Lateral Lines

I don't get political around here very often. That's not to say that I don't possess strong feelings on political subjects but I tend to share those views to only those close to me and let my vote do the talking.

Anglers, as a whole, tend to have diverse political beliefs. Within the broad spectrum of the angling world each subset (i.e - Bass Anglers, Walleye Anglers, Fly Fishermen, etc.) all seem to have differing themes in their political views. Perhaps that's why you never hear of candidates seeking "The Angling Vote" despite the nearly 35 million Americans who go fishing every year. It's relatively safe to say, however that there is one ring of the political arena that most anglers can agree on: We want clean water, clean air, and we care deeply about our environment (though we may even have our differences on the methodology there).

With that in mind, I wanted to put this post up here as a repository for links to some key Election '08 information regarding the candidate's voting records, views, and official positions regarding matters of the environment. While foreign policy is necessarily at the forefront of politics these days (and should be until we bring our brave men and women in Iraq back home with honor and dignity), keeping a sharp eye to what those who court our votes have done and said in their stewardship of environmental issues is important to us, our children, and their children's children.

I'll put a link to this post up on the sidebar once it falls off the main page so you can find it when it gets closer to election time. I you have any links or articles which you think should be included, please post them in the comments or send me a note. Hopefully this list can grow to be an excellent source to help those who care about their environment make an informed decision in both primaries and the general election next fall.

P.S. - In case you were wondering which candidate I'm currently supporting, I've placed a badge at the bottom of the sidebar to your right. I may state my reasons for that in another post, but the comments and discussion in this post should stay true to the topic at hand: resource links for making informed decisions regardless of party or candidate affiliation.

General Environmental Voting Records and Positions - Election '08

• League of Conservation Voters - Environmental Profiles
• OnTheIssues.org - Environment
• SelectSmart.com Presidential Candidate Selector

Official Candidate Positions - Environment

• Joe Biden - Protecting the Environment
• Sam Brownback - No Official Statement on Website
• Hillary Clinton - Energy (No Environment Statement on Website)
• Chris Dodd - Energy Independence (No Environment Statement on Website)
• John Edwards - A New Energy Economy (Topical Links at bottom of page)
• Mike Gravel - No Official Statement on Website
• Rudolph Giuliani - No Official Statement on Website
• Mike Huckabee - Energy Independence (No Environment Statement on Website)
• Dennis Kucinich - Energy (No Environmental Statement on Website)
• John McCain - Environment
• Barack Obama - Environment
• Ron Paul - No Official Statement on Website
• Bill Richardson - Environment
• Mitt Romney - Energy (No Environment Statement on Website)
• Fred Thompson - No Official Statement on Website

Articles - Candidates and the Environment

• Come back soon for links in this section or drop a note in the comments to add one.