Hillary and Obama like peas and carrots.

[BobRossi]

Both beholdin' to corporate America:

"Last week, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton showed that despite efforts to build support with progressives suspicious of their close ties to corporate America, when it comes to real decisions and real votes, big business will often come first. This was reaffirmed when the two senators voted for an amendment to the energy bill offered by Montana Democrat Jon Tester that would have provided $200 million in grants and $10 billion in taxpayer loans for projects to turn regular old solid, black coal into new, shiny liquid coal to power cars and trucks. The coal companies love the idea, because replacing even 10 percent of gasoline with liquid coal would spur a 43 percent increase in coal mining, according to environmental groups. And proponents have tried to put coal liquefaction in the politically appealing framework of "energy independence" -- helping reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

Alas, there are a few problems. At the top of the list is the fact that turning solid coal into liquid fuel requires massive inputs of energy. Indeed, liquid coal currently produces double the greenhouse gas emissions that regular gasoline does. As the U.S. Public Interest Research Group's Ben Dunham noted to the Prospect, global warming -- which technologies like liquid coal will only accelerate -- will eventually melt some of the polar icecaps, leading to a 20 foot rise in sea levels inundating millions of acres of land across the globe. "Liquid coal would lead to liquid Florida, liquid Louisiana, and liquid low-lying areas around the world," Dunham said. (Full disclosure: U.S. PIRG formerly employed the author.)"

http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=flirting_with_liquid_coal

[Tellurian]

1. Obama is very beholding...he's a Co-sponsor of the Coal Amd., Hillary is NOT!

from the OP:

"But Obama recently backed off his support for liquid coal after the environmental movement and the media shined an unwelcome spotlight on his him. After weeks of abuse from environmentalists, he issued a "clarification" that he would support only coal to liquids projects that met the kind of standards laid out in the Tester amendment. That won him praise from the environmental movement, but his vote on the Tester amendment has only revived the criticism that he's too willing to sacrifice the environment for home-state polluters. (Obama also voted for Bush's heavily polluting 2005 energy bill, largely because of the subsidies it included for the ethanol grown in Illinois).

[mckeown1128]

4. Obama issued a clarification because people like

you completely misidentify his position. He and Hillary are exactly the SAME on this issue. They both support Liquid coal with/if environmental protections are in place... sorry but there is no difference between sponsoring a bill and voting on a bill.

[churchofreality]

2. How does one get elected without funds?

The fact is, our politicians have to play ball in the system we have or else. Until the system is completely blown up, we are stuck with it. I'd rather our candidates get some of the money and actually GET ELECTED.

[Tellurian]

3. I'm not understanding your post..

Obama is a chief proponent of the Coal Bill and has a vested interest in the State of Illinois, as having one of the largest coal deposits in the US.

Sen Clinton's role is as an advocate for Clean Renewable Energy and a Strategic Energy fund used for investing in Clean Energy Technology. There is a huge difference in their advocacy positions.

here:

http://www.clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=269765

[churchofreality]

5. People go after Hillary because they think she is beholden

to certain groups like Pharma, etc. All I'm saying is that I don't care where she gets the money from. I trust that she will do the right thing when she gets in. I look at it this way, its like Vegas, the corporations are going to give one way or the other, they happen to be giving to the dems because the odds are in the dems favor. Doesn't mean they will get whatever they want from the dem if she gets elected.

[zulchzulu]

6. So...get rid of coal, which is nearly 50% of how we get electricity?

And, um..., completely ignore CTL technology?

Do you even understand CTL technology at all? I know...it's easy to say we need to just use hydropower, solar and biofuels, but it's a wee bit more complicated than that. And it has nothing to do with candidates aligning with capitalism...unless you think presidential candidates should say that capitalism sucks...

[PBass]

7. Did Obama vote YES on the Bankruptcy bill? Did any Dem candidate vote NO on that? (NT)

[karynnj]

8. Obama and Hillary voted no on the bankrupcy bill in 2005

(Hillary only voted on the cloture vote - but that was the important vote. The actual vote was going to pass if cloture was evoked.) However, Hillary DID vote for the 2001 bankrupcy bill - that was similar.

[wyldwolf]

9. But I thought Tester was this great big ol' progressive?

I've told you guys from the start. Tester is a centrist and Obama is Hillary with a penis and a tan.