Is "Big Oil" Bob Schaffer going to be the name that sticks?

The League of Conservation Voters recently named Republican Bob Schaffer to its Dirty Dozen anti-environment list. I knew some of his history, but not this much:

“During his tenure in Congress, Bob Schaffer worked to get Big Oil $33 billion in tax breaks by supporting an energy bill written by Dick Cheney and the oil industry. After leaving the House, he went to work for Big Oil. Now he wants to return to Washington to work for them in the Senate,” said LCV Senior Vice President and Colorado native Tony Massaro.

Coloradans deserve a senator who works for them, not Big Oil.

Dirty Dozen Member # 3: Former Rep. Bob Schaffer

Bob Schaffer is a career politician turned oil executive. His anti-environmental record in Congress and his misplaced loyalties are clear. He has accepted more than $75,000 in donations from the oil and gas industry and was a major supporter of the Bush-Cheney energy plan, which doled out $33 billion in tax breaks for the energy industry. He has consistently voted against incentives for developing alternative fuel vehicles and has fought increased fuel efficiency standards for automobiles. He also has voted against increasing funding for energy efficiency and conservation programs.

In 2003 he supported Referendum A, a $4 billion blank check to the state legislature that would have raided Western Slope water for farms, ranches and people and delivered it to developers on the Front Range. As a member of the House he voted against enforcing arsenic and radon water standards and opposed protecting water from mining pollution. In addition, Schaffer argued in favor of allowing nuclear waste to be transported on Colorado highways.

“Every chance he had, Bob Schaffer sided with polluters, developers and Big Oil and against the environment and the health and safety of Coloradans,” Massaro concluded. “Time and time again, Bob Schaffer has proved that he is just too extreme for Colorado.”

Now, as an executive at Aspect Energy, Schaffer develops international oil and gas opportunities, including making oil deals in Iraq.

Is this the kind of leadership Coloradans want in their next US Senator? I doubt it. Even Republicans are irritated by their leaders' slavish devotion to Big Energy. And drilling all of Colorado will not get the country off its oil addiction. It will certainly make the oil and gas companies happy. But it won't make our citizens happy.

Bob Schaffer has shown which side of the game he's on: Billion$ in tax breaks for Big Oil, votes against better car gas mileage, hundreds of thousands in salary from Aspect Energy. All of these paint a clear picture of where Bob Schaffer's loyalties lie. Big Oil will come first; our citizens will be left to clean up the environment once the damage has been done and the resources burned.

Colorado deserves better than "Big Oil" Bob Schaffer representing us in the United States Senate.