McCain rhetoric vs. reality

John McCain should not be surprised if vocalists come consulting him regarding his impressive ability to change his tune so fast. In mid-May, addressing a Portland, Ore., wind-turbine manufacturer, he said global warming is undeniable and that the United States must take steps to bring it under control. While saying nuclear power should be considered among the ways to reduce carbon emissions, he called for those emissions to be 60 percent lower than those of 1990 by 2050. He’s criticized the Bush administration for its handling and missed opportunities of the Kyoto protocol. He’s talked about the polar bears, a cap-and-trade program and giving emission targets to industries.

He sounded downright green. And yet, a look at his voting record shows he’s done very little to provide real protection for the environment. While he has spoken of fighting global warming since 2003, he scored a zero out of 100 on the latest League of Conservation Voters Scorecard, which rates officials for their votes in the most recent Congress. He also skipped one of every 15 votes the League considered “critical measures” for the environment.

“Out of 535 members of Congress, John McCain is the only one who chose to miss every single key environmental vote scored by the League of Conservation Voters,” said Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, in a statement.

Hillary Clinton scored 73 percent on the Scorecard, and Barack Obama scored 67 percent.

Good environmental stewardship has become an increasingly important value among religious and evangelical voters, many of whom typically vote Republican.

To see McCain’s voting record, visit Lcv.org/scorecard. Also see Votesmart.org and Ontheissues.org.