Get this county off its oil addiction, says Obama....

GOOD MORNING FLINT ,by Terry Bankert 08/04/2008 ,http://attorneybankert.com/ ,full article posted, http://goodmorningflint.blogspot.com/ , Summary for discussion at Flint Talk
thread Good Morning Flint: http://www.flinttalk.com/viewforum.php?f=2
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REFLECTIONS:
We must ,as a country, get on a 12 step program to end our dependency on oil. Not being able to meet our energy needs as a country is one of the most dangerous and urgent threats this nation has ever faced."After one president, Bush, as stayed in the pocket of big oil, we can’t afford another, McCain is just another Bush he cannot be trusted. Obama’s windfall profits tax on big oil will give families a $1,000 rebate. A president who’ll stand up for you. Big Business will be held accountable. Obama is now putting together his coalition to tackle this countries energy needs . Will you be part of it. Obama also backs a policy to get Americans into ultra efficient cars. Our energy crisis is too urgent to allow partisan bickering. We must adopt a responsible but aggressive set of policies to get our country on the right track. We must set as a priority getting new energy from renewable sources.[trb 08/04/08]
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UNITED STATED MUST STOP ITS ADDICTION TO OIL

Speaking before a crowd in Lansing, Michigan, the senator from Illinois said the country's "addiction to oil ... is one of the most dangerous and urgent threats this nation has ever faced."[7]
"After one president in the pocket of big oil, we can’t afford another," the announcer says. "Barack Obama, a windfall profits tax on big oil to give families a $1,000 rebate. A president who’ll stand up for you." [8]

OBAMA ENERGY PLAN WILL HOLD BIG BUSINESS ACCOUNTABLE

Obama unveiled his energy plan, which includes a windfall profits tax on big oil corporations that would be used to provide a $1,000 rebate to people struggling with high energy costs.[7]

OBAMA BEGINS TO FORM A PRO ALTERNATIVE ENERGY COALITION


Senator Barack Obama on Saturday said a shift in his stance on offshore oil drilling is a necessary compromise with Republicans to gain their support for his broader goals of energy independence. [1] Real leadership understands this.[trb] The different paths John McCain and Barack Obama have taken to support expanded offshore drilling for oil demonstrate how each would govern as president, their supporters said Sunday.[3] McCain is occupied protecting big business while Obama seek a commitment to developing alternative energy.[trb]

He said, 'Our dangerous dependence on foreign oil has been 30 years in the making, and was caused by the failure of politicians in Washington to think long term about the future of the country,' " Obama said.[6]

OFF SHORE DRILLING TRADED FOR ALTERNATIVE ENERGY POLICY

On Friday, Obama indicated a willingness to support an effort by five Democratic senators and five Republicans to break Congress's energy impasse with legislation that would allow expanded offshore oil exploration and embrace ambitious energy efficiency and efforts to develop alternative fuels. [1] Obama's supporters argued that his willingness to consider a bipartisan proposal including more drilling showed how the Illinois Democrat would pursue compromise to achieve results.[3]

MCCAIN ATTACKS OBAMA WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE OBAMA COMPROMISE PROPOSAL

Obama and his party have come under attack from the White House and Republican presidential contender John McCain for blocking moves to free up thousands of miles (kilometers) of US coastline for drilling for oil, which the Republicans say would help ease high fuel prices, a major worry for voters.[4]

OFF SHORE DRILLING WILL HAVE LITTLE EFFECT AND NONE FOR YEARS

Republicans have seized on the drilling issue, hoping to finally get political traction amid soaring gasoline prices. Democratic leaders have done everything possible to stand in their way. [1] That is until Obama promoted his compromise proposal.[trb]Obama's supporters repeated their argument that new offshore oil exploration would take nearly a decade to produce any oil, thus not affecting gasoline prices today. They also said oil companies should first start drilling in the millions of acres for which they already hold leases.[3]
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OBAMA BACKS POLICY TO GET AMERICANS IN ULTRA EFFICIENT VEHICLES

