Kerry Taps Into Enviro Anger at Bush

(ENS) WASHINGTON -- The John Kerry for President campaign will try on Saturday to channel the environmental communityÕs anger with the Bush administration. The campaign is calling on supporters to hold "Enviros Action Parties" across the nation to expand its environmental voter support base and its grassroots fundraising.

Campaign officials declined to predict how much money the events might raise, but Kerry supporters and many environmentalists believe the environment can be a critical issue in the November election.

"My base is about as energized as a constituency could possibly be," League of Conservation Voters (LCV) President Deb Callahan told reporters on a conference call organized by the Kerry campaign.

The environmental community "is united behind the Kerry campaign," said Callahan, whose organization endorsed the likely Democratic presidential nominee prior to the New Hampshire primary.

LCV is not directly involved with SaturdayÕs house parties, but Callahan says her organization is well on track to meet its goal of directly reaching 1.5 million voters in four swing states -- Florida, Oregon, New Mexico and Wisconsin -- by November.

That effort is part of the Environmental Victory Project, a coalition launched in April by LCV, the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, and Friends of the Earth Action.

"We have a $6 million budget for our campaign and we hope to exceed that and perhaps add two other states," she said. "Our base is motivated."

Callahan noted that the Sierra Club has endorsed Kerry and that another organization Ð Environment2004 -- was formed this spring by individuals determined to help defeat Bush in the upcoming election.

"George W. Bush has led the worst environmental administration in the history of our country," Callahan said. "There has never been an election more important for the future of our environment."

New York Senator Hillary Clinton joined Callahan on the conference call and told reporters she intends to stump for Kerry and raise the importance of environmental issues, in particular how they link to energy and public health concerns.

"This is one of the most important issues facing us in this election," Clinton said. "Time and time again the Bush administration has put special interests ahead of our environment and public health. It is becoming an issue that goes far beyond the environmental community."

There is an economic angle, Clinton added.

The Bush administration is not investing in alternative fuels and is failing to "get ahead of the curve," she said.

"They are missing an opportunity to position us for the future in a way that would be good for our economy and the environment," said the New York Democrat.

The latest Zogby America public opinion poll conducted this week shows that the newly announced Democratic Presidential ticket of Massachusetts Senator Kerry and North Carolina Senator John Edwards enters the race with a two point lead over President George W. Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney 48 to 46 percent.

The poll of 1,008 likely voters was conducted Tuesday and Wednesday. Overall results have a margin of sampling error of +/-3.1.

Overall approval of President BushÕs job performance moved up two points this month to 49 percent, but 60 percent of respondents expressed disapproval of the Bush administrationÕs performance on the environment, the Zogby poll shows.

Pollster John Zogby said, "This is not a big bounce electorate. Let me repeat again: we are a nation that is split down the middle, polarized and hardened."

"Bush has lost his edge on the war on terrorism and his job performance numbers on foreign policy, health care, the economy, the environment, and the war in Iraq are dismal," Zogby said.

Still, some doubt the environment will be a big issue in the election campaign, noting that this year's Gallup Environmental Earth Day poll in April found that Americans worry less about environmental issues than they did before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

The Gallup poll did suggest that Bush's environmental image has suffered somewhat, in particular during the past two years.

The data show a continued decline in the percentage of Americans saying that Bush is doing a good job of "protecting the nation's environment," with 46 percent of Americans saying the president is doing a "poor job" on environmental protection -- compared to 41 percent who said he is doing a "good job."

Callahan said polling data tends not to reflect the true feeling of the public on the environment because the term is "more of theme than an issue."