GOP group spends with nat'l security group on ads backing energy and climate bill

A new $3 million ad buy is pressing lawmakers in more than a dozen states to end Capitol Hill “bickering” and approve the sweeping climate change and energy bill unveiled last month by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.).

Republicans for Environmental Protection and the Truman National Security Project — which counts former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on its advisory board — began airing the first in a series of television ads Tuesday.

“The Chinese are kicking our butts in clean energy investment. The Europeans are taking our new energy jobs, and countries who hate us are getting rich selling us oil, while Washington just bickers,” states the first ad in the campaign, which the groups say will also include online spots, direct mail and field work.

It urges lawmakers to end shopworn arguments and instead “do it all” by embracing a policy that includes pollution limits, renewable energy, domestic oil-and-gas production and “clean” coal and nuclear power, among other policies.

The ad campaign — which a spokesman for the Truman National Security Project said is expected to continue for weeks — includes TV ads in Washington, New Mexico, North Dakota, Michigan, Maine, Ohio, New York, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Oregon, Virginia, Massachusetts, Florida and New Hampshire.

Several of those states are home to senators considered swing votes in the Senate energy and climate change debate, such as Sens. Jim Webb (D-Va.), George LeMieux (R-Fla.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.).

The ad is one of several interest-group efforts to create momentum for climate change legislation. The new bill faces several hurdles in the Senate as lawmakers grapple with competing priorities and widespread GOP resistance to mandatory greenhouse gas curbs.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) plans to meet with the heads of committees that oversee energy and climate policy after this week’s Memorial Day recess, and after that, plans a broader gathering of the Democratic caucus to discuss strategy on the issue.

Here's the first ad in the new campaign:

Cross-posted from E2 Wire.