With hopes for climate legislation fading in the Senate, environmentalists are frustrated that President Barack Obama hasn’t done more to push a bill through — but divided over what to do about it.
Some of the country’s largest environmental groups considered a TV advertising campaign criticizing the president for not doing enough to capture the 60 Senate votes needed to pass a bill. But the groups pulled back after deciding such a campaign wouldn’t be effective or worth the money.
“There was some discussion about an ad,” said a source included in the environmental groups’ discussions. “But the groups decided it wasn’t useful.”
Environmental groups are splintering as they debate just how much to swing at their White House allies — and when to do it. Some are going for the soft sell. A group of nine leaders sent Obama a polite letter earlier this month urging him to step up his game. But in a sign of a brewing internal debate, it was during a meeting to discuss that letter that the idea for an attack ad was raised and rejected.
Full story: Greens fracture over Obama – Darren Samuelsohn and Carol E. Lee – POLITICO.com