Some activists say the president's record on environmental issues has been 'dismal.' Enviros may seek Obama challenger

Call them crazy, but a handful of environmentalists are so peeved with President Barack Obama that they are talking openly about the need for a Democratic primary challenger in 2012.

The green activists don’t have any formal organization going for a presidential campaign — or a candidate.


Yet some are ready to buck the party establishment if it means getting more attention to global warming and other environmental issues that they contend were tossed into the trash bin before the president even made it to his first midterms.

“Obama’s environmental record has been dismal, especially on climate, oil and endangered species,” said Kieran Suckling, executive director at the Tucson, Ariz.-based Center for Biological Diversity. “His early appointment of Ken Salazar as secretary of the interior showed very poor judgment. So yes, a pro-environment Democrat might find a surprising amount of support in a primary battle.”

Glenn Hurowitz, former media director at Greenpeace, aired his complaints in an article on the Huffington Post with this headline: “Environmentalists Need a New President.”

“It pains me to say it, but success will require a new president,” wrote Hurowitz, now a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy. “And that means that after the midterm elections, we need to start looking for a primary challenger who has the heart and soul required to save the planet from catastrophe and rescue American [sic] from its economic morass.”

Matt Pawa, a Newton, Mass.-based private environmental attorney, said he’s been talking to his colleagues for six to eight months about the search for a serious Democratic primary challenger.

“We are actively discussing candidates among ourselves and seeking the right person to carry the banner,” he said. “I don’t know if there is someone out there who’s willing to do it, who would be perfect in terms of fitting the bill. I think it should not be a Ralph Nader-type person. It should be someone with a significant political base and stature who could make a serious run.”

The Nader memory is a powerful one — Democrats accused some environmentalists of helping George W. Bush win the White House in 2000 by supporting Nader over Al Gore, who subsequently went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize as a climate-change advocate.

Nader was out of the country and unavailable for comment.

Pawa recently clashed with the Obama administration after it filed a brief with the Supreme Court siding with private electric utilities and coal companies in a global warming lawsuit for which he is the attorney. He also faults Obama for walking back on a campaign pledge involving key details of climate legislation, opting instead to give congressional Democrats the green light to water down the plan during negotiations with industry-state lawmakers.

White House officials have been in a public battle for months with liberal activists over everything from health care to gays in the military. Most recently, a liberal blogger accused the administration of “hippie punching” during a conference call with White House political adviser David Axelrod.

But so far, no Democrat has stepped up to challenge Obama. Media speculation around Secretary of State Hillary Clinton making another run for the White House is just that. There’s no sign Al Gore is interested, and perennial candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) also has said he’s not running.

Asked about the prospect of environmentalists endorsing a primary challenge, a White House official cited Obama’s work on fuel economy standards and advocacy for energy and climate legislation. “The president’s record demonstrates his proven commitment to these issues,” the official said.

“They’re being unfair to President Obama,” said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.). “We’d never have gotten the bill through the House if it hadn’t been for the efforts of the president directly and personally lobbying members. It’s not his fault that the Senate couldn’t get its act together.”

Officials at some of the top mainstream environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, Environment America and Public Citizen, also blasted the idea of another Democrat challenging Obama at the ballot box.

“It’s a lunatic notion,” said an official from one of the nation’s largest groups. “Obama has delivered on a boatload of campaign promises. Just because he couldn’t deliver on this [global warming legislation] is no reason to fire the man. He’s the greenest president in history. His heart is in the right place. All he needs is time.”

“I’m not sure I’ve seen anyone who thinks it’s more than just an idea of sending a message,” said Frank O’Donnell, director of the advocacy group Clean Air Watch. “People are trying to figure out how can they send a message that they feel left out.”

That kind of reaction is exactly why Suckling said a challenge is needed.

“Big Green is fully completely invested in Obama Inc., and there is no possible action that would alter that investment,” he said. “That’s why Obama is so bad on the environment, because he knows the investment is permanently locked in.”

Phil Radford, executive director of Greenpeace USA, said his group won’t endorse any presidential candidate. “However, I urge all Americans to send the president calcium pills in hopes that he will grow a stronger spine on the environment,” he said.