Congressman Griffith's Weekly E-Newsletter 06.04.12 - All Fossil Fuels are Next

Statement

In an editorial board meeting with the San Francisco Chronicle in 2008, then Senator Obama made a comment that has always troubled me:

"When I was asked earlier about the issue of coal, you know, under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad. Because I'm capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it, whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, uh, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers."

And, as reported just last week by the Wall Street Journal the Sierra Club has launched a new battle plan entitled, "Beyond Natural Gas." As you can imagine, like coal, "the natural gas industry is dirty, dangerous and running amok," said Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune. First the Obama Administration and its allies put a regulation stranglehold on coal; now -- while continuing their attack on coal -- they're turning their attention to natural gas.

President Obama knows that when you drive up energy prices it costs businesses and consumers. He said so in the statement I quoted above. One might ask, who does President Obama think the "consumers' are? You, I, and even the President, know. They are the single moms trying to hold down a job, raise children, and pay their bills including the bills to keep the lights and heat on. They are the senior citizens worried sick about how they're going to cover their food costs, medical bills, and yes, the light and heat bills each month. The very consumers that President Obama's policies are going to cost money are middle class Americans trying to get by in this stagnant economy.

I've said for months, when the President has more "flexibility' (as he told the Russians back in March), the war on coal was likely going to expand to a total war on fossil fuels. This latest battle plan from the Sierra Club is just another indicator that the President and his allies aren't going to wait until after the election to at least begin planning the war against natural gas.

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