Interesting article on Kerry and "Energy Independence".

[Bread and Circus]

http://www.apolloalliance.org/apollo_in_the_news/08_29_04_sandiegotri.cfm

If energy independence is of interest to you, check out www.apolloalliance.org. I think you will be impressed.

excerpt --

When I spoke with Michael Shellenberger, director of the Breakthrough Institute, headquartered in El Cerrito, and one of the key players in the alliance, I posed the possibility that Kerry was in danger of being dubbed Sen. Moonbeam – just as Jerry Brown's alternative ideas earned the sobriquet Gov. Moonbeam. "Tell that to the Reagan Democrats we polled in Pennsylvania," he said. "Our pollster couldn't believe the approval rating among likely voters – 72 percent when they were first introduced to the Apollo energy project idea, 74 percent when they learned more about it."

Among Democratic men with high school educations who were leaning toward Bush, 81 percent approved. "And people liked the size of the project – that was their No. 1 concern: make the program big enough to work."

end excerpt --

[Bread and Circus]

1. It's interesting that this gets no replies...

given that the whole Iraq war is about two things...Oil being one of them.

I thought DU'ers cared more about energy issues.

[RafterMan]

6. I care about it

His interest in this issue was why I liked Kerry in the beginning, though I cooled on him later for other reasons.

I've been disappointed that the times I've seen him mention it recently the message was more Saudi-bashing than energy-promoting.

And the 70+ percent numbers don't surprise me at all. I evangelize about this all the time, and everyone who hasn't thought of it themselves (and many have) think it's a great idea. It's sort of like BBV, with massive popular support -- even among non-politicals -- with clueless politicians the last to know and seemingly unwilling to ride the populist wave to its fullest.

I think Kerry could really capture people's imaginations with this but to do that, he has to get in front of popular sentiment, not just communicate a watered-down version of what people are already dreaming about.

[TheFarseer]

2. People are just looking for the easy way to win

this election, which is a scandal or a disaster in Iraq. I think the issue of energy independence is enough reason to vote Kerry by itself. I wish I knew more about it so I could speak intelligently about this issue. It's obvioulsy going to be one of the huge issues of the 21st century.

[slor]

3. This is a huge deal for me...

I thought he had fully embraced the Apollo project, and have been stunned that he does not sing its' praises every chance he gets. Kerry needs to promote this, and ignore whomever in his campaign says otherwise!

[Bread and Circus]

5. Acc'd to the article, he supports some of it....

Frankly, I think I might retire from DU GD and GD Election2004 and go the energy section of DU.

The centrism of the DLC has more to do w/ energy issues and less to do with moral Political weakness.

In other words the disease is our current energy state and the symptom is Bush. Removing Bush may make us feel better but it won't make things better in the long run.

We need to change the economy if we want to change the culture and the politics.

[Bongo Prophet]

4. I agree that Daring to Dream BIG is the thing

I think JK would do well by being more BOLD about some of the tings he is "sort of" supporting. Especially on energy issue. He is FAR better than the lying BFEE oil cartel, but to sell the VISION is what will move hearts and minds, not how he's framed it so far. And the challenge to get the frustratingly shallow and self-interested cable media to cover it, is an even more difficult issue.

I support him wholeheartedly, but still hope he can continue to improve from now to election and beyond. He has the intelligence and heart, but just needs to work the cadence and somehow express Vision in a soundbite short attention span world.

Apollo Alliance is now bookmarked, so that I can read more. Thanks!