League of Conservation Voters

"McCain said the Colorado River Compact should be renegotiated so Arizona and California Arizona can grab our water."

Senate candidate Bob SchafferIt’s been a busy week for outside groups in the hotly contested Senate race and the environmental organization League of Conservation Voters is the latest to hit the airwaves.

“Every drop of water is precious to the Western Slope,” an announcer says in the 30-second television ad. “But Bob Schaffer supported giving state government a $2 billion blank check to take water away from the Western Slope and send it to front-range developers. Schaffer has accepted over $400,000 from developers, dipping his fingers further into special interests and leaving Colorado high and dry.”

An LCV spokesperson did not specify the size of the media buy, but said the ad would be running in the Grand Junction media market.

With energy and the environment emerging as hot button topics this election year, two environment-focused advocacy groups are spending heavily in competitive House and Senate races in Colorado.

The League of Conservation Voters is coming out strongly for Democrat Mark Udall in his run for the seat of retiring U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Loveland). The organization has sunk more than $565,000 into two television advertisements slamming Udall’s Republican opponent, former U.S. Rep. Bob Schaffer.

Earlier this week, Defenders of Wildlife PAC began airing two television advertisements targeting U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, who is engaged in a competitive race with Democrat Betsy Markey. The organization has purchased about $200,000 in television airtime and spent about $12,000 to produce the ads.

The League of Conservation Voters unveiled a new TV ad this week criticizing Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer's ties to oil and gas companies.

The ad, featuring a gradually growing oily fingerprint, features a narrator stating:

"What kind of mark has Bob Schaffer made as a politician? He's left a definite imprint, accepting over $150,000 in campaign contributions from oil and gas interests and voting in Congress to give oil and gas companies over $13 billion in tax breaks. As a politician and corporate oil executive, Bob Schaffer has had all of his fingers in Big Oil. Colorado deserves cleaner representation in the Senate."

Schaffer manager Dick Wadhams responded by noting that the LCV was fined $180,000 by the Federal Election Commission in December 2006 for funding pro-Kerry and anti-Bush canvassing without registering with the FEC or reporting donors and contributions to the agency, as political action committees are required to do. 

POLL: Will Bob Schaffer take any significant hit from the League of Conservation Voters' new TV ad?

The League of Conservation Voters, a Washington, D.C.-based national environmental group, will unveil a new TV ad Wednesday questioning Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer's environmental record.

The ad, called "Fingerprints," will raise "critical questions about former Congressman Bob Schaffer, who earned a place on LCV's Dirty Dozen List for consistently voting with Big Oil and against Colorado values," according to a LCV press release.

The group will screen the new ad Wednesday at the State Capitol, the release stated.