Kerry: U.S. Needs More Efficient Vehicles

[Feanorcurufinwe]

John Kerry's victory in the New Hampshire primary has set off alarm bells in some quarters in the U.S. auto industry. The Massachusetts Senator, who is now the odds-on favorite to win the Democratic nomination and square off against George W. Bush in race for the President, has championed a sharp increase in fuel economy standards for cars and trucks. Moreover, the need to reduce the U.S. dependence on imported oil also has been a standard part of stump speech during the battle for the Democratic primary. Immediately after the vote were counted in New Hampshire, Kerry, who earned a Silver Star for gallantry under fire in Vietnam, said young Americans soldiers should not be held hostage to American dependence on foreign oil. Kerry, who also is an outspoken opponent of drilling for oil in the Alaskan Natural Wildlife Refuge, also tags the Bush administration as a rubber stamp for all sorts of special corporate interests.

Last fall when Howard Dean was still riding high in the polls and was presumptive Democratic nominee, Kerry gave a speech at the Detroit Economic Club in which he held out an olive branch of sorts to automakers. Becoming less dependent on foreign oil will create jobs for Americans and protect American automakers, Kerry suggested. He also noted in his remarks that fuel economy is not only a jobs issue but also an issue of national security.

"The dollars we spend at the pump can too easily fund the very terrorists that seek to destroy us. The threats that America faces today don't just come from gun barrels, they come from oil barrels and our dependency on (Middle East) oil. We need to disarm that danger," Kerry said. "We need a government that is on the side of our automotive industry that is active and dedicated to helping this nation prepare for the future," he added. "My plan will provide consumers with a tax credit of up to $2,000 to purchase clean cars. It will commit the federal government to helping build the infrastructure for using hydrogen and ethanol," the Massachusetts Senator said.

Kerry also said as President he was prepared to offer the auto industry up to $1 billion per year to help convert plants to building more energy-efficient vehicles. One way or another, manufacturers somewhere will continue to build cars, trucks, the SUVs and the buses, noted Kerry in a speech that drew only a small crowd and got negligible press coverage. "The only open question is who is going to build them. Already foreign automakers are building cars that will get all the acceleration and go all the distance but require half the gas," said Kerry.

http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?n=156,175&sid=175&article=6811

[girl gone mad]

1. It's great that he's saying this stuff.

But, I do think talk is cheap.

I wish he had a better record of fighting for these kind of things while he was in the Senate.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

2. You should learn more about Kerry's record.

He has a fantastic record in the Senate -- a 96% lifetime rating from the League of Conservation Voters, which has now endorsed him - the first time they've ever done that in a primary. The environment is not just a campaign issue for Kerry, it's something he has fought for consistently in the senate.


http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/energy/
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2003/11/19/bobbykennedyjr/index_np.html



LCV profile:

With a history of engagement that extends back to the first Earth Day in 1970,Senator Kerry is one of America 's premier environmental leaders. His voting record has earned him the highest lifetime LCV ranking of all the presidential candidates, and he has taken a leadership role in promoting higher fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks, combating attempts to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and in overturning efforts to weaken the Clean Air Act. On a range of domestic issues -from clean air to clean water to public lands -Kerry has repeatedly staked out pro-environment positions. His record on international issues is equally distinguished: he sponsored legislation to incorporate environmental protections into trade negotiations and has participated in international climate change negotiations beginning at the 1992 Earth Summit and extending through Kyoto. In his run for the presidency, Kerry has made the environment a central issue, devoting several significant forums to his plans for environmental action if elected. Kerry participated in LCV 's June 2003 presidential environmental debate.
http://www.lcv.org/Campaigns/Campaigns.cfm?ID=1961&c=4

[girl gone mad]

4. Kerry has a record of...

not even showing up to vote 56% of the time.

In the time he has been in the Senate, very little has been accomplished on the environmnetal front.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

5. Your statements fly in the face of Kerry's accomplishments

Stating that the moon is made of cheese won't feed a single hungry astronaut.

[AndyP]

3. I second

Even Bush said we need better vehicles, but he set a due date of like 2020 or something. This way it's not all on him to get the job done. I think this is why so many Americans don't care about anything polictians have to say- they talk the talk but don't walk the walk

[Feanorcurufinwe]

6. Kerry and the environment

Grist: It's interesting to me that unlike other candidates, you've actually gone to Iowa, for instance, which has a strong United Auto Workers base, and argued for CAFE standards, putting yourself in conflict with what we traditionally think of as anti-environmentalists.

Kerry: You have to tell the truth and let the chips fall where they may. But the truth, in this case, should be appealing to UAW's workers: I believe I can put them to work. I believe I can have them working making cars; they can just make cars that are more efficient. It's not that hard. We can make cars that use biomass ethanol, cars that use hybrid-electric engines, that get 100 miles to the gallon by just being smarter. Somebody has to lead us there.

Grist: So you have the same message for, say, an autoworker in Iowa as you would for a card-carrying environmentalist in Portland, Ore. -- this message that new, clean industries can energize the marketplace and save the environment at the same time?

Kerry: The message is the same: We can create jobs and people don't have to fear good environmental practices and we can show people how we'll create the jobs and in fact they'll be better off. I'd rather sell more American cars that are fuel-efficient than have people turn to Japanese cars and German cars, and right now they are out-producing us in this area. So the way to sell the American cars is get efficient. I'm willing to provide incentives that help people do that.

Grist: How do you consider yourself different from other candidates on the environment?

Kerry: This fight is such a part of who I am; it's not just an issue on my resume. I think I have the longest, strongest, clearest, most accomplished record on the environment of any of the candidates running. I began in 1970 when I spoke at Earth Day. I was chairman of Earth Day New England in 1990. I chaired a governor's task force on acid rain when I was a lieutenant governor and we developed a national platform for acid rain. I've been chairman of the Oceans and Environment Subcommittee of the Commerce Committee. I've rewritten our fisheries laws, our marine mammal protection laws, our plastic pollution laws, our flood insurance protection laws, our coastal-zone management laws. I've lead on tuna/dolphin safety issues, on banning driftnet fishing. I've been to all the major conferences -- Rio, Buenos Aires, Kyoto, The Hague -- on global warming. I led the fight to stop Newt Gingrich from attacking the Clean Air and Clean Water acts in 1996, and I've led the effort in the Senate to stop the drilling in the Arctic wildlife refuge. I put together the first-ever sustainable development conference in Asia. I am proud of my record of accomplishment on the environment.
http://www.gristmagazine.com/maindish/kerry092303.asp

[molly]

7. Both John Kerry and his wife support wildlife and

the environment. The following paragraph is very telling. We need jobs back in this country.

"Kerry also said as President he was prepared to offer the auto industry up to $1 billion per year to help convert plants to building more energy-efficient vehicles. One way or another, manufacturers somewhere will continue to build cars, trucks, the SUVs and the buses, noted Kerry in a speech that drew only a small crowd and got negligible press coverage. "The only open question is who is going to build them. Already foreign automakers are building cars that will get all the acceleration and go all the distance but require half the gas," said Kerry."