President Obama is on his anti-carbon-horse again. In a Las Vegas town hall today, he made the case that many Americans depend on "dirty" forms of energy and that there needs to be a transition period to make costs not hit folks quickly -- i.e., get ready to pay more...just not now...we'll spread out those costs over time. Thanks, Chuck Todd for your post on this (the italics are mine).
In a separate Chuck Todd post, he mentions that President Obama tried to make the case that setting carbon standards will jump-start innovation, just like mileage standards did with automobiles.
I'm continually struck by the Obama Administration's fanaticism about carbon (he must be channeling his inner-Al Gore)...specifically with the need to regulate carbon and have the federal government consume the massive revenue associatd with doing so.
Look no further than the "Cap and Tax" legislation that's now bogged down in the Senate. While it passed a Democrat-controlled house, there were massive Democrat defections. In the Senate, it's stalled, in a large part because of unanimous Republican opposition and because Democrats in key states (read, those up for re-election) fear the huge costs associated with implementing such a tax scheme...for LITTLE if any environmental benefit.
Recently, Obama spoke about the need for nuclear power -- specifically he mentioned that he favors the construction of two new plants. These words hopefully show some flexibility in his approach to energy, in that the President isn't "locked in" to just "green" energy sources (wind, water and solar cannot possibly cover America's needs)...but two nuclear plants alone doesn't make a national energy policy. The reality is that these plants will take a decade to permit...so any "relief" will take a LONG time.
If the President were serious about "energy independence," he would look under every rock domestically to make that occur with a diversity of energy sources. America is blessed with massive oil and natural gas reserves in all parts of the US. And, we can't forget about clean coal. Talk about job creation and a jobs program...there it is. These sources should be tapped ASAP so that our dependent on foreign sources of energy diminishes over time.
As for the ever-popular "green" energy that Obama says will yield jobs...the reality is that if we lose hundreds or thousands of jobs from what he terms "dirty" energy and replace them with tens or hundreds of jobs for "clean" energy...America loses in the short-term and in the long-term. What Obama has either ignored or fails to understand is that American can do BOTH -- we should enhance our domestic energy resources and look to develop green energy.
Barack Obama has yet to find a balance on the energy front. He is driven by a green energy quest -- one that runs counter to his top priority, job creation and retention. Until he can find a way to achieve this balance, expect that Republicans, some Democrats and majorities of the American public will oppose his plans.
I've said for quite some time that overwhelming majorities of Americans fancy themselves environmentalists...until specific costs are attributed to so-called "environmental reforms." That's what is happening now.
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