This has been around in the news, but in case anyone missed it, the latest to quit the Chamber include two major utilities, Exelon in Illinois and Pacific Gas & Electric in California. Today, the Chairman of Nike resigned from the Chamber board of directors.
PG&E probably has the most direct statement so far.
"Extreme rhetoric and obstructionist tactics seem to increasingly mark the Chamber's public stance on this issue. These reflect neither the true range of views among members, nor in many cases, an honest view of the economic and environmental realities at hand."
The Chamber's weaselly strategy is to make generalized public statements in support of taking action on climate change, while simultaneously fighting tooth and nail to weaken or defeat strong bills in Washington.
This is what makes working with the Chamber so frustrating. They have some good programs in local communities. Yet, they use their contacts and financial relationships to push a horrible, extremist political agenda at the local, state and national level. Whenever there's a proposal to benefit the common good I nearly always see the Chamber on the other side whether they're fighting against consumer safety, pushing regressive tax policies, or promoting uncontrolled sprawl. And they often do it in ways that hurt their small business members.