Tag: Defenders of Wildlife

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s efforts to weaken the Endangered Species Act could make it harder to bring animals back from the brink, including...

It is a common refrain in this Republican House of Representatives that Congress should not "pick winners and losers" in the energy marketplace. The comment is usually made while debating subsidies for alternative energy. Today, though, Congress may go against the odds to try and pick a winner by voting on a measure that would allocate $25 million to oil shale research and development.

A proposal made this month to increase critical habitat for the endangered Southwestern willow flycatcher represents a shift in philosophy at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which instead of merely trying to maintain populations of endangered species is now aiming to boost them.

Not to be outdone by Joe-the-Plumber's recent rant about not letting "queers" near his children, former U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave has penned a fiery letter promoting her new gig at "Votes Have Consequences."

"We will spread the truth about their destructive agendas, drag down their approval ratings, force them to publicly defend socialism, authoritarian gun-grabbing, gay marriage, infanticide and everything else they vote for in Washington, and ultimately, on November 2, 2010, we will take their jobs away from them."

Former Rep. Marilyn Musgrave will lead a new antiabortion initiative dubbed "Votes Have Consequences" that will target members of Congress in the 2010 election cycle who support abortion rights. In a case of supreme irony, Musgrave intends to rip a page from the hardball playbook used by the Defenders of Wildlife. The environmental group was credited with helping to defeat the three-term Republican congresswoman with intense local organizing and a $1.6 million barrage of TV attack ads — a strategy that was roundly criticized by Republicans.

After spending more than $1.5 million this election cycle to unseat Republican Rep. Marilyn Musgrave as as well other ad campaigns against Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, a group of GOP senators said The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund (DOW) is abusing its tax-exempt status as a nonprofit.

As Washington Independent correspondent Art Allen reported yesterday, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is a proponent of a video game-style of hunting, where hunters shoot animals, like wolves and bears, from the sky in a low-flying airplane.