Climate Politics
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Keith Olbermann on McCain’s campaign
Brutal: [vodpod id=ExternalVideo.1011969&w=425&h=350&fv=launch%3D26045608%26amp%3Bwidth%3D400%26amp%3Bheight%3D320] See also Rachel Maddow’s comments at about 3:25 in here: [vodpod id=ExternalVideo.1011970&w=425&h=350&fv=launch%3D26045709%26amp%3Bwidth%3D400%26amp%3Bheight%3D320]
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Presidential candidates keep the energy ads a-comin’
John McCain put out this new ad yesterday, “Broken,” in which he’s portrayed as the “original maverick” and pledges to “battle Big Oil.” (Someone might want to pass the message along to his donors.) Barack Obama responded with this new ad yesterday, challenging the premise that McCain has been a “maverick” on energy and other […]
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Fact-checking the McCain campaign’s press call on energy policy
The McCain campaign held a press call yesterday on Barack Obama’s energy policy, in which their spokesfolks let fly a few statements that should be categorized as something other than truthful. Senior adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin: “Barack Obama has said no to more domestic exploration of oil and natural gas … He has said no to […]
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The ‘psychological effects’ of threatening war with Iran
Steve Clemons makes a point worth repeating — if you’re worried about "psychological effects" on oil speculators, perhaps a better strategy than hyping offshore drilling is dialing back the warmongering rhetoric toward Iran.
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Is drilling debate a repeat of the immigration debate?
Last week, Matt Yglesias finished his stint blogging for The Atlantic. Next week he starts blogging for the Center for American Progress. In between he’s taking a week off — the first time, according to Matt, that he’s gone more than 24 hours without blogging in over four years. We don’t want Matt’s head exploding […]
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Are Obama’s energy panders as bad as McCain’s?
I think Kevin Drum is being too hard on Obama here. Obama and the entire Democratic Party are getting killed on energy right now. The pressure to do something is extraordinary. Obama is looking for concessions that can take some of the heat off without giving away the game, and in terms of concessions, opening […]
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Since offshore oil is de minimis, why shouldn’t Obama and the Dems make a deal? Part 1
Getting something for nothing is always a good idea. Kudos to Senator Obama and other progressives for understanding this. The key questions are:
- How much of a "nothing" is ending the congressional moratorium on offshore drilling?
- How much of a "something" can progressives get by way of a serious effort to end our oil addiction once and for all?
Right now, it seems like conservatives are willing to hold their breath until they turn blue in the face before they agree to move any legislation whatsoever if it does not include coast drilling. Politically, they seem to have a winning argument in part because the media simply isn't policing the debate, even when people like McCain just repeat the lies of the oil industry over and over again. And in national politics, the side who doesn't have to explain their position usually wins.
I do think that agreeing to some coastal drilling now is de minimis as for two reasons:
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McCain tours nuke plant, renews call for nuclear power expansion in U.S.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain toured a nuclear plant in Michigan on Tuesday, using the opportunity to renew his call for the U.S. to build 45 new nuclear reactors by 2030. At the plant, McCain said that his love affair with nuclear power began when he encountered nuclear ships and submarines in the Navy. “I […]
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What’s the deal with Republican attacks on the tire gauge?
I’ve had a few pundit types ask me what the deal is with the kerfuffle over the tire gauge. What’s the attack here on Obama? That pumping your tires is elitist? That it’s unbefitting a commander in chief to recommend auto maintenance? Apparently Republican attacks have become so baroque that they are now impossible for […]