Tag: Energy Policy

cross-posted in slightly different form at Bleeding Heartland

Congressman Tom Latham is a conservative Republican representing a swing (D+0) district. He has a lot more money in the bank than Democratic candidate Becky Greenwald, but Iowa political observers think this race could be very competitive.

Today Latham opened up his war chest to start running statewide radio ads touting his advocacy of more oil drilling in the U.S.

Follow me after the jump for more.

Iowa Politics has this press release from Latham’s campaign about

a statewide radio ad highlighting Latham’s work to lower gas and energy prices for Iowa families.

The sixty second ad reinforces Latham’s continued commitment to renewable energy but also discusses the need for Congress to work immediately to increase domestic energy supplies that America controls.

“$4.00 a gallon gas hurts Iowa families,” notes Latham in the ad. “And they’re frustrated with leaders in Congress for not doing more about it – and they have every right to be.”

“I have always been, and will continue to be, a strong supporter of alternative energy research and production, but we need to work for solutions that get Iowans from point A to point B without busting their family budget.”

Latham has been working in Congress on legislation aimed at increasing our domestic supply of affordable that will lower gas and energy prices through the increased use of our current resources, to include off-shore drilling and drilling in ANWR.

Latham recently told Iowa Independent that Republicans can ride high gas prices to victory this November. It’s not clear to me why this is a big selling point for the GOP–shouldn’t they have been doing something to reduce our dependence on foreign oil during the years Republicans controlled Congress as well as the presidency?

Anyway, some Republicans clearly believe that this issue will save them from an otherwise hostile political environment. Last week John McCain started running a television ad blaming Barack Obama for high gas prices because Obama opposes more offshore oil drilling.

The rapid response from Becky Greenwald’s campaign points out the various misleading aspects of Latham’s radio ad:

For Immediate Release                                                                      Contact: Erin Seidler

July 29, 2008                                                                                                         515-537-4465

Latham Runs Misleading Ad on Drilling To Divert From Votes Against Immediate Gas Price Relief

Waukee, IA – This week, Tom Latham’s campaign released a radio ad misleading voters about offshore drilling. Experts agree that offshore drilling will do nothing to lower gas prices for seven to ten years, and its clear that this ad is a diversion from Latham’s votes against opening the Strategic Petroleum Reserves and forcing oil companies to drill on existing leases. (McClatchy, 6/18/08)

“I’m running for Congress because of these sort of shenanigans. Latham is trying to get Iowans to think about leasing 2,000 more acres when 68 million acres already leased are open, untapped and will lower prices. Latham is trying to divert attention from his failure to support immediate relief through opening the Strategic Petroleum Reserves and forcing oil companies to drill on existing leases,” said Becky Greenwald, Candidate for Congress in Iowa’s 4th District. “Is it too much to ask for leaders to be honest with us?”



Unfortunately, Latham, like George Bush decided to play politics with gas prices. Last week, he voted against a bill that would release 70 million barrels of oil from the strategic oil reserve to bring relief from high gas prices. This bill would bring almost immediate relief to high gas prices. (H. Res. 6578)

And two weeks ago, Latham voted against a bill to force oil companies to drill on existing leases. There are 68 million acres of federal land already leased by oil companies. That is two times the size of the state of Iowa available for energy production that is now sitting idle. (H.R. 615)

Instead, Democrats in Congress and Becky Greenwald are fighting for a comprehensive energy policy that includes in the short term, opening the Strategic Petroleum Reserves and forcing oil companies to drill on almost 68 million acres of existing leases.

In the long term, Becky will fight to invest in a green energy industry here in Iowa by investing in ethanol, wind energy, biodiesel, and other homegrown, alternative forms of energy.

“I know that investing in renewable fuels will reduce our reliance on foreign oil and bring down gas prices and create thousands if not hundreds of thousands of jobs in rural America, including Iowa’s 4th District,” Greenwald continued. “It’s time for a solution, not diversion tactics.”

The bolded passages were bold in the original, by the way.

Latham’s advocacy of more oil drilling will do nothing to solve our energy problems. Even the president of the Teamsters Union, which has long supported increased oil drilling in the U.S., declared last week that

“We must find a long-term approach that breaks our dependence on foreign oil by investing in the development of alternate energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal power.”

