Coleman says he'll vote no on oil drilling in Alaska refuge

[kskiska]

Facing this week's Senate showdown on oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., says he will stay in the anti-drilling camp.

Coleman opposed opening ANWR to oil exploration during his 2002 Senate campaign. But in 2003, he floated the idea of voting to allow drilling in exchange for energy provisions that would help Minnesota's economy.

President Bush's 2006 budget assumes $5 billion in revenue from ANWR lease sales over the next five years.

But drilling opponents, led by Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and John Kerry, D-Mass., are expected to launch an effort today to block the ANWR provisions.

Coleman said he has opposed drilling in previous Senate debates and will do so again: "I don't see any reason why I would not vote again to eliminate the ANWR drilling provision from the budget," he said.


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http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5292459.html

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. Is this evidence of a soul for Coleman?

Nah... Can't be.

[Robeson]

2. Really.

[AlFrankenFan]

4. Remember...he still doesn't know his Great Lakes

:mad:

[Thor_MN]

11. No it's evidence that he knows his seat is vulnerable to Al Franken

He's facing an election in a couple years and he is trying to moderate his positions to not look like the * rubber stamp that he is.

[TygrBright]

14. Naaaah.... Weasel-boy just knows...

...his Minnesotans. On both sides of the aisle, the individual Minnesotan is pretty rabid about environmental issues.

uhhhh... so long as they're not preventing the Minnesotan from making a boatload of dough of of his/her OWN property, that is.

But the land of the Boundary Waters IS pretty solidly in the "don't ***k with northern wilderness" camp. Always has been. Norm the Weasel is well aware of it and well aware that a good challenger could take him out, assuming the damn' DFL ever quits stabbing each other in the back and focuses on what they're there for.

unimpressedly,
Bright

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. Must have screwed him over on the kickback for Minn.

otherwise he would have been leading the charge.

[roguevalley]

5. thank god. how many more do we need?

[NNN0LHI]

6. Only proves the Republicans already have the votes they need

They are doing this just to get scumbag Coleman re-elected.

Don

[katinmn]

7. sadly, I believe you're right

Coleman will do whatever the big boys ask of him.

Remember the Kofi Annan accusations?

[leesa]

10. Absolutely right. Coleman has no positive ethics.

Although the GOP has already admitted they think it's a waste of time and money...they just want to do it because they can.

[Broca]

8. This on the Arctic Refuge vote

from: http://www.johnkerry.com/RollCall

++++++++++++
We have only 24 to 48 hours to try and save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The Republicans are trying to sneak legislation through the Senate approving oil drilling and they are incredibly close to winning. We have to stop them.

I am joining with Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) in offering a critical amendment to stop this sneak attack on our environment. We will fight on the floor of the Senate, but we need you by our side.

There are seven key Republican Senators whose votes will decide the future of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Before they vote, we need to make sure they know that their constituents are watching, and that they will not be able to support drilling without anybody noticing.

Here are two critical steps we can take together to support our amendment to protect this National Wildlife Refuge:

1. Join the Citizens' Roll Call
First of all, take part in a massive fast-moving display of citizen support for the Arctic Refuge. Sign our Cantwell-Kerry Citizens' Roll Call now.

http://www.johnkerry.com/RollCall

To make our Citizens' Roll Call impossible to ignore, we have alerted the media, environmental advocates and my fellow Senators to a scrolling display of the names and home towns of the roll call signers. It is posted on our johnkerry.com website, where we hope to soon add your name and a running tally of the number of citizens on our Citizens' Roll Call.

2. Bring the fight to the home states of the seven senators
We need to launch emergency online advertising campaigns in the home states of those seven critical senators: Senator Coleman (MN), Senator Smith (OR), Senator Specter (PA), Senator Martinez (FL), Senator Lugar (IN), and Senators Gregg and Sununu (NH).

We need your help to bring our Save the Arctic Refuge message home in these six states. Help us fund an emergency ad campaign to make sure they know how strongly the people they represent feel about protecting the Arctic. Please make an emergency donation right now.

http://contribute.johnkerry.com/

When Senator Cantwell, myself and other Senators stand up in support of the Cantwell-Kerry Amendment, we will have powerful arguments on our side. (I have recapped some of those arguments at the end of this email message)

But, to win, we need to be able to report directly to our Senate colleagues that massive numbers of citizens around the country - and in their own states - are rising up to demand that the Senate protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

That's why your immediate signature is so critical.

http://www.johnkerry.com/RollCall

The Bush Administration and its oil industry allies want to send a message that they can drill for oil wherever and whenever they want to - even if it means targeting a place as striking, pristine and irreplaceable as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

They don't care about putting America on a genuine path to energy independence. If they did, they'd support efforts to increase energy conservation and to create clean, renewable sources of energy that no terrorist can sabotage and no foreign government can seize.

Let me be very direct with you. It is going to take an immediate and impossible-to-ignore display of grassroots support to stop them. That's why your decision to sign our Cantwell-Kerry Amendment Citizens' Roll Call is so crucial.

Thank you for acting quickly on this vital request.

John Kerry
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[DeaconBlues]

9. What's the saying?

Oh, yeah - Sometimes even a blind pig finds an acorn.

[Toucano]

12. Thanks for being reasonable, Norm. n/t

[dflprincess]

13. "I don't see any reason why I would not vote

again to eliminate the ANWR drilling provision from the budget."

I'm sure Bushco will call him and give him the reasons.

[jwirr]

15. Thank you, Norm, for listening to the Minnesota people.