How Do Idaho Lawmakers Rate? That Depends Environmental Group Flunks Delegation, But Property Rights Group Sends It To Head Of The Class

Depending on your point of view or political bent, Idaho’s congressional delegation spent 1995 wrecking the environment or defending private property rights.

The wildly different views come from two special interest groups: the League of Conservation Voters and the League of Private Property Voters.

Idaho’s congressional delegation - all Republicans - received the only zero rating in the nation on the League of Conservation Voters environmental scorecard.

“Reps. Helen Chenoweth and Mike Crapo and Sens. Dirk Kempthorne and Larry Craig may be proud to share the worst environmental ranking in the nation, but a balanced approach to Idaho communities, economies, forests, rivers, wildlife and drinking water is completely absent,” John McCarthy of the Idaho Conservation League said this week.

The environmental groups gave each lawmaker candy boxes wrapped with fake money to signify the sweetheart deals delivered to corporations in return for political action committee campaign donations, McCarthy said.

“Sen. Craig wouldn’t vote to put the brakes on the mining corporation grab of the public land for pennies, but he would take $89,000 from the mining PACs,” McCarthy said.

Meanwhile, the League of Private Property Voters awarded Craig and the other members of the Idaho delegation a perfect 100 rating for their votes on bills affecting private property rights.

“This Congress has definitely been more responsive than the previous one on private property issues,” said Chuck Cushman, chairman of the League of Private Property Voters.

Cushman, who also is executive director of the American Land Rights Association (ALRA), said environmental groups had much more money to get their message out.

“The ALRA has a budget of only about $300,000 a year, so it’s a little bit like David and Goliath,” he said.

Keith Rupp, a Chenoweth spokesman, said his boss’ zero environmental rating reflects the extremist agenda of the League of Conservation Voters.

But League of Conservation Voters President Deb Callahan said many Western politicians scored poorly because they voted on controversial issues before talking with constituents.

“There’s a perception that the West is not interested in old-growth forests, sustainable grazing and watersheds, but you’ll find that even loggers in rural Washington have a keen interest in maintaining the quality of resources,” Callahan said.

“Time’s going to catch up with the Western delegation, and I think Ron Wyden’s victory is the first sign of that,” she said, referring to the newly elected Democratic senator from Oregon who received a 100 from the league for his House votes in 1995.

The League of Conservation Voters compiled its 1995 House ratings from 12 votes on issues such as clean water, logging and the role of the Environmental Protection Agency. Endangered species listings, drinking water and mining law were among the 14 measures included in the Senate scores.

Callahan said the 1995 scorecard was the most polarized ever between Republicans and Democrats.

While Democrats scored an average of 89 in the Senate and 76 in the House, Republicans averaged only 11 in the Senate and 15 in the House. There was only one Democrat among the 111 representatives and 24 senators who received zeros.

GOP staffers criticized the way the league calculated its scores.

“A lot of the votes they chose are very close,” said Bryan Wilkes, Craig’s press secretary. “It looks like they specifically chose party line votes to do a number on Republicans.”

The League of Conservation Voters political action committee generally favors Democrats. It funneled more than $776,000 to 155 Democrats, nine Republicans and one independent in the 1994 election cycle, according to Federal Election Commission reports.

, DataTimes MEMO: These 2 sidebars appeared with the story: 1. RATING IDAHO DELEGATION The League of Private Property Voters awarded the Idaho delegation a perfect 100 for its votes on bills affecting private property rights. The League of Conservation Voters gave the lawmakers a zero rating based on 12 votes in the House last year on issues such as clean water, logging and the role of the Environmental Protection Agency. Endangered species listings, drinking water and mining law were among the 14 measures included in the Senate scores.

2. ON THE WEB Full environmental scores are on the World Wide Web at http:/ /www.econet.org/lcv/