Mail Campaign Urges Voters to Choose the Candidate Who Will Invest in Creating Clean Energy Jobs in the Midwest Instead of Investing in Oil from the Middle East

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 19, 2010) The BlueGreen Alliance and Sierra Club today announced a targeted mail campaign urging voters in Michigan’s Seventh District to vote for Congressman Mark Schauer and against Tim Walberg. The campaign focuses on Walberg’s reliance on foreign oil that leaves us beholden to the Middle East and falling behind China in the race to create clean energy technology and jobs. Mark Schauer supports creating jobs in the Midwest and positioning the U.S. to successfully compete with China on clean energy.

The latest effort comes after Republicans last week launched a misleading and hypocritical attack on Congressman Schauer suggesting that clean energy legislation has sent jobs to China when it actually is the Republican leadership’s opposition to clean energy investment that has left the United States lagging behind.

“Tim Walberg consistently rejects policies that would reduce our dependence on foreign oil, that would invest in clean energy here at home, that would create clean energy jobs in Michigan and that would position the United States to compete with countries like China for the clean energy jobs of the future,” said BlueGreen Alliance Executive Director David Foster. “We need people in Congress who will invest in creating jobs and clean energy in the Midwest, not continue investing in oil from the Middle East.”

The 160,000 piece mail campaign, which runs for two weeks, shows that Walberg voted against cutting taxes for 22 million middle class taxpayers, opposed legislation that created 68,000 jobs in Michigan and provided tax cuts for 95 percent of taxpayers, skipped a vote which would have helped the Michigan auto industry, and opposed policies that would cut Iran’s oil revenues by $100 million a day and invest in renewable energy.

“Mark Schauer has a record of standing up for Michigan jobs and for investments in clean energy here at home,” said Cathy Duvall, Sierra Club Political Director. “His plan will create tens of thousands of clean energy jobs in Michigan, provide a more secure future for Michigan’s autoworkers, block $100 million a day in oil revenues for Iran, and save money through energy efficiency.”

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Paid for by the BlueGreen Alliance (www.bluegreenalliance.org) and the Sierra Club Political Committee (www.sierraclub.org), and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.