CNN: Bush now wants fuel efficiency standards....

[liberaliraqvet26]

on vehicles, asking congress to write bill.

No im not kidding.

[MacDuff]

1. hello? Election year?

of COURSE he wants that now....talk is cheap

[xultar]

2. ...

:rofl:

I thought murkins didn't compromise.

[movonne]

3. I think I read earlier today that bush met with the top auto makers..so.

that makes me think that they will writer the new efficiency standards...

[rodeodance]

4. i really want to punch his lights!! dang, he makes me so angry

[Kolesar]

5. Democrats should be kicking ass on the energy issue, but I don't hear it

If somebody sees and example of Democrats addressing global warming, high prices or peak oil in a serious way, please let me know. One AG candidate in Ohio has been harping about natural gas price fixing, but he is the only Ohio candidate I hear doing anything on energy.

[Coastie for Truth]

13. The DEms are not kicking butt on CAFE

because they are afraid of the "Macomb County Reagan Democrats" (unemployed or frightened auto workers). Google or Wiki "Vincent Chin"

[Rose Siding]

18. Give an example of which dems aren't.

That might produce a more managable list. Of course there's Gore, and here are a few other recent examples-

Reid, Pelosi, Stupak, Higgins DeLauro
http://www.axcessnews.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=9249

Schumer, Emmanuel,Gillibrand
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--houserace0427apr27,0,6108906.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork

Rales
http://somd.com/news/headlines/articles/3683.shtml

Mikulsky, Pryor, Menendez
http://somd.com/news/headlines/articles/3679.shtml

http://www.newrules.org/de/

http://democrats.senate.gov/dpc/

Grey Davis' in CA was great on environmental issues, fat thanks he got for it. I'm sure if you're interested you could find more on the subject since it's one of the DNC's five highest priorities-

http://www.democrats.org/a/national/clean_environment/

[Kolesar]

29. Good enough to bookmark, but not serious enough

Reid's 60-day Moratorium on Gasoline Taxes is a gimmick and a bad idea.

Emmanuel is on-target attacking the recipients of petro-campaign-money: "Rep. Rahm Emmanuel, head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, dubbed Sweeney, R-Clifton Park, a Republican "crony of the week" for taking $25,000 from oil and energy interests. ". I wish all Democrats were clean of that source. Energy has such deep pockets that they can fund "everybody".

Rales is right about auto fuel economy. We don't need tax breaks for King Coal, though, and the term "clean coal" is Orwellian propaganda:

The plan calls for increasing mileage requirements for the U.S. auto fleet to 45 miles per gallon by 2016, requiring all new cars and light trucks to be flex-fuel capable by 2009 and increasing the Renewable Fuel Standard for ethanol to 1.35 million barrels per day by 2016. The plan also calls for investing an additional $45 billion in Federal research and development on clean coal and synfuel technologies over the next ten years to push us further toward energy independence.

Mikulski is right about windfall profit taxes. She is calling for summits on energy, but that does not mean she has a solution or an issue to campaign on.


The lead article in "new rules" on promoting ethanol is a bad idea. It is a giveaway to Archer Daniels Midland. We must start with reducing demand.

I have seen plenty of examples of Democrats thinking they are doing the right thing, and planning to get alternative energy sources. Sadly, most of them have not done their homework on energy policy and cannot distinguish between a solution and a tax-gimmick for Big Oil, agribusiness, and/or King Coal. Most Democrats have an unfounded fear of autoworkers and coal miners that keeps them paralyzed on efficiency programs. It is likely that bush took the presidency in 2000 because of fear-mongering among the West Virginia coal miners, all 20,000 of them. We need leadership to offer something to counter this incredible leverage the energy industry has. Ohio's presumptive Democratic nominee for governor in 2006 is unable to sort out this issue. Ohio has all of 2000 miners and Ted Strickland thinks they are a critical swing vote to win the governor's office.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

26. Hear it from where?

What are you listening/watching?

Mediawise?

[Rex]

6. The problem with that is it's to late.

Should have wanted this 6 years ago, Dimson. You can want anything and everything, but it is to late now. You LIHOP, so now must play the cards dealt to you. I want world peace, doesn't mean a thing.

