Environmental group backs Obama over gas tax stance

An environmental activist group on Saturday cited the “sham” of a national gas tax holiday proposal in its endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for president.

Friends Of The Earth Action (FOEA) said the holiday idea proposed by fellow presidential contenders Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) was the key reason for its endorsement of Obama.

{mosads}Obama is alone among the three presidential candidates in opposing the three-month holiday idea. He has said it would provide only minimal relief and cost the country valuable road construction jobs because it would come out of highway funding. Instead, he has promoted alternative energy initiatives.

The group’s president, Brent Blackwelder, called the debate over the holiday “a defining moment” in the race.

“The two other candidates responded with sham solutions that won’t ease pain at the pump, but Senator Obama refused to play that typical Washington game,” Blackwelder said. “Instead, Obama called for real solutions that would make transportation more affordable and curb global warming. He showed the courage and candor we expect from a president.”

FOEA is the 41-year-old sister organization to Friends Of The Earth, a political action committee that has donated 88 percent to Democratic candidates and 12 percent to Republicans, according to opensecrets.org. The group originally backed former Democratic candidate John Edwards.