Sounds like one of the Democrats is ready to switch to the Energy Party. Hey, the more, the merrier. Meanwhile, ol’ Fred Thompson’s gettin’ all feisty with Michael Moore:
AP-ON THE 2008 TRAIL, 3RD LD-WRITETHRU
Democratic candidate Bill Richardson unveils plan to cut oil dependence, greenhouse gases
Eds: ADDS reference to Web site of Thompson video.
By JENNIFER TALHELM
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON
(AP) – Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson on Thursday
laid out his plan for a dramatic shift in the way the U.S. uses energy,
proposing to all but end the country’s reliance on oil and reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2040.Invoking
President Kennedy’s call for the Apollo space program, he said the
nation needs a "man-on-the-moon" effort to develop technologies that
will cut energy costs and halt global warming."I am issuing a
call to action, for Congress, the energy industry and the public," he
said in a speech to the New America Foundation. "I am calling for a new
American revolution _ an energy and climate revolution."Richardson’s
plan encourages people to drive electric and plug-in cars, promotes
public transportation and calls for increasing fuel economy standards
to 50 miles a gallon by 2020 from about 25 miles per gallon now.He
also wants to fund programs to develop wind, solar and biomass energy,
and create a market-based system requiring utilities to emit less
pollution.Richardson has promoted his energy plan this week in campaign stops in California and elsewhere.
He
says his experience as energy secretary under President Clinton and as
the current governor of New Mexico give him a leg up on other
candidates, who also have rolled out energy plans.The
Democratic front-runner, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, also has
called for an "Apollo program" on energy. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama
recently lectured automakers for investing in bigger, faster cars while
dependency on oil is jeopardizing U.S. security and the global
environment. And Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd wants to double the
average fuel economy for each automaker to 50 mpg by 2017.____
WASHINGTON
(AP) _ Fred Thompson, the not-quite-yet presidential candidate, is
getting flattering buzz on the Internet. Now he’s returning the favor,
and piquing more interest in the process.In a blog to be
posted on Pajamasmedia.com on Friday, the "Law & Order" actor and
former Tennessee senator praises the Internet as a way to send a
message beyond the Washington beltway.Thompson has shown
himself to be well-schooled in the ways of the Internet. He knows what
sites are saying and he knows where to go to push his ideas.This
week he engaged in a spat with producer Michael Moore over Moore’s
movie "Sicko," which depicts survivors of the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks seeking medical care in Cuba. Moore is now under investigation
for traveling to Cuba in possible violation of the Cuban economic
embargo.Thompson questioned Moore’s trip. Moore rebutted with
a challenge to debate, archly noting that Thompson has been described
as a fan of Montecristo cigars from Havana.In a video posted
on Breitbart.tv, Thompson shot back. Sitting in a leather chair in his
home study, he slowly puffs from a cigar and reminds Moore that the
Cuban government once thwarted a documentary filmmaker by putting him
in a mental institution."Mental institution, Michael, might be something you ought to think about," he says.
The
clip was shot with a small video camera and Thompson came up with his
own script, said Mark Corallo, his part-time spokesman. Simple and
cheap, it’s getting plenty of viewers."Whether or not the
Internet can elect any particular candidate in any particular race,
it’s clear that all of you and many friend across the blogosphere and
the Web are part of a true information revolution," Thompson writes in
his Pajamasmedia posting.Pajamasmedia CEO and co-founder
Roger Simon said, "If he does run, and I suspect he’s going to, he is
going to be the most Web-savvy candidate yet."Though Thompson offers no overt hint of his intentions, he signs off saying: "Hopefully, we’ll continue this conversation."
___
Associated Press writer Jim Kunhnhenn contributed to this report.
I just realized what it was that rang a bell for me at the top of that story. Last election cycle, Jennifer Talhelm was writing for The State, down in our newsroom. Nice kid. Young lady, I mean.
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Maybe I missed it but has there been any discussion of oil, global warming or energy from any of the Republican candidates?
Glad to see some positive info about Richardson. I’ve liked him better than the other Dem candidates since I first investigated him a few months ago. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have much of a presence in SC.
