Ron Johnson: Conservation Group Is On ‘An Environmental Jihad’

Environmentalists say they are not part of a jihad and are asking U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., to acknowledge climate change.

The League of Conservation Voters recently included Johnson in a series of advertisements around the nation targeting conservative lawmakers who have downplayed the idea of human-induced climate change. The ad says scientists from NASA and the U.S. military see a connection between carbon pollution and extreme weather events.

Johnson responded by sending out a fundraising letter that called the group “one of the many attack dog groups used by President Obama, the Democrats and the extreme left to weaken, defeat and silence conservatives.” Johnson said the group was on “an environmental jihad.”

Yesterday, the League dropped off signatures on 50,000 petitions – condensed to a computer flash drive – at Johnson’s offices in Oshkosh and Milwaukee. Toby Miceli-Gwiazdowski read from the letter to Johnson.

“As a member of Congress, you have the power to do something about the climate crisis before it’s too late. We all will have to pay the consequences for your lack of action on climate change. Please apologize for your inflammatory rhetoric and stop putting our children’s future at risk by opposing action on climate change.”

Johnson’s staffers in Milwaukee came outside the federal courthouse to accept the computer flash drive, and encouraged the small group of demonstrators to leave their names and addresses.

Johnson’s press office did not respond to two requests for comment.

Check out the League of Conservation Voters’ ad below:

Updated: the first version of this story posted incorrectly described Senator Johnson as a member of the Democratic Party; he is a Republican.