Furthermore, public opinion on this matter may not be where Latham thinks it is. The polling firm Rasmussen says the public is divided on whether more drilling is the answer:

A new Rasmussen Reports national survey, taken last night (Monday), finds that 45% think placing more restrictions on energy speculators is more important , while 42% take the opposite view that allowing offshore oil drilling is more important.

A major partisan divide on the issue, like the split in Congress, is evident, however. Sixty-seven percent (67%) of Republicans say lifting the ban is the highest priority, while 59% of Democrats – and 48% of unaffiliated voters — say controlling speculators is more important. Only 29% of unaffiliateds say lift the ban first.

Unaffiliated or “no-party” voters have a slim plurality among registered voters in Iowa’s fourth district, and there are about 8,000 more Democrats than Republicans in the district.

If Rasmussen’s findings are accurate, it seems that Latham is out of step with his district on this issue.

If you reject Latham’s misleading spin on energy policy, please donate to Greenwald’s campaign to help her respond on the air. She has a lot going for her in this race and a real chance to win if she raises enough money to get her message out. Remember, the fourth district has a partisan index of D+0.

Final note: Latham’s press release says the radio ad is running statewide. That’s a lot more expensive than just running the ad in fourth district markets.

Is he trying to raise his profile outside his district to pave the way for a gubernatorial bid in 2010? If he loses to Greenwald, he could start campaigning for governor immediately. But even if he wins re-election, serving in Congress isn’t much fun when you’re in the minority party.  

Here in Kentucky’s First Congressional District, we call our Congressman Exxon Eddie. It is a fitting moniker. Not only because Eddie owns a lot of Exxon and Chevron stock that are making him richer on the backs of the American consumer, but because Exxon Eddie uses his votes to be a shill for the Big Oil Industry. Lets look at some of these votes.

In 2001, we had his vote # 2001-311 on HR 4. Here is a summary:

Amendment to maintain the current prohibition on oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by striking language opening the reserve up to development.

http://www.ontheissues.org/Hou…

Yes, Exxon Eddie voted for the raping of the pristine Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge. Despite the fact that many people believe that the oil in ANWR will provide little relief at the pump, and have little long-term affect of the problem of Energy Dependence. It is all about profit, not finding solutions for everyday Americans and Kentuckians.

Moving on, in Aug., 2001 Exxon Eddie voted against CAFE standards in HR 4, vote 2001-317:

Require a combined corporate average fuel efficiency [CAFE] standard for passenger automobiles and light trucks, including sport utility vehicles, of 26 mpg in 2005 and of 27.5 mpg in 2007. It also would offer incentives for alternative fuel vehicles.

http://www.ontheissues.org/Hou…

Then in Nov. 2003, you had his vote on HR 6, number 2003-630 which was a rubber-stamp of the Bush-Cheney Energy Bill of Corporate Welfare to the Oil and Energy Companies:

Energy Omnibus bill: Vote to adopt the conference report on the bill that would put into practice a comprehensive national policy for energy conservation, research and development. The bill would authorize a $25.7 billion tax break over a 10-year period. The tax breaks would include $11.9 billion to promote oil and gas production, $2.5 billion for “clean coal” programs, $2.2 billion in incentives for alternative motor vehicles, and $1.8 billion for the electric power industry and other businesses. A natural gas pipeline from Alaska would be authorized an $18 billion loan guarantee. The bill would call for producers of Ethanol to double their output. Makers of the gasoline additive MTBE would be protected from liability. They would be required though to cease production of the additive by 2015. Reliability standards would be imposed for electricity transmissions networks, through this bill. The bill would also ease the restrictions on utility ownership and mergers.

http://www.ontheissues.org/Hou…

In June of 2004, with another loving rubber-stamp to the Bush Administration he voted for yet another Bush-Cheney Energy Bill of big Corporate Welfare to Big Oil and Energy with HR 4503 vote number 2004-241:

