I recently sent an email to OLCV supporters to alert them of a new deception campaign led by former Texas Congressman Dick Armey. I believe fighting these false claims is so critical, I thought I should share this call to action with the public.
FreedomWorks to launch Energy Misinformation Campaign in Oregon
Will Ordinary Oregonians Fight Back?
Oil-industry backed FreedomWorks, headed by former Texas Congressman Dick Armey, announced earlier this week they they're spending $1 million in Oregon in 2008 to combat “anti-energy extremists.” Of course, they define groups like OLCV as “anti-energy.” They say the campaign will expose "how anti-energy radicals are opposed not just to energy development but to our modern way of life."
This is, of course, rubbish. What threatens our way of life is the head-in-the-sand corporate shills at FreedomWorks who deny global warming is happening, fight against renewable energy, and thus threaten our children with potentially catastrophic global warming.
By contrast, the environmental community is helping generate thousands of jobs in the renewable energy sector and the number of those jobs will escalate rapidly over the next decade thanks to renewable energy policies that we spearheaded in 2007 over the opposition of groups like FreedomWorks.
Of course, OLCV and our allies can’t rely on a few big corporate donors to run a massive public education campaign.
But we do have you -- thousands of Oregonians across the state who care passionately about the planet's future, and this incredible corner of the planet called Oregon. We need ordinary Oregonians like you to help us fight back.
1. Donate $50 today to OLCV’s political action committee to help us run larger, more effective campaigns on behalf of candidates in tough races this fall who’ll be fighting for renewable energy and against candidates backed by FreedomWorks.
2. Sign up to volunteer this fall on one of our many campaigns. We’ll have dozens of phone banks and canvasses across the state starting after Labor Day. In close elections for local offices, we know that personal contacts from other voters makes a difference.
As Al Gore's group has shown, the nation can convert its electricity production to 100% renewable in 10 years if we have the political will. We'll have the political will if the people rise up and demand it at every level of government.
9/1/08 Update:We now have evidence of just how misleading these ads are. The basic point appears to be to brand "environmental" groups as extremists.
Here's a sample.
Names aren't attached to these examples. I'm aware of one fight over a geothermal plant in the middle of a National Monument. I know that Surfrider has debunked Freedom Work's allegations that it opposes wave power. Freedom Works and their ilk have never let the facts get in the way of their stories.
We may not have the budget to run radio ads like these. But we can defeat them where it matters most: the ballot box. If we can get 100 more donors to step forward with $50 donations, we can go deeper into one of the races where we have a chance to defeat incumbents who voted against renewable energy.
OLCV’s new
Legislative Affairs Director, Evan Manvel, coordinates the Oregon Conservation
Network (OCN), a consortium of environmental groups who work to pass laws to
protect Oregon’s air, water, and land. The OCN is currently developing its
priorities for the 2009 Legislative session. Here is Evan’s take on the
process:
.jpg)
Recent Comments