| Obama Joins The Pander Parade |
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| Written by Dave Loos | |
| Wednesday, 07 May 2008 | |
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"I have a aggressive goal of reducing carbon emissions, and coal is a dirty fuel right now." -- Barack Obama, on last Sunday's Meet The Press. Well this kind of undoes a lot of the praise we've heaped upon Barack Obama over the past few weeks for refusing to go along with John McCain and Hillary Clinton's inane gas tax holiday proposal. It appears Obama can indeed pander for votes without shame. Just look at that big smile in this campaign flyer! He's a real working-class kind of guy. We initially thought this was a forwarded joke, but as Grist reported this morning, it is an actual mailer from the Obama campaign in Kentucky, which by the way is one of four states yet to hold its Democratic primary. There's a lot not to like about this flyer, starting with the fact that "clean Kentucky coal" is a total oxymoron. Yes, there are coal plants that use Integrated Gasification Combine Cycle (IGCC) technology to capture and store emissions underground. The problem is there isn't a single carbon capture and storage (CCS) plant in all of Kentucky. Obama has always walked a fine line on coal, especially given that this home state of Illinois is such a large producer. But this flyer makes it clear he's willing to say one thing (like two days ago on Meet The Press) while giving a not-so-subtle wink to states where the industry still booms. We know the country still depends on coal for 50 percent of its electricity -- we just don't like the mixed messages. Perhaps Obama needs to take his stump speech to eastern Kentucky next week, where he can see the mountaintop removal, polluted streams and rivers, and sick children firsthand. And then someone can ask him about his definition of "clean." Comments (25)
  written by MarkR, May 07, 2008
I give up.
As a side note, I'm sure this is what it will be like trying to get through to Obama after he is elected. write it out hit send and it disappears into the abyss of electrons never to be seen or heard from again. written by a guest, May 07, 2008
Theres pandering and theres pandering:
Say you will pass a gastax holiday funded by lowering the Strategic Reserve Deposit and by a windfall profit tax on big oil in time for Labor Day - won't happen: thats pandering. Say you can somehow change the culture of Washington - won't happen, thats pandering. Being so um...bipartisan that you even have the Bipartisan Policy Center to advise you on energy: I'm sorry, thats not just pandering, thats being the puppet of the same filthy energy interests that run the Republican party. written by Dave Loos, May 07, 2008
Mark,
I think we've fixed the problem we were having with the comments. Let us know if it continues. Thanks written by Thomas, May 08, 2008
I hate to see this because I like Barack but striving for clean coal is like striving to reprocess horse crap into air freshener. Even if you could do it it wouldn't be worth all the effort.
written by Tom, May 09, 2008
I hate the fact that we as a nation are still using coal for power. How lame is that, really? But, on the other hand, lets say we just stopped using coal, here today, gone tomorrow. How do we now go about getting energy to those people who get their electricity from coal fired plants? Obviously we can't just outright stop that supply. The resources have to be there to make that transition. I'm for 100% renewable alternatives like solar, solar thermal, hydroelectric, wind, geothermal and even nuclear. But unfortunately you can't just go from this, to that over night. But of the two evils, I'll still be voting for the lesser of two, Obama.
BTW, I pedal a velomobile to work, and when I need to, I drive a Prius. written by Tom, May 09, 2008
Oh, not like he really gives a rats a-- about coal. He wants the votes. He already has an agenda on the matter. If the majority of voters somewhere were axe murderers, he's goanna do what he can to make them vote for him. It's one flyer sent out in Kentucky, to appease the "axe murderers", get them to want him as their guy. Besides, read their agendas on energy issues, Barack's sounds like the best idea of the two.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/energy/ http://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/energy/ And if you can, just try and find some absolute specifics from McCain about the environment or an energy policy: http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/ written by Trenton, May 09, 2008
I don't see anything wrong with this. Obama has always supported "clean coal," and his point isn't that Kentucky is currently a model for this technology, but that we need to develop and support clean coal systems so that we can take advantage of their resources. What Obama is saying makes sense.
written by Alex, May 11, 2008
Were you expecting his clean coal ideas to just leave? I don't think it is good to get caught up in it right now, and use it as a campaign point, but he has had these ideas in hand since January or earlier. Also, just because there "isn't a single carbon capture and storage (CCS) plant in all of Kentucky" doesn't mean there won't be any soon.
written by Mitch, May 12, 2008
Obama represents a state which produces "clean coal" - this is not a pander on his part, it's part of his basic energy platform. No statewide politician in Illinois can be anymore against "clean coal" than they could be against ethanol.
written by Vic, May 14, 2008
Everyone panders to voters. It's part of the electoral process. The candidates just have different ideas of what kind of pandering will work best for them to get into office. The key for any real clean energy plan to work is finding a place for the losers. If we take on coal, we must offer a consolation prize to the many workers and even the businesses that will be hurt. If it's plastic bags, we have to offer something to the makers of plastic bags and those that work in the factories. If not, they will do whatever they can to maintain their status. Give something to the losers, and we will win.
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What did you think, he was the second coming? Please, he's running for president. As I