These sides will not be reconciled. Or maybe they already have on some level in one corner of the larger debate. That semi-reconciliation based on political realities of the recession is killing environmental advocates.

Biofuel is a big business in the rural heartland, one that in the present stage of its development produces a lot of green-house gases. It’s also an alternative energy. It has been singled out for special treatment for both reasons.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) used a great deal of leverage to gain support for an amendment that significantly reduces the criteria that biofuels, such as ethanol and wood pellets, would have to meet in order to be considered a “renewable” source of energy. The formulation exempts the biofuel industry from the worst of the regulations capping emissions. The “Peterson Amendment” is a victory for farmers who grow or harvest these materials, a victory for places like Larimer County. And a victory too for Betsy Markey, who proudly supported the Clean Energy Act as well as the Amendment, which came out of the Agriculture Committee of which she is a member.

Read more from the Colorado Independent about the political realities of the ethanol business here in the recession and more on environmental opposition to the Peterson Amendment at the Washington Independent.

But it didn’t do that. Instead, it spent not a dollar in simply telling Politico it was going to do that and Politico wrote all about it.

NRCC nasty work done. And dirt cheap, too!

Politico’s Jonathan Martin and Alex Isenstadt, in their double-bylined story, reported that Republicans believed vulnerable Democrats like Markey had cast potentially “career-ending” votes Friday for the Clean Energy Act, and a major NRCC campaign would aim to “seal the fate” of these mostly newbie lawmakers.

Republicans believe a handful of junior House Democrats may have taken a career-ending vote by supporting the controversial energy bill last week and are planning to launch an ad campaign in targeted districts to try to seal their fate.

The National Republican Congressional Committee is planning to air TV and radio commercials and unleash robocalls against Democrats who hail from districts that could be adversely affected by the narrowly passed legislation, are GOP-leaning or both.

Those likely to find themselves with targets on their back after the 219-212 vote: freshman Reps. Harry Teague of New Mexico, Betsy Markey of Colorado, John Boccieri of Ohio, Thomas Perriello of Virginia and Alan Grayson of Florida and second-termer Zack Space of Ohio.

No surprise that the House Republican Conference daily email played the Politico story up high and included the entire lead, which they probably thought they couldn’t have written any better themselves!

What’s up Today….

Politico looks at the House Democrats who “may have taken a career-ending vote” by supporting cap-and-tax.

Republicans believe a handful of junior House Democrats may have taken a career-ending vote by supporting the controversial energy bill last week and are planning to launch an ad campaign in targeted districts to try to seal their fate .

Turns out that there is no expensive campaign. The “seal her fate” NRCC attack on Markey will include a Web ad and robocalls to residents in her district. Not exactly a game-changing strategy. Classic press release journalism? Seems more likely.

That and some flat-out Inside-the-Beltway cluelessness on the goings on in “fly-over country.” Take this bit on Markey, for example:

[R]unning against a weak incumbent, former Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, Markey rode President Barack Obama’s coattails to victory last year.

[...]

Markey didn’t respond to a request for comment about her vote.

In beating Musgrave, Markey ran way ahead of Obama’s numbers in the 4th Congressional District. If anything, it was the other way around, Obama riding the coattails. Markey trounced the unpopular Musgrave, 57 percent to 43 percent of the vote.

What’s more, in response to an attack by state GOP leader Dick Wadhams, Markey put out a press release early this week describing the reasons for her vote. Her defense wasn’t the least bit hedging.

The release is available here.

Hat tip to the Coloradoan’s Bob Moore.

There’s also a generic Web ad — Markey doesn’t merit the television ad campaign the NRCC is unleashing on Virginia’s Tom Perriello — featuring a clip from President Barack Obama, who said during the 2008 campaign that under his cap-and-trade plan, “electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.”

TPMDC’s Eric Kleefeld notes this is the first time this election cycle Republicans have used the wildly popular Obama “in a negative manner” in an attack ad.

While Politico reported Tuesday the NRCC was “planning to air TV and radio commercials and unleash robocalls” in its campaign against “vulnerable” House Democrats, there won’t be any TV or radio commercials airing in Colorado, just the robocalls.

NRCC spokeswoman Joanna Burgos told The Colorado Independent the robocalls will reach “thousands” of households in Markey’s district but wouldn’t be more specific. They’ll start running Wednesday and continue into the Fourth of July weekend. Burgos declined to say how much the NRCC was spending on the campaign.

Here’s the script for the robocall targeting Markey. Listen to it here.

This call is from the National Republican Congressional Committee, 202-479-7000.

Your Congresswoman, Betsy Markey voted this past Friday for a huge national energy tax – a tax on natural gas and electricity that will hit every American family and small business. The Wall Street Journal said this tax “will likely be the largest tax in American history.” A tax that will move more American jobs overseas while unemployment continues to rise. Even Democratic Congressman John Dingell called this bill “a tax and a great big one.” A tax Warren Buffett calls “huge – regressive” forcing “many poor people to pay a lot more for electricity.”

Call Betsy Markey now at 970-221-7110. Let her know that her vote on the Nancy Pelosi National Energy Tax is a vote against American families.

PAID FOR BY THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE. NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE’S COMMITTEE. THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE IS REPSONIBLE FOR THE CONTENT OF THIS ADVERTISING. WWW.NRCC.ORG

If Markey were on the receiving end of the NRCC’s radio ad blitz, it might sound like this one, aimed at Arkansas Democrat Vic Snyder. But she isn’t.

