Do You Know Your Representatives in Congress?

There are a lot of ways you can throw the blame after the horrible death of a comprehensive climate change and clean energy bill, and the seeming death of a national Renewable Energy Standard (RES).

You can blame:

• the Republican party and a broken Senate
• the media
• immoral billionaires
• Obama
• environmentalists
• a handful of Democratic senators (see below)
• the public
• greed and cowardice
• and probably more

Arguments on all of these are good, meaning that they are all a bit to blame (and clearly some more than others).

But when it comes down to it, the votes needed to come from our senators in Congress and those senators needed to make it know that they would vote for it (so that Reid wouldn’t drop the bill).


 
If you want to quickly evaluate your senators’ place in the matter, to figure out if you should thank them or tell them they should be ashamed of themselves (i.e. tear into them), a couple of good, recent posts I’ve run across help you to do so. (And, remember, if you do nothing — do not voice your opinion on this matter — you can put yourself on the list above as well.)

The first, by Colin Beavan (aka No Impact Man), lists where different senators stood on a comprehensive climate and clean energy bill. You can check out the article for a nice, full discussion of the matter, but at least take a look at the list and where your senators stand:

Senators who were die-hard opposed to climate bill

• Lamar Alexander (R, TN)
• John Barrasso (R, WY)
• Robert F Bennett (R, UT)
• Christopher S. Bond (R, MO)
• Sam Brownback (R, KS)
• Jim Bunning (R, KY)
• Richard Burr ( R, NC)
• Saxby Chambliss (R, GA)
• Tom Coburn (R, OK)
• Thad Cochran (R, MS)
• Bob Corker (R, TN)
• John Cornyn (R, TX)
• Mike Crapo (R, ID)
• Jim DeMint (R, SC)
• John Ensign (R, NV)
• Michael B Enzi (R, WY)
• Chuck Grassley (R, IA)
• Orrin G Hatch (R, UT)
• Kay Bailey Hutchison (R, TX)
• James M Inhofe (R, OK)
• Johnny Isakson (R, GA)
• Mike Johanns (R, NE)
• Jon Kyl (R, AZ)
• John McCain (R, AZ)
• Mitch McConnell (R, KY)
• James E Risch (R, ID)
• Pat Roberts (R, KS)
• Jeff Sessions (R, AL)
• Richard C Shelby (R, AL)
• John Thune (R, SD)
• David Vitter (R, LA)
• Roger F Wicker (R, MS)

Senators who spoke out publicly against, but weren’t die-hard opposition

• Evan Bayh (D, IN)
• Scott P Brown (R, MA)
• Carte Goodwin (D, WV)
• Judd Gregg (R, NH)
• Blanche Lincoln (D, AR)
• Richard G Lugar (R, IN)
• Ben Nelson (D, NE)
• Lisa Murkowski (R, AK)
• John D Rockefeller (D, WV)
• George V Voinovich (R, OH)
• Jim Webb (D, VA)

Swings (senators lacking the courage to publicly declare support of the bill)

• Susan M Collins (R, ME)
• Kent Conrad (D, ND)
• Byron L Dorgan (D, ND)
• Lindsey Graham (R, SC)
• Mary L Landrieu (D, LA)
• Claire McCaskill (D, MO)
• George S LeMieux (R, FL)
• Mark L Pryor (D, AR)
• Olympia J Snowe ( R, ME)

I also highly recommend an article on CalFinder, Following the Oil Money: How ‘Slick’ are Your Representatives?, that delves into big oil contributions to senators and representatives across party lines. Again, it is a great full read (with some nice images, too), but if you’re just a list person, here are two lists from that to definitely take a look at (with the amount of money certain senators took in from big oil):

Top Ten House Members (contributions 2009-2010)

1. Joe Linus Barton (R-TX) – $85,770
2. Chet Edwards (D-TX) – $73,430
3. Michael Conaway (R-TX) – $72,800
4. Eric Cantor (R-VA) – $69,400
5. David Daniel Boren (D-OK) – $65,100
6. Randy Neugebauer (R-TX) – $64,750
7. Peter G. Olson (R-TX) – $54,400
8. Michael Avery Ross (D-AR) – $54,250
9. Charles Boustany Jr. (R-LA) – $49,450
10. John Calvin Fleming Jr. (R-LA) – $44,800

Top Ten Senate Members (contributions 2009-2010)

1. Blanche Lambert Lincoln (D-AR) – $216,700
2. David Vitter (R-LA) – 170,200
3. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) – $146,550
4. Robert F. Bennett (R-UT) – $117,650
5. John Cornyn (R-TX) – $87,575
6. Thomas Coburn (R-OK) – $76,500
7. Arlen Specter (D-PA) – $74,000
8. Byron Dorgon (D-ND) – $70,950
9. Evan Bayh (D-IN) – $62,150
10. James Demint (R-SC) – $58,850

“Look to Oil Change International to learn more about oil contributions for these as well as your own representatives in Congress. Follow the money and then follow their actions. Connections between the two are hard to miss,” Dan at CalFinder writes.

Do you know your representatives in Congress? Do you know if they care about people or big oil more? Look into it. And let them know that you are watching them.

And share this info.

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Photo Credit: jcolman via flickr