Obama said on Saturday that it is time to compromise. The proposal by the Senate's "Gang of 10" has "some of the very aggressive elements that I've outlined in my plan," he said here, including a goal in 20 years of having 85 percent of cars no longer operating on petroleum-based fuels and to provide $7 billion to help the U.S. auto industry retool to build ultra-efficient vehicles. [1]

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY IS TOO BIG FOR PARTISAN BICKERING SAYS OBAMA

"What I don't want is for the best to be the enemy of the good here, and if we can come up with a genuine, bipartisan compromise in which I have to accept some things I don't like, or the Democrats have to accept some things that they don't like, in exchange for moving us in the direction of energy independence, then that's something I'm open to," Obama said. "I wanted to send a strong signal that we can't allow partisan bickering or the desire to score political points to get in the way of providing some genuine relief to people who are struggling." [1]

"If we can come up with a genuine bipartisan compromise, in which I have to accept some things that I don't like, or the Democrats have to accept some things that they don't like in exchange for actually moving us in the direction of actual energy independence, then that's something I'm open to," the Illinois Democrat said.[2]

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., appearing with Lieberman, said Obama remains opposed to drilling but is prepared to "break America's gridlock by honoring a bipartisan effort, if that is the only way to move us towards alternative and renewable fuels and an energy policy that's comprehensive."[3]

Republicans seized on Obama's shift, accusing the presumptive Democratic nominee of inconstant and politically motivated policy stands. The Republican National Committee sent out a news release noting that on Wednesday in Missouri, Obama declared, "I want to be absolutely clear to everybody about this. If I thought that I could provide you some immediate relief on gas prices by drilling off the shores of California and New Jersey . . . if I thought that by drilling offshore, we could solve our problem, I'd do it." [1]

IT TAKES A FRACTION TO GET THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION, IT TAKES CENTRIST POSITION TO WIN THE COUNTRY

Since securing the Democratic nomination in June, Obama has taken a series of steps toward the political center, embracing a bipartisan compromise on warrant less wiretapping, accepting a Supreme Court decision against a District handgun ban, decrying another decision banning the death penalty for child rapists and hinting at limits to late-term abortions for those who have diagnosed mental health problems. [1]

OBAMA STRESSES THE NEED FOR A RESPONSIBLE APPROACH TO OFF SHORE DRILLING

The drilling issue may offer Obama the strongest reason yet for compromise. New polls suggest that opposition to offshore drilling is easing under the weight of $4-a-gallon gasoline. Obama left open his options Saturday, saying that the Senate compromise's "drilling provisions are about as careful and responsible as you might expect from a drilling agenda," but that he remains skeptical. [1]
"We can't drill our way out of the problem," he said. But, he added, "I also recognize that in the House and the Senate, there are Republicans who have very clear ideas about what they want, and at some point people are going to have to make some decisions. Do we want to keep on arguing, or are we going to get some things done?" [1]

MCCAIN TAKES CREDIT FOR THE OBAMA POSITION

The campaign of Sen Jonn McCain at once claimed credit for leading Obama to his new position and questioned whether he ultimately would support additional drilling. McCain also opposed expanded offshore drilling until switching his position in June. [1]

SOME WANT MORE ENERGY FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES. THEY ARE CORRECT ITS NEEDED

It is not clear how far Obama's endorsement will get the Senate compromise. Environmentalists decried the deal as badly slanted toward oil production. Daniel J. Weiss, an energy and environmental expert with the liberal Center for American Progress Action Fund, said most of the drilling provisions are mandatory, while the key energy conservation measures are voluntary. The push to have 85 percent of future cars powered on non-petroleum fuel is merely a nonbinding sense of the Senate resolution. And the compromise does not include a long-sought environmental provision that would mandate that a certain percentage of electricity generation come from renewable energy sources. [1]

"This deal is like swapping your home for somebody's car," Weiss said. "Sure, the car is nice, but is it worth your house?" [1]