[salin]

7. Let me guess - new rules to go into effect in 2020.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

8. But what about fighting standards for years as the...

...Republicans have prevented enactment of new CAFE(fuel economy) standards <http://www.arcticwildlife.org/alaskawild177.htm>

[creeksneakers2]

23. The GOP fought every effort at conservation

The GOPers always said that when oil runs low, the price will go up, and the market will take care of it. Now the market has gone up. I wish I heard Democrats saying this. Maybe they are and its just not being reported.

[tanyev]

9. Watch them write one and then he will veto it.

[magellan]

10. Fat lot of good that will do now!!

It's like drilling at ANWR -- that won't help for YEARS. (And in the case of ANWR the help for consumers will be extremely short-lived. The oil execs on the other hand will be set for life.)

Why won't the lying frat boy try helping the people of this country, NOW, just once?

[JerseygirlCT]

17. You know what?

better late than never. And it's been never since he's been in office.

He's totally transparent and insincere. I agree with you completely about that. But if we can use that to the advantage of the economy and the environment... not to mention to highlight his horrible shortcomings in the area of the environment... all to the good, I say.

[magellan]

21. We agree

I'm just outraged because Bush** obviously thinks that by doing this Americans will feel better about him. And I'm worried he's right. I'm sick of the "it doesn't bother me if it doesn't impact my wallet" attitude in the US. Children dying here and abroad every day -- part of a list of crimes a mile long that can be traced back directly to Bush**, and Americans are finally angry with him because they can't afford gasoline??

Fuel efficiency is a good thing. I'm just not willing to give the bastard any cred for doing what should have been done long ago.

[JerseygirlCT]

24. I hope people will realize he's doing this, kicking and

screaming, as a last resort.

And I hope the Dems push him to do much, much more than he wants to. Take him up on it, see his bet and raise it, if you will.

Then we'd get to see him really squirm.

[magellan]

28. I like the way you think

Not something I do well when I'm angry! But you're right, and I too hope the Dems will take the opportunity to hold Bush** to this promise and more. He could stand a mark in the "positive things I've done for the country as pResident" column, couldn't he? Besides the Do Not Call list, I mean. lol

[MGKrebs]

11. One side of me wants to accuse him of a 'cut and run"

against his supporters and his principles, but most of me knows that this is a win and I should be nice. Even for him to say such a thing is a giant improvement in progressive advocacy efforts, even if he is lying, because even then he is admitting the importance of it by pretending to advocate it.

You should all be proud of your role in applying constant pressure so that when the right moment arrived, when circumstances finally allowed it, the leader of the Neocon Death Cult recognized that there was an alternative to uncontrolled greed and destruction. (Either that or everyone he knows and everyone THEY know is now so fabulously wealthy that the voracious consumption of resources is no longer necessary or even entertaining.)


In any case we should give a shout out to the oil companies and some commodities traders for making this moment possible by being so greedy as to piss off even the greediest people who are not oil company executives or commodities traders. Thanks! We can always count on you to set the limits for repugnant citizenship!

[Danmel]

12. But conservation is for sissies

eom

[sendero]

14. Isn't it funny..

.... how we beg and plead and ask nicely for things that are so common-sense obvious only a fool would argue, and then years later some damn Republican acts like it's his freaking idea?

[0rganism]

15. Gas prices cutting into your base of support much, mr. bush?

Whatever happened to the "free market" setting all the rules, huh? Why are you suddenly so very interested in regulating like some damn hippy liberal socialist commie democrat? :hippie:

[JerseygirlCT]

16. I hope they take him up on it

call his bluff and ask for really high standards really soon.

There will be the usual problems from those with auto makers to worry about I suppose. But overall, we should just take this and run with it.

Look, the automakers are going to have to wake up to this sooner or later anyway. People WILL start demanding much better fuel efficiency. But having the standards in place will push things along much faster -- all to the good!

[0007]

19. cough cough, in 2008?

[PSPS]

20. To be achieved right after that mission to Mars.

[HuffleClaw]

22. translation: a nice hefty BAILOUT for the auto makers

to PAY for it.

[sakabatou]

25. I think Hell is having its first Winter Olympic games...

[kestrel91316]

27. Bush INVENTED fuel eficiency standards, silly. Didn't you

get the MEMO??????????????