Obama and Coal: Obama Admits His Policies Will “Bankrupt” Coal Industry
Obama on Coal Power:
“So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can. It’s just that it will bankrupt them.”
PJ Gladnick has performed a public service by uncovering the audio of an Obama interview with the SF Chronicle from earlier this year. The SF Chronicle published an interview with Obama in January 2008, but omitted any references in their story to Obama’s pledge to “bankrupt” the coal industry.
The transcript of the audio portion of the video below. (Courtesy of NewsBusters: Hidden Audio: Obama Tells SF Chronicle He Will Bankrupt Coal Industry)
Let me sort of describe my overall policy.
What I’ve said is that we would put a cap and trade system in place that is as aggressive, if not more aggressive, than anybody else’s out there.
I was the first to call for a 100% auction on the cap and trade system, which means that every unit of carbon or greenhouse gases emitted would be charged to the polluter. That will create a market in which whatever technologies are out there that are being presented, whatever power plants that are being built, that they would have to meet the rigors of that market and the ratcheted down caps that are being placed, imposed every year.
So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.
That will also generate billions of dollars that we can invest in solar, wind, biodiesel and other alternative energy approaches.
The only thing I’ve said with respect to coal, I haven’t been some coal booster. What I have said is that for us to take coal off the table as a (sic) ideological matter as opposed to saying if technology allows us to use coal in a clean way, we should pursue it.
So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can.
It’s just that it will bankrupt them.
The union bosses at the UMWA have endorsed Obama. But the union bosses will always be the last to go. After the last coal miner is laid off, their union representatives can get jobs as lobbyists.
Former coal miners will not be so lucky as their bosses. It’s supposed that not all coal miners will be laid off, though. China will still need coal; some of it will come from the United States.
The Obama campaign has responded with the regular: Obama’s quote is taken out of context. It’s the same initial response the campaign had to the airing of Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s sermons during the Democratic primaries.
Initially, the campaign said the Wright quotes were “taken out of context”. When that position no longer became tenable, then Obama threw Rev. Wright under his famous bus.
The reader can listen, read and then decide for himself if the Senator from Illinois has been “taken out of context”.
Gladnick’s observation about this hidden portion of the SF Chronicle interview?
“Way to cover up for The One, SF Chronicle!”
by Mondo Frazier
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The SF Chron is trying to backpedal, saying they had the audio file posted on their website since the January interview. However, the archives of the article they printed based upon the audio shows they didn’t include any of Obama’s controversial quotes about the coal industry.
Nothing can spin away hearing Obama, on tape, describing his polices and the damage they will do to the coal industry and electricity rates (they will skyrocket).
Alan Colmes is spinning talking points claiming McCain has the same policy, which is flat out untrue.
If Obama is elected POTUS he will, between his taxes, fines and socialist welfare “tax rebates” drive our economy from a recession into a depression. He’ll probably do it driving a Hybrid. Whup. Dee. Do.
Vote McCain/Palin unless you just feel a burning curiosity to see your life turned into a Steinbeck novel.
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What is shocking is the casual way Obama destroys jobs, people, and lives. Coal, oil, autos, drugs, defense, it is all meaningless to Obama. He is God.
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PUMA + COALGATE = OBAMA RIP
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[...] ALSO at DBKP: Obama and Coal: Obama Admits His Policies Will “Bankrupt” Coal Industry [...]
The patients have taken over the asylum. If we allow Obama to be our president we deserve the train wreck that will come with him. Funny thing is that even Harry Reids and the rest of the Democrats (except Nancy Pelosi) will be surprised at how far left he will push this country. This country will never be the same and the 50+ percent of the naive “sheep” that bought his line will suffer the most.
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“some animals are more equal than others…”
John Dewey and his legacy in the form of the public education system in this country have finally achieved their victory. The Liliputian lemmings are going to drag mankind’s “great experiment” over the cliff. Alexis de Touqueville was right. (Look it up) My faith is strengthened by the fact that ONLY 50% of our fellow citizens seem to have drunk the Koolaide. That means to me that there is at least a fuctioning opposition. God helps those with vision and determination. Get out there tomorrow and VOTE!!
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It’s interesting that you publish the whole section of the interview but fail to see the fact that Mr. Obama is trying to help our environment while helping our economy. You all are so myopic in your hatred that you fail to see the reality of the situation.
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Martin,
Sorry, Martin. I would say that “myopia” means anyone who disagrees with your assessment.
I would gather that you are not a coal miner–and not in danger of losing your livelihood. You’re also likely to be from an urban area.
I suspect everyone here has great eyesight, including yourself. You feel people should care more about your vision of the environment than their job losses or higher electric bills. You sound quite willing to make those sacrifices; that is your choice.
You’re probably an Obama supporter. Others here are not. As I live in an area with a lot of coal miners, I am not either.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
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I know that a lot of people do not agree with Obama. A lot of people here are miners. I myself was raised by a coal miner, as my father worked in the mines for many years.