PELOSI SENDS CONGRESS HOME TO TALK TO THEIR CONSTITUENTS ABOUT IT.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) shut down the chamber and sent lawmakers home for a five-week August recess Friday rather than have a vote on expanded drilling. [1]
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid(D-Nev.) has been slightly less ardent, and signaled on Friday that he will entertain using the Gang of 10 deal as grounds for compromise when Congress returns in September. [1]

ELIMINATING THE TAX BREAKS FOR BIG OIL SOUGHT, THAT’S A GOOD THING
The Senate package would repeal tax breaks for oil companies that Democrats have opposed, fund more research into fuel efficiency, help consumers buy plug-in hybrid vehicles or convert existing hybrids to plug-ins, and extend tax breaks for renewable electricity sources for eight years. States would have the final say in approving drilling plans on the Outer Continental Shelf, no closer than 50 miles from the shore. [1]

BUSH WAKES UP A DELIVERS A CHEAP SHOT
President Bush chastised Democrats on Saturday for refusing to allow a vote on whether to lift the federal ban on offshore oil drilling before lawmakers departed for their summer recess. [1]
"To reduce pressure on prices, we need to increase the supply of oil, especially oil produced here at home," Bush said in his weekly radio address. [1]
"What Sen. Obama said is what we want a president to say," Pelosi said on "This Week" on ABC. "Let's look at all of the options. Let's compare them. And let's see what really does increase our supply, protect our environment, save our economy, protect the consumer, instead of a single-shot thing that does none of the above."[3]

Pelosi suggested that she might be open to a vote on a broader energy bill that includes some offshore drilling in areas now off limits. As far as a vote being scheduled, she said: "Well, maybe it will, as it's part of a larger energy package." [3]
The platform drafting committee of the Democratic Party finished composing their blueprint of the most important issues to their Party today. Included are planks on alternative energy policies.[5]

Both major political parties produce a platform as a statement of principles each presidential election year. The Republican platform committee meets in late August to develop a draft to present to the GOP convention beginning Sept. 1 in St. Paul, Minn. [6]

The Democratic presidential candidate said he wants to eliminate the need for oil from the Middle East and Venezuela within 10 years.

"To do this, we will invest $150 billion over the next decade ... and leverage billions more in private capital to build a new energy economy that harnesses American energy and creates 5 million new American jobs," he said.[6]

Obama outlined three steps he'd take to meet that goal:
Build fuel-efficient cars and have one million 150 mile-per-gallon plug-in hybrids on the roads within six years [6]
Require that 10 percent of the country's energy come from renewable sources by the end of his first term [6]
Call on businesses, government and the American people to meet the goal of reducing the demand for electricity 15 percent by the end of the next decade. [6]
"So there is a real choice in this election -- a choice about what kind of future we want for this country and this planet," Obama said.[6]


Obama reiterated his charge that McCain has ties to big oil -- saying "he raised more than $1 million from big oil just last month."[6]

-end—
Posted here by Terry Bankert
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[1]
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/02/AR2008080201538.html?hpid=topnews

[2]
Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-campaign-obama-mccainaug03,0,1925095.story

[3]
AP
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iY5Iq85I8_StpjYzMpSTJXR_AZBgD92ATUDG4

[4]
AFP
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jBqC0S7jBKjPedSobzVmamojnvZQ

[5]
Fox News
http://embeds.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/08/03/democratic-party-finishes-drafting-platform/

[6]
AP
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jCJokRL-4bIUMbN5goV0WMHUsJJAD92B0ER80

[7]
CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/04/campaign.wrap/?iref=hpmostpop

[8]
BOSTON.COM
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/08/before_boston_s.html

[TRB]
Comments of Terry Bankert to include unattibuted CAP headlines
http://attorneybankert.com/
For more on alternative Energy: http://energyalternativesadvisor.blogspot.com/ Also see Blogging for Michigan: http://bloggingformichigan.com/
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