Compare Energy Plans of Rehberg & Baucus
July 25th, 2008 by Wiley CodyOver at 4&20, jhwygirl has an interesting, if somewhat snarky, comparison of the energy proposals forwarded by Democrat Senator Max Baucus and Republican Congressman Denny Rehberg. It’s a bold move for a Drill-Nothing Democrat to throw stones at a Republican about energy considering the current energy situation has 3 out of 4 Americans siding with the Republican side (sadly, one of the only issues that this is the case).
So let’s dance.
Let’s start by looking at Rehberg’s Plan.
Congressman Rehberg lays out his solutions on his website. He tells Montanans where he stands in the text of the page and out of his own mouth in videos (I hope Denny’s Desk is going to be a regular addition to the site and maybe some Montana Democrats will follow suit). He even links to his plan from his front page.
His plan has four parts. It’s what Republicans are now calling the “All-Of-The-Above” Energy Solution (by the way, I think Rehberg may have actually coined this term in his March 7 Energy Op-Ed)
Quick pop quiz. In order to help America achieve energy independence, should Congress: A) promote renewable energy sources, B) encourage energy conservation, C) develop America’s domestic fossil fuel resources, D) provide grants and loans to develop new technology, or E) all of the above.
This is exactly the same question I was faced with last month. My guess is that most of you chose “E” and agree that all options should be on the table in order for us to end our dependence on foreign oil. That’s my choice too.
The plan has four legs: Fossil fuels, Conservation, Alternatives and Technology. The plan has the legislation behind it to get it done - that’s the legislation that jhywgirl mocks in her post. Interestingly enough, she leaves out the most important of those bills, the American Energy Act which is a comprehensive bill that combines all the best parts of the other legislation. I can see why she wouldn’t want to talk about that one. Rehberg is very interested in talking about it though:
Unsurprisingly, there’s no mention of energy on the front page his Senate website. When you’re the Most Powerful Man in the Senate™ you probably don’t want to highlight a colossal policy failure. Surely though, he discusses his plan in the Issues section of his site? Nope.
Well that’s interesting. No mention of an energy plan on the Senate Finance Committee website or his campaign site either.
Maybe Senator Baucus’ energy plan is to harness the energy from the cricket legs rubbing together. Chirp-chirp. Chirp-chirp.
