From Brian Brokaw:

With the days getting shorter and the nights turning cooler, the mood among Congressional Republican leaders in Washington is apparently growing just as gloomy. According to today’s Politico: “Top Republicans are privately bracing for the possibility that they could lose additional House seats in next year’s elections as a result of untimely retirements, ongoing scandals and unexpectedly gloomy fundraising forecasts, according to several members and aides.”

Of course, the GOP isn’t helping its own cause by offering up challengers like anti-environment Stockton developer Dean Andal in California’s 11th congressional district – the seat in which last November, the equally un-green incumbent Richard Pombo was defeated by now-Congressman Jerry McNerney.

For obvious reasons, Andal is desperately plotting a makeover of his environmental record as he gears up for the campaign. The Contra Costa Times reports: “Dean Andal, the Stockton Republican who hopes to take the seat away from McNerney next year, has already vowed that he will not cede the environment to his opponent.

“Andal opposes drilling off the California coast, for example, and he says drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Area is a dead issue. But he endorses more domestic oil and gas drilling elsewhere as a means to reduce America's dependence on foreign sources.”

That’s interesting. As a California Assemblyman, Andal voted against legislation banning all future offshore oil and gas leases in state waters, as well as a bill requiring oil companies to find a safe alternative to oil tankers which pose a serious danger to the coast. Andal also voted against legislation promoting fuel efficiency and cutting petroleum use – legislation that California’s Republican governor signed into law.  (Source: Ecovote.org, 1991, 1992 scorecards)

“Andal agrees with McNerney that the federal government must invest in alternative energy such as solar, wind and biofuels….”

Strange. Assemblyman Andal voted against a bill that would have required all state-owned vehicles to be low emission or alternative fuel vehicles. Andal also voted against a bill requiring the state to take the lead in the fight against climate change by reducing its CO2 emissions by 20 percent. (Source: Ecovote.org, 1991 scorecard)

"For most of these environmental issues, the best result is somewhere in the middle, where we have a balance between economic growth and protecting the environment," Andal said. "One of the mistakes Republicans make is that they forget that protecting the environment is a good goal and there are ways we can work on it without buying into big government solutions."

Which Republican is he talking about? The one who had one of the worst environmental voting records in the Assembly, or the new and improved Andal – the Stockton developer?