And here’s the Web ad — watch for a title card urging viewers to “turn off the lights on Betsy Markey” at the end.

Markey’s office didn’t reply to an e-mail seeking comment on the latest NRCC attacks. She released this statement after Friday’s vote:

After much consideration and input from businesses, families and farmers across Northern and Eastern Colorado, I supported the American Clean Energy and Security Act. As with any critical piece of legislation, I took my time to hear from constituents, study the bill and work to make key changes. After critical adjustments were made to protect the agriculture industry and an amendment that I offered to help connect Colorado wind farms to America’s wider energy markets was accepted into the bill, I made the decision to lend my support.

It’s time we get serious about reducing our country’s energy costs and saving American families money. We simply cannot afford to continue to send billions of dollars overseas to unstable governments, while we have our own vast energy resources right here in America. It is critical to our long-term economic health.

I was also compelled by the unique benefits this bill brings to Northern and Eastern Colorado. The renewable energy industry is a reality in the 4th Congressional District and this bill brings jobs directly to our community. Quite frankly, Colorado and the Fourth Congressional District in particular, stand to see greater benefits from this legislation than other areas of the country. Latest estimates project that 41,000 households in the 4th Congressional District would see a net income increase as a result of this bill. This was a reality I could not ignore.

I worked hard with my colleagues on the Agriculture committee to ensure that Colorado’s farmers and ranchers reaped the benefits of this bill. I felt that the cost of regulating emissions from farms across Colorado would be far too expensive for agriculture and would result in relatively limited reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. I was pleased to see the agriculture industry has been exempted from the emissions provisions in the final version of the bill—this was a critical compromise and without it I would not have supported the legislation. I believe it is vital to Colorado agriculture that ethanol producers, beef farmers and rural electric associations alike are protected from rate increases.

Politico reports that members of the National Republican Congressional Committee believe vulnerable Congressional freshmen like Markey, who represents the state’s conservative 4th District, may have cast “a career-ending vote.” The NRCC is orchestrating a campaign against the officials that will feature TV and radio commercials as well as robocalls.

[Lawmakers] likely to find themselves with targets on their back after the 219-212 vote: freshman Reps. Harry Teague of New Mexico, Betsy Markey of Colorado, John Boccieri of Ohio, Thomas Perriello of Virginia and Alan Grayson of Florida and second-termer Zack Space of Ohio.

The GOP’s hope is [to] do to these vulnerable Democrats what Republicans famously did to former Rep. Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky, the Pennsylvania Democrat who ensured that her career was limited to one term when she cast the deciding vote for President Bill Clinton’s budget package in 1993.

Markey stood strong against a first shot fired this week by state GOP leader Dick Wadhams after news of the vote first aired. In a press release, Markey said she was “proud” of the vote, that it was a vote for the economy and national security as well as for the environment.

The American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) will help our businesses continue to be at the forefront of our new energy economy, lessen our dependence on foreign oil and protect and preserve our environment–all at the same time.

… The day after I cast this vote, a head of the state Republican Party, Dick Wadhams was quoted in the Denver Post saying that this vote would cost me my seat.

Well, I’ve got news for him–I am proud of my vote and will continue to do what it takes to help Colorado continue to be a national leader in our new energy economy.

The Fourth Congressional District in particular stands at the forefront of business development in clean energy. Wind and solar companies are bringing jobs to Northern and Eastern Colorado and our research institutions are providing the human capital to get those jobs done.

Politico quotes Jennifer Crider, spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, on the lack of a Republican alternative.

Republicans have shown time and time again that they don’t offer solutions; they’re just saying no, whether it’s the economic recovery bill or the green-jobs bill,” Crider said. “There’s a reason why their brand is so damaged.”

Another “top democratic aide” said polls showed the American people were ready for change :

“As the president said [Sunday], they are still fighting battles that happened in the early 1990s,” said the aide. “America has moved forward. All of the polling supports that.”

Got a tip? Send us an e-mail. Follow The Colorado Independent on Twitter.

Markey’s seat has been targeted by official and unofficial Republican candidates since she won election in November. But she’s no easily tarred tax-and-spend liberal, so far.

She defied Democrats by voting against Obama’s 2010 budget, citing the need for greater fiscal responsibility, and by joining with Republicans to ask Obama not to reauthorize the 2004 federal ban on assault weapons. In voting for the Clean Energy Act, she drew criticism immediately from state GOP leader Dick Wadhams.

In response to the attack, she said she voted for the bill “proudly,” making no bones about and backtracking not in the least from her vote.

In embracing green policy, she makes her case on economic and national security grounds — a hard case to argue intelligently against. Colorado is a leader in the new-energy economy, and Markey says she wants to capitalize on that position and bring more wind and solar and ethanol jobs to a district already fairly rich in those sources of power. In other words, the economic potential is wide open whereas the battle the fossil fuel industries will be fighting with regulators will only end with the era of fossil fuel.

If you’re a hawk on national security and an America First-er, how do you argue for continued dependence on and entanglement with the Middle East and for extending the greatest transfer of wealth, from the U.S. to the Arab states, in the history of the world!

Finally, how do you argue for replacing Markey with a hard-edged freshman Republican that no one in D.C. will listen to and then watch your district fall off the congressional map?

Square State posted the proudly green email Markey sent out after voting for the Clean Energy Act.