Sierra Club draws GOP fire for backing Akaka
A campaign endorsement by the Sierra Club is drawing protests from Republicans who claim environmentalists are playing politics.
The Hawaii chapter of the Sierra Club endorsed the re-election of Democratic Sen. Dan Akaka, and the election of Mazie Hirono to Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District. The group also criticized Rep. Neil Abercrombie for his support of a bill to lift a moratorium on offshore drilling for most areas other than the Gulf of Mexico from New England to Alaska.
The Akaka endorsement is controversial because Akaka and fellow Sen. Dan Inouye last year voted to support oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The Hawaii Sierra Club then said it "condemns" Akaka and Inouye for their vote.
Yesterday, state Rep. Cynthia Thielen, who is the Republican running against Democrat Akaka, said the Sierra Club played politics because she had already been endorsed by them in her state re-election campaign.
"If they were looking for a strong, consistent environmental supporter they can trust, they would have endorsed me," Thielen said.
Akaka welcomed the support and said he would revisit the Alaskan area to take another look at the issue. Akaka had defended his vote, saying that he had talked to Eskimo tribes who wanted the drilling because it would provide much-needed funds for their villages.
"I have taken a position, I have given my commitment to the people there that I would support them in providing resources that would help them upgrade their community," Akaka said yesterday.
But he added: "I can take a fresh look and I am willing to do that."
Based on that, Lance Holter, political chairman of the local Sierra Club, said Akaka won their support.
"A smart man in the face of new evidence changes his mind," Holter said.
Akaka made his decision after taking a trip to the area in 1995, but Holter said Akaka didn't get the whole story.
"Arctic Power, which is an oil lobby group, brought the senator up there in April when the arctic is still frozen. No one has brought the senator up when the arctic is in bloom," said Holter, who has traveled in the arctic area in question.
Gov. Linda Lingle said the endorsement surprised her, noting Thielen has an "extensive and consistent record."
The environmental organization declined to endorse either Lingle or her Democratic opponent, Randy Iwase. The group said that while Lingle "has an impressive list of accomplishments for Hawaii's environment," she has been a strong supporter of the Superferry proposal and rejected calls for an environmental impact statement.
The Sierra Club also scolded Abercrombie, saying it could not support him. "The Sierra Club has been repeatedly disappointed with Abercrombie's actions to weaken the critical Endangered Species Act, allow drilling off the nation's coast ... ," Holter said.