Obama loves coal!
No, he's a flip-flopper who's ready to embrace policies that would hurt America's coal industry and its many employees across the country.
So which one is it?
USA Today is the latest major media outlet to explore the Democratic presidential candidate and his views on coal, with a piece last Friday looking at how he has changed some of his talking points on the fossil fuel over the years.
The piece notes that when Obama ran for U.S. Senate in 2004, he claimed that "there's always going to be a role for coal" in Illinois, standing with miners in a press conference. USA Today also reminds readers that employees of coal companies and electric utilities have contributed $539,597 to his Senate and presidential campaigns, according to campaign finance data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.
In May 1998, state Sen. Obama voted in favor of a bill condemning the Kyoto global warming treaty and preventing Illinois from making moves to regulate greenhouse gases, at least in part because of pressure from the state's coal industry. Fast forward a decade, and now Obama calls climate change "one of the greatest moral challenges of our generation."
But this isn't to say Obama has turned his back entirely on the coal industry. He's talked about his support numerous times on the presidential campaign trail.
His policies, however, undercut his verbal support. His energy adviser, Jason Grumet, told Grist that "the policies we have already articulated make [coal plants without CCS] economically unrealistic."
Not all green jobs are created equal
Comments View as Flat
ids Posted 1:31 pm
21 Jul 2008
clean coalbama
The biggest lie in the piece:
In fact,
Illinois is as corrupt as it gets.
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Wolverine Posted 2:07 pm
21 Jul 2008
Obama Is A Politician In Every Sense
There are two things going on here.
One is the corporate media, whose goals are to 1) make as much money as possible and 2) promote corporate propaganda. One of the propaganda tools is fake "objectivity," in which a media outlet pretends to give equal coverage to "both" sides of an issue, even when one side has no credibility (for example, global warming deniers) or there are more than two sides. In this case, the corporate media are fabricating Obama flip flops to "balance" the McCain ones.
The other thing is that Obama actually does flip flop. He used to be a strong supporter of the Palestinians, but quickly changed his tune when he though about running for president, because he realized that he would not stand a chance if he angered the evil but powerful AIPAC.
So, the truth is somewhere in between. Obama has not flip flopped anywhere near as much as the corporate media is leading people to believe, but he certainly has done so when he's seen it as politically necessary. This guy is a politician first in every sense of the word. Any progressive who thinks he's going to save us is going to be badly disappointed if he's elected. At least if McCain's elected progressives realize it will be the end of life as we know it.
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randino Posted 9:33 pm
21 Jul 2008
If Obama and the Dems
win, the environmental movement is going to have to undergo a massive shift in strategy. Instead of dealing with the despicable trogs we have had to fight for the past generation, we will have to deal with spineless democrats who are usually devoid of any principles they will go to the mat for, and cannot even spell the word courage.
We need to organize as environmentalists, within the Democratic Party in the form of Blue/Green Democratic Clubs. I hang out with pols all the time and in the end they only respect groups that can give them money, and/or can provide shoe leather support. For us to get down and dirty in the smoke filled rooms is a necessity - no matter how much it might offend our delicate sensibilities. As it stands today, the environmental movement is politically incompetent, and deserves the use and abuse it receives from its so called friends in the DP.
We have to can this "speaking truth to power" garbage, and we can build the power we need to reward our friends and punish our enemies.
I hope no one thinks we can kick back and relax if the dems get in. In truth, our work load with increase exponentially. Hear me now, believe me later.
Randy Cunningham
Cleveland, OH
Randy Cunningham
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Wolverine Posted 7:08 am
22 Jul 2008
It's Not About Offending Sensibilities
Come on Randy, refusing to compromise one's values in order to participate a totally corrupt political system has nothing to do with being unwilling to be offended. While I have done that work, I can certainly respect those who cannot lower themselves to do it for moral reasons.
And whether environmentalists deserve the way the Democratic Party treats us is largely irrelevant. Does the Earth deserve the way that party treats it? That's the issue.
Finally, I also know from personal experience that politicians only work for those who contribute money and/or time and effort. Because the vast majority of progressives, including environmentalists, don't have the money, we'll have to walk districts, lobby, and do other time intensive work. Unfortunately, those who lack money also almost always lack time, so this could prove impossible. The system is highly rigged toward those who already have money and power, and it's going to be very difficult for people with full time jobs to spend their little amount of spare time working for politicians. It is mainly the youth, who should have far more spare time, who must step up. If they don't, this work won't get done.
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