Brad, your strict enforcement of kinder and gentler blogging protocols has made your blog more civil but I’m affraid it’s actually reduced the amount of valuable information that is shared. Certain banned posters were uncivil at times but they did help foster a dialogue forcing the rest of us to research the various issues in order to rebut a particular claim. Even the most ridiculous claims created an environment that stimulated research. The current state of affairs here is quite bland and frankly not very informative.
Yeah, bud. McCain and Lieberman have been pushing a bill on that.
But no, as I mentioned on a previous post, it did NOT come up in the debate.
See the real Cuba and ask Moore to address real footage.
Cuban Luis Moro tears apart Michael Moore using real footage from Cuban Hospital. See footage at youtube channel EveryThingCUBA or LuisMoroNews.BlogSpot-com.
Bud,
that’s what I told the Bradster would happen but he wouldn’t listen to me. A lovefest simply isn’t very interesting for more than an hour or two.
Brad, I know that you have some unreasonable personal animosity against John Edwards but if you can get past your blind hatred of the man perhaps you could consider Edwards’ energy plan. It makes Richardson’s plan look just a tad superficial and slapdash.
Of course, I don’t hold much hope that you can get past your personal dislike of the man– even for the welfare and the future of the nation.
That would be asking too much of you– to sacrifice your pettiness for the greater good.
I feel the love between BW and RTH…
As far as I’m concerned, Edwards can take his hedge fund, car payment hair cuts, biggest in the county castle, anti-Catholic blogging employees, and his calculated ideas of a moral leader and spend the rest of the campaign basking in his other America.
I’ve not yet seen “Sicko,” but let’s assume for the sake of argument that Michael Moore produces propagandistic films, completely unobjective and employing every cheap trick in the book (selective editing out-of-context, etc.) to support his point of view. Let’s even agree that his oversimplifications (in “F 9-11” the children playing in those “peaceful” Baghdad streets, or perhaps in this film, the patients receiving medical care in Cuba) are so grotesque as to undercut the very argument he is trying to make.
Even if we can agree on that, I ask you, who, just who out there is making films meant to be seen by a wide audience about the complete travesty that is the American health care system?
I’m more interested to see Fred Thompson’s health care plan than his view on Michael Moore’s right to film in Cuba.
Randy, I knew that I’d hit your hot button with any favorable reference to Edwards.
After I’d posted my last contribution I wondered: “If Brad is so proudly ignorant about politics could he possibly not even have a passing acquaintance with virtually any Dem candidate?”
Being rather busy, I didn’t bother to check each candidate’s website (beyond Edwards). Lo and behold, I ran across the following excerpt from an article on TomPaine.com which confirmed my suspicions about Brad’s “due diligence”:
======
“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.”
Each major Democratic candidate offers a signature proposal. League of Conservation Voters head Gene Karpinski praises Edwards for having the “most comprehensive” plan. Edwards argues generally that dealing with global warming is more important than closing budget deficits or sustaining the Bush tax cuts. He would generate $13 billion a year from a carbon dioxide cap and a rollback of oil subsidies and use that to finance renewable energy technologies. He calls for reducing oil consumption by increasing the percentage of biofuels in the fuel supply and by giving subsidies to auto manufacturers to produce more efficient vehicles. He would mandate that 25 percent of our electricity come from renewable resources by 2025 and require that all new demand through the next decade be met through improved energy efficiency. He’d give consumers tax breaks for purchasing efficient cars and appliances and increase spending on clean-energy research and development. Edwards says this will help generate jobs and growth, estimating that 1 million jobs would be created.
Senator Chris Dodd is nearly as comprehensive, and more courageous. He scorns as ineffective the “cap and trade” program the other candidates support and bites the bullet for a carbon tax he estimates could generate $50 billion a year to be spent deploying clean energy and energy-efficient technologies. Dodd also calls for a job-training program to help workers gain experience and upward mobility in emerging clean-energy markets.
Senator Clinton makes jobs central to her argument. She alone of the leading candidates attended the January Apollo Alliance summit, where she argued that “the clean energy agenda is a jobs agenda.” Her signature initiative is a Strategic Energy Fund of $50 billion over ten years, to be raised by taxing the “excess profits” and rolling back the subsidies of Big Oil. The fund would subsidize existing technologies and seed research and development. Of the candidates, Clinton is the most forceful in taking on the oil companies and challenging Bush Administration failures.
