Democratic Presidential Candidates Have Far to Go to Meet Voters' Desires on the Environment

[marmar]

from the Nation, via TomPaine and AlterNet:



Surprise: Democratic Presidential Candidates Have Far to Go to Meet Voters' Desires on the Environment

By Robert L. Borosage and Katrina vanden Heuvel, TomPaine.com. Posted May 21, 2007.



To catch up to where the voters are on energy policy, presidential candidates still have a big gap to close.

Confronted with the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina, rising gas prices and the "inconvenient truth" of global warming, Americans are looking for leadership on energy independence and the threat posed by catastrophic climate change. Even George Bush, Big Oil's pocketed president, now pays lip service to the need to end our "addiction to oil." But with his policies making us more, not less, dependent on foreign oil, energy will be at the center of the 2008 campaign. The question is whether the presidential candidates have caught up with the voters.

Energy independence now rivals health care as the top domestic concern. In an April Center for American Progress poll, 60 percent of Americans supported bold action on global warming. A staggering 79 percent believe shifting to alternative energy sources will help the economy and create, not cost, jobs. Voters think the United States is falling behind other countries, and they want government to lead.

This consensus has yet to penetrate Republican presidential campaigns. While the GOP candidates nod rhetorically to the importance of energy independence, they offer little policy vision and few proposals. Frontrunner Rudy Giuliani doesn't mention energy, climate change or the environment in the issue section of his website -- a bizarre omission for someone pitching a campaign on his ability to wage a smart "war on terror." Mitt Romney echoes Dick Cheney, pitting the economy against clean energy, warning that "Republicans should never abandon pro-growth conservative principles in an effort to embrace the ideas of Al Gore."

Only Senator John McCain stands apart from the lemmings, calling for action on climate change and co-sponsoring a cap on carbon emissions. McCain couples this with strong support of nuclear power, dismissing continuing concerns about cost, waste storage, safety and proliferation.

In stark contrast, all the Democratic candidates offer bolder initiatives. Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Bill Richardson and Dennis Kucinich have embraced the need for an Apollo-like program -- a multilayered drive for energy independence. And Barack Obama eloquently depicts a generational challenge: "At the dawn of the twenty-first century, the country that faced down the tyranny of fascism and communism is now called to challenge the tyranny of oil."

...(snip)...

In sum, Democrats call for a dramatic change of course from Bush's policies, and their rhetoric touts a compelling national mission. Their policies, however, are more cautious. Except for Edwards, Democrats still hew to fiscal discipline. They scrimp on spending and emphasize caps, regulations and taxes, thus giving traction to Republican gibes that Democratic policies will hurt the economy.

Worse, Democrats seem to belie their own rhetoric by treating the issue as simply one part of a broader policy agenda. No one has yet portrayed the scope and urgency of this national imperative. A bold leader would summon the nation to action. She or he would call for a crash drive for energy independence, spurring individual, business and government action.

Public investment in research and development would galvanize the scientific community; investment in rebuilding our cities would create jobs and pay for itself in lower energy costs; aggressive support for renewables would secure our energy supply, lower trade deficits and free us from future resource wars. A green job corps could train workers and harness the idealism of the young. Contrast this vital investment in our future -- and the economic growth it would stimulate -- with the nearly $500 billion (headed toward $2 trillion) the Bush Administration has squandered on the Iraq War. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/environment/52079/?page=1

[JTFrog]

1. Run Al, Run!!

[rosesaylavee]

2. Ditto that.

Al is not beholden to oil or other energy corporations. He has his own money and speaks his own mind.

I like some the DEMs but their lack of passion about this topic directly causes a lack of passion on my part to see them elected. Will vote for the nominee - however, would be thrilled if that was Gore.

[Double T]

3. It is tough to do anything when there is an endless 'war' to pay for.......

and the coffers are empty. How much more deficit spending and debt can we incur before we go bankrupt. Few US transportation corporations seem to really be doing anything spectacular in the area of increased vehicle mileage as i believe they are in bed with the corrupt criminal big oil companies. Democrats sometimes act like rethugs as they bellow about issues and then actually do nothing.