WASHINGTON— Senator John McCain just announced his choice for running mate: Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. To follow is a statement by Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund.
"Senator McCain’s choice for a running mate is beyond belief. By choosing Sarah Palin, McCain has clearly made a decision to continue the Bush legacy of destructive environmental policies.
"Sarah Palin, whose husband works for BP, has repeatedly put special interests first when it comes to the environment. In her scant two years as governor, she has lobbied aggressively to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, pushed for more drilling off of Alaska’s coasts, and put special interests above science. Ms. Palin has made it clear through her actions that she is unwilling to do even as much as the Bush administration to address the impacts of global warming. Her most recent effort has been to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the polar bear from the endangered species list, putting Big Oil before sound science. As unbelievable as this may sound, this actually puts her to the right of the Bush administration.
"This is Senator McCain’s first significant choice in building his executive team and it’s a bad one. It has to raise serious doubts in the minds of voters about John McCain’s commitment to conservation, to addressing the impacts of global warming and to ensuring our country ends its dependency on oil."
From listening to her talk, she’s no Dan Quayle. But she is hardly going to win the mythical up-for-grabs Hillary vote with these credentials. If anything, it’s an insult to them and what Hillary stood for to think Palin would be a substitute. But I think the thing that most struck me reading the blogs is that it seems likely that she and McCain hardly even know each other.
It’s just too good. She’s the antithesis of Hillary and what Hillary stands for. To choose her thinking that “any woman will do” is an insult to the intelligence of women. It’s a throwback to the days where men thought women shouldn’t vote because they weren’t smart enough.
Again, I couldn’t be more thrilled with McCain’s choice. It speaks volumes to who he really is working for and his ability to make rational decisions. It’s just too good.