Vote to pass a bill that would put into practice a comprehensive national policy for energy conservation, research and development. The bill would authorize o $25.7 billion tax break over a 10-year period. The tax breaks would include $11.9 billion to promote oil and gas production, $2.5 billion for “clean coal” programs, $2.2 billion in incentives for alternative motor vehicles, and $1.8 billion for the electric power industry and other businesses. A natural gas pipeline from Alaska would be authorized an $18 billion loan guarantee. It would add to the requirement that gasoline sold in the United States contain a specified volume of ethanol. Makers of the gasoline additive MTBE would be protected from liability. They would be required though to cease production of the additive by 2015. Reliability standards would be imposed for electricity transmissions networks, through this bill. The bill would also ease the restrictions on utility ownership and mergers.

http://www.ontheissues.org/Hou…

And what did Bush, Cheney, McConnell, and Exxon Eddie’s “vision” on Energy policy bring us? Record high gas prices and a recession. All the while men like Bush, Cheney, McConnell, and Exxon Eddie have become quite wealthy with their investments.

Next, in Jan. of 2007, we have Exxon Eddie once again voting his stock options and protecting the huge record profits of Big Oil on HR 6 vote number 2007-040:

Creating Long-term Energy Alternatives for the Nation (CLEAN) Act

Title I: Ending Subsidies for Big Oil Act–denying a deduction for income attributable to domestic production of oil, natural gas, or their related primary products.

Title II: Royalty Relief for American Consumers Act–to incorporate specified price thresholds for royalties on oil & gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico.

Title III: Strategic Energy Efficiency And Renewables Reserve–makes the Reserve available to accelerate the use of clean domestic renewable energy resources and alternative fuels.

This legislation seeks to end the unwarranted tax breaks & subsidies which have been lavished on Big Oil over the last several years, at a time of record prices at the gas pump and record oil industry profits. Big Oil is hitting the American taxpayer not once, not twice, but three times. They are hitting them at the pump, they are hitting them through the Tax Code, and they are hitting them with royalty holidays put into oil in 1995 and again in 2005.

It is time to vote for the integrity of America’s resources, to vote for the end of corporate welfare, to vote for a new era in the management of our public energy resources.

http://www.ontheissues.org/Hou…

Finally, although we find this on his campaign website:

High energy costs weigh on every Kentucky family and that is why Congressman Whitfield has been focused on alternative energy solutions like clean coal technology, ethanol, bio diesel and coal gasification to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil.

http://www.whitfieldforcongres…

We have this vote on HR 3321 vote number 2007-0832 for investment in renewables:

H.R.3221: New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act: Moving toward greater energy independence and security, developing innovative new technologies, reducing carbon emissions, creating green jobs, protecting consumers, increasing clean renewable energy production, modernizing our energy infrastructure, and providing tax incentives for the production of renewable energy and energy conservation.

Rep. PELOSI: This bill makes the largest investment in homegrown biofuels in history. We know that America’s farmers will fuel America’s independence. We will send our energy dollars to middle America, not to the Middle East.

Rep. TIERNEY: This bill incorporates the Green Jobs Act, which will make $120 million a year available to begin training workers in the clean energy sector. 35,000 people per year can benefit from vocational education for “green-collar jobs” that can provide living wages & upward mobility.

http://www.ontheissues.org/Hou…

I think it is clear to see where Exxon Ed Whitfield’s priorities lie. They lie with the profits of the Big Oil Corporations he is invested in and not with the interests of the American people. We should be finding new solutions to old problems, not investing in the old ways that have failed.

It is time for Exxon Eddie to move on. He has held this seat for too long after promising to only serve two terms. He has been a constant vote against progress in Kentucky or anywhere else in America.

We have an awesome grassroots candidate who needs our support to unseat Exxon Eddie and expand our Congressional majorities. Her name is Heather Ryan. We desperately need the resources to get our message out to the 63% of registered Democrats in this district about the horrible record Exxon Ed Whitfield has done in their name.

Visit Heather’s site here:

http://www.ryanforkentucky.com/

Join our campaign of fighting for grassroots Democrat values here:

http://visitor.constantcontact…

Finally, please consider helping me in my bid to raise $1500 online for Heather by May 20. I am less than $100 from halfway to my goal.

http://www.actblue.com/page/am…

Whatever you do, and however you can do it, please support your fellow “Fighting Democrats” in Kentucky’s First District.

Best wishes Fellow Democrats!!