by Samantha Thompson
Since coming out in
support of climate legislation in October, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham
of South Carolina has faced a lot of vitriol from groups on the right, including
Tea Party activists in Charleston. This criticism culminated in a formal censure from
Charleston County that lambasted Graham for subverting “Republican
leadership and party solidarity for his own benefit” and defiling “the ideals
of freedom, rule of law, and fiscal conservatism.”
But one unlikely group is coming to Graham’s defense: the
Christian Coalition. The group released a radio ad last week defending the senator’s
actions.
The ad begins with an audio clip of President George W. Bush
lamenting America’s addiction to oil as a “serious problem.” (You can listen
to it here.) It continues with
narration from Roberta Combs, president of the Christian Coalition:
President Bush was right: our addiction to
foreign oil threatens our national security and economic prosperity. America
spends almost a billion dollars a day on foreign oil and a lot of that goes to
countries that do not like us and harbor terrorists. Washington’s failure to
act puts our national security at risk, and drains our economy. I’ve heard from
so many Christian Coalition supporters that energy is one of the most important
issues we face today. America is a can-do country. We’ve got to take the lead
to explore energy alternatives and protect our national security. We have to
make our country safer by creating jobs with the made-in-America energy plan. I
would like to ask you to call Sen. Lindsey Graham and encourage him to continue
fighting for our families.
Could the Christian Coalition give fledgling climate
legislation the leg up it needs? The
organization boasts 2.5 million supporters, largely conservative Republicans;
if they embraced the cause, they could give a big boost to efforts to build a
bipartisan coalition for a clean-energy and climate bill.
Meanwhile, dozens of
South Carolina veterans are also saluting Graham for his climate activism in an ad [PDF] running in
local South Carolina newspapers, funded by the Pew Project on National
Security, Energy and Climate:
As U.S. military veterans, we share Senator
Lindsey Graham’s strong belief that our national security depends on more than troops
and arms. America must also reduce its dangerous dependence on foreign oil and
develop its own alternative energy sources.
Related Links:
The changing threat to water: Global warming & World Water Day
The inevitable ‘What Does Health Care Reform Mean for Climate Legislation’ post
Open letter to Sens. Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman: a bipartisan path forward on energy and climate