Funny How People Who Live In Beautiful Places, Like Hawaii, Don't Want To See Them Polluted By Rapacious Businessmen And The Politicians They Own

This week former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright asked people who care about Climate Change and environmental policies to help Hawaii senior Senator Brian Schatz beat back a challenge from conservative corporate shill. "I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again," she wrote, "we are not doing enough to counter climate change deniers in Congress. The EPA just announced the biggest step forward our country has ever taken to fight climate change, but deniers like Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are out in full force spreading lies to discredit the EPA and turn the public against the agency. These anti-science, flat-earthers are seeking to take away our biggest victory if we don’t fight back. But I’ll let you in on a secret-- we have a powerful weapon: my friend, Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii."

Since taking office in 2012, Senator Schatz has fought relentlessly to counter deniers and protect our environment, scoring a perfect 100% on LCV’s National Environmental Scorecard in his first full year in office.

He’s made it clear that he won’t back down, so we need to back him up as he seeks re-election this year. He’s locked in a tough fight with less than two months before his primary. It’s imperative we act now to help Senator Schatz so he can keep fighting against deniers in the Senate.

As former Secretary of State, I have seen first-hand how the impacts of climate change move beyond our borders and affect the rest of the world. Droughts have struck us at home-- in places like California and Texas-- as well as abroad. And the sea level rise that jeopardizes our coastal communities jeopardizes foreign nations as well.

The United States can lead the world in fighting climate change, but we need strong leaders in Congress to overcome deniers who are actively blocking our progress, and Senator Schatz is the man to do it.

In March, he organized and led an unprecedented all-nighter on the Senate floor to demand congressional action on climate change. And just a few weeks ago he participated in a rally to call out climate change deniers in Congress for their dangerous views.

His leadership has made him one of our greatest environmental champions. That’s why we need to send him back to the Senate. Every dollar you can give to support Brian Schatz means one more dollar to help him fight back against climate change deniers in Congress. It means more phone calls, emails, canvassing, advertisements, and more. All put to use for a targeted, sophisticated grassroots campaign.

And the conservative running against Schatz isn't a Republican. It's a New Dem from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party, Colleen Hanabusa. Hanabusa, a purely transactional character, has a husband, John Souza, who serves as her bagman. Honolulu political insiders know that the two of them are as thick as thieves with real estate developer Jeffrey Stone, who has spent and raised more for Hanabusa's political career than anyone else. She and Souza take good care of her contributors, regardless of environmental impact. In 2011, at a time when Maui’s Hawaiian Cane & Sugar's parent company (Alexander & Baldwin) was one of her largest donors, she voted with her Republican buddies to delay implementation of EPA rules governing air quality in buildings from industrial boiler systems-- two of which Hawaiian Cane & Sugar was using.

Environmental groups are aghast at the idea of Hanabusa, who has a "drill, baby, drill" mentality, getting into the Senate. Hawaii's biggest newspaper, the Honolulu Star Advertiser kicked off campaign coverage last year with this headline: Alaska oil separates Hanabusa and Schatz, which helps explain why the Sierra Club, Ocrean Champions and the League of Conservation Voters are all urging their members to back Schatz against Hanabusa. As is President Obama and Elizabeth Warren and, of course, Blue America.

This morning, Climate Hawks Vote made their first two endorsements for 2014-- and both were in Hawaii-- Brian Schatz for Senate and Stanley Chang for Congress. They have hired staff to work each race independent of the campaigns.

Practically the first words Brian Schatz said upon arrival in Washington were: "Climate change is urgent, solveable, human-caused, and real." He's shaken up the Senate by, among other things, organizing the #UpForClimate all-night talkathon. And he told a Netroots Nation 2013 panel the same thing that they heard at Climate Hawks Votes' NN13 off-grid talk the previous day: we need to elect Democrats who will prioritize the climate crisis, not just treat it as yet another Democratic issue.

In short, he's Climate Hawks Votes' prototype politician-- a Democrat bringing new energy to Washington, prioritizing the issue, engaging the public, and laying groundwork for bold action on climate.

He's leading on climate while also leading on other issues as well. He's become a Senate champion on protecting and expanding Social Security, gun violence prevention, and similar progressive priorities, and is endorsed by PCCC and MoveOn, among others. Oh, and he's been endorsed by a certain Hawaii-born resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Stanley Chang is a Honolulu city councilmember acting locally - leading the charge to ban styrofoam within city limits-- and thinking global warming. He's been endorsed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, and he literally studied under Elizabeth Warren (she taught his Harvard Law class). He campaigns hard and his fundraising is excellent. He has a very solid grasp of climate science and how it affects Oahu. And he's putting climate on his website, which matters-- among the many factors on our climate leadership scorecard is whether they mention clean energy (good) or advocate climate policies from opposing the Keystone XL pipeline to ending fossil fuel subsidies (much better).

Like Sen. Schatz, Chang will bring new energy to Congress. Like Sen. Schatz, he'll also stand up for other progressive causes, from LGBT rights to raising the minimum wage. We're excited to endorse both!