Senator Bishop Denies, Defends, Offends

It seems the old adage “actions speak louder than words” wasn’t applied liberally enough during Senator Mike Bishop’s childhood. And if it was, it was a lesson quickly forgone in the pursuit of higher political ground. In an interview with Michigan Now’s Chris McCarus, Sen. Bishop goes so far as to say “one of my priorities is, and has always been, environment."

This is a righteous claim, and one a savvy politician would be wise to make in a state defined by its lakes, populated by sportsmen, and still generating revenue on the back of its tourism industry. But after 12 years in the political arena, Bishop’s claim to be an environmental advocate falls resoundingly flat. His empty words only serve to highlight the discrepancy between his fumbling claims and bleak environmental voting record.

He begins the interview talking once again about the recently denied permit to build a new coal-fired power plant in Rogers City, Michigan, calling it “a political effort to block clean coal” (listen HERE). We would like to remind Senator Bishop that the decision to deny the permit was based on policy, not politics, and that clean coal is in fact an oxymoron.

He insists that promoting “clean coal” was part of the bipartisan legislation passed in 2008. That legislation, PA 295, defines advanced coal-fired electric generating facilities as “advanced cleaner energy systems." Cleaner, but not clean. Apparently Senator Bishop “would love to see wind energy, and solar energy," but clearly not enough to vote for increased mandated use of those renewable sources of energy as part of PA 295. And it’s painful to hear a legislator expound on Michigan’s outdoor beauty in the same breath with which they advocate for new polluting coal plants.

Bishop goes on to defend his environmental actions (listen HERE): Passing the Great Lakes Compact, preventing invasive species from entering the lakes, protecting the Great Lakes from water withdrawals, working with the Farm Bureau, and protecting inland trout streams. To date Senator Bishop has not taken a leadership role in defending the lakes from the invasive Asian carp, he has voted against water-withdrawal protection measures six times in the last two years. In 2007 he voted for the deregulation of factory farm pollution, and he put inland trout streams in jeopardy when he voted against SB 860 in 2008, which would have protected thriving fish populations from proposed water withdrawals.

In his political career, Sen. Bishop has voted against the environment 80% of the time, and his very real voting record stands in stark contrast to the defensive arguments he makes to McCarus.

Senator Bishop, perhaps the passion you convey in this interview for conservation and environmental protection indicates that you’re turning over a new leaf? Or perhaps it's just another carefully constructed, politically correct stump speech from a career politician.