From: alra@governance.net Subject: LCV: The Big Green Spin Machine! LCV: The Big Green Spin Machine! Land Rights Network American Land Rights Association PO Box 400 – Battle Ground, WA 98604 Phone: 360-687-3087 – Fax: 360-687-2973 – E-mail: alra@landrights.org Web Address: http://www.landrights.org Legislative Office: 507 Seward Square SE – Washington, DC 20003 Phone: 202-210-2357 – Fax: 202-543-7126 – E-mail: landrightsnet@aol.com PRESS RELEASE ARF!! ARF!! Are the Enviros Democratic Party Lap Dogs? The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) plans to unveil its latest tirade against President Bush today. Here is some information you should know on LCV, which is basically a partisan organization acting as an arm - THE LEFT ARM - of the Democratic Party. Sources are Internal Revenue Service (IRS) filings from these multi-million dollar "non-profit" organizations, and reports filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). In the last federal election cycle, from January of 2001 to December of 2002, the LCV’s Political Action Committee (PAC) spent $850,217 on television and radio campaigns, known as independent expenditures, against Republicans candidates and $0 - that's right, folks, ZERO - to defeat Democrats. And, 70 percent of the $125,015 it gave in direct contributions last year went to Democrats. In the year 2000, the LCV "non-profit" Education Fund spent $11,808,757 to operate its extremist spin machine. This was all for research and education, of course. $5,257,292 of that sum was spent on advertising and $740,438 was spent on lobbying. And, it spent $1,119,865 to fund other far-left political organizations that operate under the guise of environmentalism. Its board of directors is comprised of individuals from extremist animal rights groups such as Defenders of Wildlife, and also elitists such as the Wilderness Society, which wants to kick everyone off the public lands - families, hikers, four-wheelers - everyone except Wilderness Society members and their invited friends! In fact, the Capital Research Center, www.capitalresearch.org, an organization that studies non-profit groups, rates both the LCV and the LCV Education Fund as “radical left” ideologically. And, it gives the two entities a “poor performance” rating for their achievement in actually advancing the environment. “As these groups continue to increase their extremism and partisanship, they reduce their credibility on environmental issues,” said Chuck Cushman, Executive Director of the American Land Rights Association (ALRA). “In reality, the LCV and like-minded organizations do very little to help the environment, nor do they truly educate the electorate. No wonder Rep. Gephardt and Sen. Edwards declined to attend and be associated with the LCV democratic candidate forum on Thursday.” “As Ronald Reagan once said, protecting the environment should not be a conservative nor a liberal cause, but a commonsense endeavor,” Cushman continued. “In that spirit, I challenge the LCV and other interest group to join in meaningful debate on real advances for environmental conservation. We focus on science instead of sensationalism, results instead of rhetoric, and balance instead of extremism.” “I believe that science, American ingenuity, and 21st century technology can improve the environment better than old-fashioned land grabs," Cushman said. “Unfortunately, radical environmentalists and their scare-tactics have halted efforts to improve and update environmental laws that don’t work. The Endangered Species Act, for example, has not actually recovered a single species since its inception in 1973. We can do better." The League of Conservation Voters isn’t alone in the partisan, extremist propaganda war. Here’s a look at some other well-funded groups that help comprise the Big Green Spin Machine: PEW CHARITABLE TRUSTS In 2001, the Pew Charitable Trusts distributed almost $37 million in funding to other radical “non-profit” environmental organization such as EarthJustice Legal Defense Fund and the Wilderness Society. Capitol Research Center rating on ideology: radical left Capitol Research Center rating on goal performance: poor SIERRA CLUB In 2000, the Sierra Club scarfed up over $72 million in revenue, spent over $61 million to operate as a spin machine, reported over $31 million in assets. Amazingly, this anti-capitalist bunch made almost $3 million in the stock market!!! The top two employees received over $375,000 in salary and benefits in 2000. In 2002 election cycle, the Sierra Club PAC spent $132,000 on independent expenditures for Democrats, $87,500 on independent expenditures against Republicans, and donated 96% percent of its $515,000 in direct contributions to Democrats. EARTHJUSTICE LEGAL DEFENSE FUND In 2000, this group reported revenues of $21 million, $2.3 million of which is from court awarded attorney fees and costs (taxpayer dollars). In 2000 and 2001, EarthJustice accepted over $11 million in funds to operate (file lawsuits) from Pew Charitable Trusts. Its top two directors were paid over $315,000 in 2000. On advertising, media campaigns, and radical environmentalist propaganda, EarthJustice spent almost $2.3 million in 2000. In the same year, it spent nearly $200,000 on lobbying and filed 96 lawsuits against state governments and Uncle Sam. Capitol Research Center rating on ideology: radical left Capitol Research Center rating on goal performance: poor NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL This radical bunch gas received over $3.6 million in taxpayer funded grants since 1998 to assist in their endeavors to sue the federal government on environmental matters, and collect even more taxpayer dollars in the form of attorneys’ fees and court costs. In 2000, the NRDC reports having received almost $1 million in court awarded fees (taxpayer dollars). The NRDC reported revenues of over $55 million in 2001, and spent over $1 million in advertising, media and radical propaganda. It spent $340,000 lobbying. Capitol Research Center rating on ideology: radical left Capitol Research Center rating on goal performance: poor THAT's all for now, folks! -- To unsubscribe from this mailing list; please visit http://governance.net and enter your email address.