Last week a campaign
spending analysis documented the unchecked and mostly undisclosed
spending by shadowy front groups on energy-related advertising designed to
influence the 2010 congressional midterm elections. That report found that
these shadow front groups are spending big — more than $68.5 million on energy-related
ads alone.

Now along comes a
new poll, the latest in a string of public and private polling that
demonstrates that these front groups are just dead wrong when it comes to
climate and energy policy and that voters are not motivated to vote against
climate and energy supporters. 

Released yesterday, the survey shows that a vast majority of independent voters
support a federal policy on climate change and clean energy. According to an
E&E News report on the poll, the survey found “62 percent of independents
see global warming as a problem that justifies national leadership on a
solution, compared with 27 percent of tea party supporters, 39 percent of
Republicans and 82 percent of Democrats. In total, 62 percent of respondents
said that the United States should lead the way on climate change and 27
percent agreed that the country should wait on a response because global
warming may or may not be happening.”

That’s just one poll, you say? Well, consider these polls I’ve written about
here previously:

·An ABC News/Washington Post poll (conducted
June 3-6, 2010) reported that 71 percent of adults think the federal government
should regulate the release of greenhouse gases in an effort to reduce global
warming, and just 26 percent think it should not.

·A Wall Street Journal/NBC poll
(conducted June 17-21, 2010) found 63 percent supported and just 31 percent
opposed an energy proposal “designed to reduce carbon emissions and increase
the use of alternative and renewable energy sources, even if it means an
increase in the cost of energy.”

·A USA Today/Gallup poll
(conducted June 11-13, 2010) found that 56 percent of adults favored Congress
regulating “energy output from private companies in an attempt to reduce global
warming,” and just 40 percent opposed it.

·An August poll released by the Benenson Strategy Group found that 63 percent
of likely 2010 voters support a bill that would “limit pollution, invest in
domestic energy sources and encourage companies to use and develop clean
energy. It would do this in part by charging energy companies for carbon
pollution in electricity or fuels like gas.”

Election pundits are quick to point to “cap-and-trade” as an albatross around
Democrats’ neck. What the polling data show, and what the overwhelming support
of independent voters demonstrates, is that climate change is a winning
political issue with broad appeal, especially among those who are interested in
a future that includes energy security.

David Di Martino is CEO of Blue Line Strategic Communications Inc.
The views expressed in this blog are his and do not necessarily represent Blue
Line’s. Follow David: @bluelinedd