilderness protection, voters know even less about what’s happening, and the TV-dominated media doesn’t educate them well. If voters saw forests being clearcut or wolves being slaughtered on the news more often, both might stop. But the war, economic news and celebrity culture crowd out much environmental coverage.
The good news is that global warming has finally become a mainstream issue: Time runs cover stories. Many presidential candidates now address global warming and energy in their campaign materials. We need to confront them and other political candidates and politely pose tough questions about what they’ll do about our issues. And we need to do far more accountability work – including recognition for good votes. A recent accountability campaign on Senator Dominici’s awful energy votes had a noticeable effect on his poll numbers, and he decided to retire. Jerry
Sutherland
We need to make it personal for voters by connecting the quality of the air they breathe and water they drink, continued enjoyment of open spaces, and welfare of wildlife to specific candidates. We showed in our 2006 election campaigns that the public is interested and concerned about their environment if we bring it home to them. Increased press coverage on global warming is helping to raise interest in all environmental issues. I think Directors can help carry this momentum into 2008 by working with media, direct involvement in campaigns, and recruiting members. We need to get new campaign techniques ready for use that allow Club members to make calls from across the country to supplement local phone banks. I made calls in the campaign to oust Richard Pombo and recruited others to do the same across the nation. There were a few obstacles, but it was effective. Matt
Urban
To some degree this is our fault, and to some degree it’s a due to a very effective, organized, and long-term campaign to marginalize the environment as a critical election issue.
For too long, environmentalists have focused about what’s wrong with the world, but offer few practical solutions. While that approach plays well with our inner circle, it doesn’t work well with the bulk of Americans who prefer a more pragmatic approach. As a result, even the term ‘environmentalist’ is viewed with suspicion among many.
Transitioning into a more positive and hopeful ‘solutions-based’ way of communicating along the lines of what I’ve alluded to in #6 above will be critical to regaining the public’s trust.
But beyond just regaining trust, our challenge is to recapture the public’s *imagination* with a hopeful and forward-thinking vision.
Once that’s accomplished, the public will simply demand more of their elected leaders. Nathan
Wyeth
Questionnaire Not Returned
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