Today's McCain Myth: John McCain is a friend of the environment
WASHINGTON, May 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was
released today by the Democratic National Committee:
On the campaign trail John McCain casts himself as a conservationist
and environmentalist, saying we have a "sacred duty to be proper stewards
of the resources upon which the quality of American life depends." Yet at
the same time, McCain's fundraisers and advisers helping his campaign have
been on the wrong side of the issues. And a little investigation reveals
that the lobbyists raising money for and running McCain's campaign have
earned $13.1 million dollars lobbying for oil companies and worked for
companies responsible for oil spills, water and air pollution.
[johnmccain.com, accessed 5/11/08]
As is so often the case with John McCain, this is yet another example
of his effort to have it both ways on an issue. But how can Americans trust
him to be a good steward of the Earth when the people advancing his
political career are on the wrong side of the issues?
Steven Betts: CEO Of Firm With Record Of Air Pollution
Steven Betts. President and CEO Of SunCor Development, Betts is a
$100,000 bundler ("Trailblazer") for McCain's campaign. [Hoovers.com
(http://www.hoovers.com/suncor-development/--ID__121765--/free-co-factsheet
.xhtml), accessed 5/10/08; Public Citizen
(http://whitehouseforsale.org/bundler.cfm?Bundler=16033), accessed 5/10/08]
2006: SunCor Fined For Multiple Instances Of Air Pollution. "SunCor
Development Co. signed a settlement agreement on July 12, 2006 for $39,343.
The agreement encompasses eight alleged air pollution violations including
failure to limit (dust) emissions, failure to post accurate contact
information on project sign, failure to clean up trackout and four
instances lacked a suitable trackout control device." [Maricopa County (AZ)
Air Quality Department press release via US States News, 8/1/06]
Alfred Hoffman: CEO Of Firm Working To Undermine Everglades Protections
Alfred Hoffman Jr. Hoffman is former CEO of WCI Communities and is a
$100,000 bundler ("Trailblazer") for McCain's campaign. Hoffman retired
from the firm in 2005. [Washington Post, 12/10/07; Public Citizen
(http://whitehouseforsale.org/bundler.cfm?Bundler=708), accessed 5/10/08]
2004: Alfred Hoffman Was Prominent In Developers' Attempt To Undermine
Restoration Of Florida Everglades. In 2004, with Florida trying to
implement an agreement with the federal government to "give the Everglades
the water it needs to survive," "the state's power to fulfill that pledge
[came] under attack from developers." Under the plan, the Everglades would
get water from a $8.4 billion restoration project needed for its existence.
But the plan was opposed by the Association of Florida Community
Developers, which included Hoffman. The group "filed a legal challenge
against the state Department of Environmental Protection, which had
proposed a rule governing the water protections. A year ago, the same
association championed a bill that would have erased most of the state's
ability to rule water off-limits to people." [Palm Beach Post, 4/26/04]
James Nicholson: CEO Of Company Dumping Chemicals Into River
James Nicholson. Nicholson, the President and CEO of PVS Chemicals,
Inc. is a $100,000 bundler ("Trailblazer") for McCain's campaign. [Detroit
Free Press, 12/11/07; Public Citizen
(http://whitehouseforsale.org/bundler.cfm?Bundler=739), accessed 5/10/08]
2002: Company Settles Suit by New York State For 70+ Illegal
Discharges, Including Sulfuric Acid Into River. In 2002, New York State and
a division of PVS Chemicals "settled a lawsuit, filed by the state,
charging it with illegally discharging sulfuric acid into the Buffalo
River." The firm agreed to a fine as well as to pay for upgrades to avoid
future illegal dumping. According to Assistant Attorney General Timothy
Hoffman the suit covered "about 70 violations of the company's discharge
permit, dating to the mid-1990s. Mikol said the settlement covers the
illegal river dumping, as well as illegal emissions into the air and ground
water around the plant. ... The leaks into the cooling water turned that
water acidic, and the water then was sent back into the river." Some of
these violations violated the federal Clean Water Act according to the
state. [Buffalo News, 4/28/02; PVS Chemicals Inc. website,
http://www.pvschemicals.com/locations.asp]
A Long History Of Illegal Pollution. Earlier in the 1990s, the company
acknowledged a 1991 leak of "more than 14,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide to
escape from its Lee Street plant" and another leak in 1996. [Buffalo News,
11/18/92, 7/29/97]
Donald Bren: Runs Company Polluting Fragile Dolphin Habitat
Donald Bren. Bren, the President and CEO of The Irvine Company is a
$250,000 bundler ("Innovator") for McCain's campaign. [Irvine Company
website, (http://www.irvinecompany.com/aboutus/News.asp?type=officers#);
Public Citizen (http://whitehouseforsale.org/bundler.cfm?Bundler=739),
accessed 5/10/08]
2000: Officials Order Company To Stop Discharging Polluted Materials
Into Crystal Cove State Park Area. In 2000, regional water officials in
California ordered the Irvine Company to "stop sending polluted discharge
into the pristine waters off Crystal Cove State Park. Such fragile
ecosystems are 'biological communities of such extraordinary value that no
risk of unnatural stresses . . . can be entertained,' said Mark Smythe,
chief of the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board's coastal storm
water unit. The ocean off Crystal Cove, a dolphin-birthing ground north of
Laguna Beach, is recognized by the state as one of 34 areas of biological
significance and receives special protection under the state's Ocean Plan."
[LA Times, 11/17/00]
McCain Fundraisers and Advisers Friends to Big Oil. McCain Fundraisers
and advisers have earned over $13 million dollars lobbying for oil and
related interests. [Lobbying relationships and dollar amounts from Senate
Office of Public Records filings; McCain campaign roles from McCain
Campaign Release; The Politico [3/4/08]; whitehouseforsale.org]
After casting himself as a "Maverick" in 2000, the new John McCain is
walking in lockstep with President Bush, pandering to the right wing of the
Republican Party, and embracing the ideology he once denounced. On the
campaign trail McCain has callously abandoned many of his previously held
positions, even contradicted himself, in a blatant attempt to remake
himself into a candidate Republicans can accept in 2008. So just who is the
real John McCain? The Democratic National Committee will present a daily
fact aimed at exposing the man behind the myth.
Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee,
http://www.democrats.org.
This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's
committee.
SOURCE Democratic National Committee
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Related links:
http://whitehouseforsale.org
http://www.democrats.org
CONTACT:
Damien LaVera of the Democratic National
Committee, +1-202-863-8148
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