I have come to notice that if you live in a coal area, then that is typically all you know. Your whole community revolves off of coal money. If coal were to fail, your community would fail. I have seen towns shut down due to mines closing. I know the effect.
But what everyone is failing to realize is that coal is NOT the long term solution to energy for many reasons. One, coal is a natural resource. We can not make coal. It will run out. We, as a planet, depend on coal more and more each year, thus more is being used. With a limited amount of coal on this planet, you are looking at less than 100 years worth of coal. Maybe less. Does that mean we need to quit using coal? No. That means we need better ways to use coal, and ways to use it with other types of energy, and eventually rely on a different type of energy. I know that statement will upset people, cause like I stated earlier, your community depends on coal. But that is what happens when the local governments of yesturday thought that coal would last forever. No other job types were brought to that area.
Now for point two, Coal is not friendly to the environment. I’m not a “tree hugger”, but that doesn’t mean that we should polute the air just so we can have a job market. What needs to be done, and Obama recognizes this, is that technology can be created to help reduce the greenhouse gasses that is put in the air by coal. That technology has to be created, and will help the coal community. Also, though, technology will be created to help find other sources of energy; ones that are more affordable, and less harming on the community such as neclear energy. Like Obama said, we don’t know how to store nuclear waste, but there will be a day when we will know how to store that waste. When that happens, you will see the coal market drop drastically, but those same miners can learn a new trait in the new market of nuclear energy.
I guess to sum it all up is that Obama realizes that coal will not last forever, and it isn’t good for the economy. What he wants to see happen is for us to start now to find a technology that will help coal emissions, and eventually lead to a cheaper, cleaner, and better energy source.
I know that some of you, as I said before, have only known coal and will disagree with what I have said, and what Obama believes; but a lot of you need to realize that while we need coal today, we need to look to the future.
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Chris worded his reply very well. I can totally see where you’re coming from and completely understand all of those points.
However, it’s hard to embrace a plan that takes away one’s livelihood in an already failing economy. In the forementioned interview, Obama makes it sound as if he’s in a hurry to “bankrupt” the coal indurstry. At least that’s the feeling I get. My husband works VERY hard mining for coal to put electricity in places such as the white house, capital bldg, and other government bldgs. Yes, again, I realize coal won’t last forever and that we need to plan for the future but if Obama’s “bankrupt the industry” plan falls into place and my husband loses his job, our freaking savings won’t last forever either.
He is usually so eloquent with words. You would think Obama could have worded things a little better in this interview if he didn’t mean it exactly how he said it and how it sounded.
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All of you coal lovers will be pleasantly surprised at Obama’s actions now that he has been elected. He won quite a few coal states and will run again in 2012. There is little chance of serious pain at least until his second term. Hopefully by then we will have begun transition away from coal AND created new jobs for people who are now dependent upon the coal industry to support thier families.
I am from Detroit and having watched the auto industry die slowly I can tell you the biggest mistake workers made was just fighting change instead of trying to shape and take advantage of a changing employment landscape and get retraining to work in new jobs. Even as bad as Michigan’s economy is right now, there are currently over 90,000 skilled-labor jobs that are going unfilled because there are not enough people with skills to take them. These are $60,000+ jobs mind you and no one is there to take them. They don’t require a college degree, but do require some training. If the UAW had focused on getting training for its members instead of just fighting, fighting, fighting the inevitable change in the way cars are made (with a lot less human workers and more robots), their members would be far better off today.
Embrace CHANGE and try to shape it so that it doesn’t destroy your way of life. We can’t keep buring huge amounts of coal. Did any of you catch the Olymplic Games in Bejing. Remember how the atheltes couldn’t breath. That is because China uses coal for everything (cooking, heating, electricity generation, etc.). That is the end result of sticking with coal as a primary fuel source. Let’s not even begin to mention global warming, but I am sure many readers of this site don’t believe its real or that somehow environmentalist have some kind of “pro-science, anti-industry” agenda. But that is another debate.
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admin Reply:
November 12th, 2008 at 16:30
Kent,
“coal-lovers”?
I’ve watched the US Government Clean Coal deal for some time. I watched a US Dept of Energy Coal Gassification plant being built. I watched the same plant being torn down and sold for scrap after American tax-payers had invested big bucks in a political boondoggle.
If you think that the technology will be developed in the next four years, leave me a comment in 2012, I’ll eat crow and you can cackle with joy. Until then, I’ll not put as much stake in political promises made during a campaign as you seem to do. I’ve seen it before. I’ll watch it again.
Thanks for stopping by, reading and commenting.
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[...] the above with Obama’s attempt to unilaterally try to shut down Yucca Mountain , his cynical view on coal and his desire to further cripple the economy with “Cap and Trade” and we have a recipe [...]