Senator Obama’s eloquence is unmatched—even by his policies. […]
Governor Bill Richardson, a former Energy Secretary, joins the call for a “massive…Apollo Program.” […]
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.
[…]
===
So, once again, Brad might echo Dear Leader in saying “This job is hard” and proceed to fail at it.
What on Earth was he going on about? I got lost in his second sentence.
Oh, well, to address serious comments — Phillip, to the best of my knowledge, health care in Cuba is surprisingly good. If you wanted to do something showing how great Castro is, that would pretty much be your only option — talk about the availability of health care.
You know what bugs me about Moore? I tried to watch “Bowling for Columbine,” and I hadn’t gotten far before I got really offended on behalf of ignorant, working-class Americans.
The whole thrust of what I saw seemed to be inviting the oh-so-sophisticated audience to laugh at what boobs the proletariat were — running around with the guns.
It was pretty appalling to see one human being cast such contempt upon an entire class — and a disadvantaged one at that — with such abandoned sarcasm and sneering.
I often find myself in the position of the apparent elitist at odds with working class in South Carolina — on the flag, video poker, smoking, the lottery — and I pull no punches in opposing those ideas and practices.
But I try NOT to mock the other side as human beings, much less as a class of human beings. (Do I always succeed, no — when you’re dealing with neo-Nazis, for instance, things get so absurd that it’s hard to keep a straight face). But mocking and trashing people who disagree is what Michael Moore is all about, and I find it offensive in the extreme.
I may have little right to say that since I just wrote a post turning up my nose at reality TV and Michael Jackson fanatics, but at least I confess my sin. Moore doesn’t think it’s a sin; he thinks its his greatest virtue.
Speaking of Moore, it’s interesting to contrast the ways that John McCain reproached him in 2004, and the way Fred Thompson goes about it.
I would say the Thompson way is more entertaining, but it gets down on Moore’s level.
McCain’s approach was far classier — and at the time, before the right wing had inexplicably decided to hate the senator, it garnered considerable applause.
Brad,
Ready to Hurl may have been suggesting that you are hostile to most of the Democratic candidates. I for one, admire almost all of them, even those that I don’t think have a chance to win. I like Obama best, followed by Edwards. Wesley Clark would be my third favorite, if he were to enter the race.
Bottomline, Brad: you can’t even be bothered to survey the Dem candidates’ positions on your signature issue.
I hope that you can understand the preceding sentence.
RTH, wasn’t it appalling that in the GOP debate at the Koger Center not one mention was ever made of energy issues? Given the fact that we now import nearly 70% of our oil and we produce less than half what we did in 1970 shouldn’t that be the single most important issue of our time? But nooooo. They GOP can’t be sidetracked from important issues like the Confederate flag and immigration. The complete lack of interest by the GOP on that very important issue is reason enough to reject the whole sorry bunch.
bud, that debate proved a couple of points to me: (1) the Dems obviously should never legitimize Faux Noise/GOP-TV and (2) the GOP is now the party of torture.
Yes, the absence of energy questions only confirms that both Faux Noise and the GOP candidates are both intellectually bankrupt non-entities.
Bush’s outsourcing of the pursuit of Osama bin Laden ($1 billion/year to Pakistan) must rank as one of the worst deals of all time. No worries for the incompetent Bushies, though. We’re busy incubating new terrorists in Iraq (at $10 million/day of occupation).
Yet, when the Congressional Dems try to set benchmarks some Rethuglican leader has the cohones to call it “setting a date for surrender.”
I saw an apt aphorism the other day: Republicans claim that government doesn’t work and, when elected, work to prove it.
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well every one is talking about richardson… i know he is not like other candidates.. he is very energetic toward hois work.. let us wish him all the best for his future.
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bob martin
Addiction Recovery New Mexico
That’s how you’re supposed to feel. You really are a very small creature in this universe. And now you know that. I guess you always knew it, but now you REALLY know it. So however you got here, it’s okay because you’re here and you’re the way you’re supposed to be.
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samflutch
New Mexico Treatment Centers