Barack Obama is ticking me off. First he opportunistically attacks Clinton for not being enthusiastic enough in her support for corn ethanol — which he knows perfectly well is an environmental dead end.
Then … this:
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said he does not support mining reform legislation that recently passed the House of Representatives and would work to find a compromise that is more friendly to the mining industry.
“The legislation that has been proposed places a significant burden on the mining industry and could have a significant impact on jobs (in rural Nevada) given the difficulties the industry is already facing in maintaining its operations,” Obama said during a conference call with Nevada reporters discussing his platform for rural Nevada.
For those who don’t know, the reform in question, sponsored by Nick Rahall (D-W.V.), would update the notorious Mining Law of 1872, which allows mining companies to pay little to no royalties to mine on public land.
Yeah, that’s the "significant burden on the mining industry" Obama’s lamenting — forcing them to pay royalties for use of public land like everyone else.
I get that candidates have to pander, but this is just egregious.
