Well she did it! Lisa Murkowski finally got the “Holmstead-Martella Dirty Air Act” introduced.  She brought it to the floor yesterday despite the wave of negative attention she’s received over the past week from the media, environmental groups and ethics watchdogs for allowing dirty industry lobbyists to write legislation for her while at the same time directing their clients to contribute $50,000 to her campaign fund.

Below are a few select examples of the types of heat our friend Lisa has endured for her brave effort to gut the Clean Air Act and legislate a boon for her corporate backers:

New York Times: From Climate Bill Co-Sponsor to EPA Critic, Murkowski’s Motives Draw Scrutiny

“She’s obviously made a deal with the devil to get her leadership position,” said an Alaska-based environmentalist. “That’s exemplified by her change in position on global warming.”

San Francisco Chronicle: Boxer blasts bid to block EPA greenhouse gas rules (updated)

This “is an unprecedented move by a United States senator and her cosponsors to overturn a health finding made by health experts and scientific experts in order to stand with the special interests,” Boxer said during a speech on the Senate floor.

New York Times: Ms. Murkowski’s Mischief
Senator Lisa Murkowski’s home state of Alaska is ever so slowly melting away, courtesy of a warming planet. Yet few elected officials seem more determined than she to throw sand in the Obama administration’s efforts to do something about climate change.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington: Lobbyists played major role in Sen. Murkowski’s proposal
“We will never know whether the $50,000 contributed to Sen. Murkowski’s campaign by two of Jeff Holmstead’s energy clients is the sole reason she allowed him to help craft legislation, but surely, the money helped smooth the way. This is the sort of pay-to-play politics that makes Americans so suspicious of our elected leaders.”

On this, their day of jubilee, we here at PolluterWatch figured Murkowski and her lobbyist allies might be too busy to remember to properly thank one another for the roles each played in getting the Dirty Air Act introduced. Luckily, we stepped and filled the void, as this short video demontrates: