• ANWR,  Harry Reid,  John McCain,  President 2008,  Sarah Palin

    Sarah Palin Watch: Drill at ANWR

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    During “Citizen Weeds Warrior Kickoff,” Governor Palin signs HB 330 “Noxious Weeds & Invasive Plants” at Russian Jack Park in Anchorage, Alaska on June 17, 2008 while flanked by (back left) Rep. Craig Johnson and members of Civilians Against Noxious Weeds Invading the North (CANWIN).

    Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has sent a letter to Congress asking them to open a small portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) to oil and gas development.

    In a letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and key members of Congress, Governor Palin stressed the need to enact an energy policy that includes oil and gas production from domestic sources, since failure to enact a sound energy policy is having real-life consequences. The Governor reminded members of Congress that the footprint of development would be less than 2,000 acres. She also assured members that any development would be conducted in a responsible and environmentally safe manner.

    The letter is here.

    Damn, a conservative GOP leader who understands that oil and gas must be produced domestically to reduce our dependence on foreign sources.

    John McCain are you listening?

    A Vice President Sarah Palin would put your administration more in line with the Congressional GOP on oil exploration. How about modifying your stance on ANWR and then choose Palin as your VP?

    It would be a winning ticket.


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  • Arnold Schwarzenegger,  John McCain,  President 2008

    California Governor Schwarzenegger to Join Senator John McCain for Energy Efficiency and Conservation Discussion

    From the press release:

    9 AM: Governor Schwarzenegger To Join Senator McCain for Energy Efficiency and Conservation Discussion

    Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
    2559 Puesta Del Sol
    Santa Barbara, CA 93105

    Governor Schwarzenegger will join Senator and Republican Presidential Presumptive Nominee John McCain and other national leaders in national energy alternatives for a discussion on energy efficiency and conservation.

    The following panelists will be joining Governor Schwarzenegger and Senator McCain for this event:

    • James Woolsey, former CIA Director
    • Mike Feeney, Executive Director of the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County
    • Matt Tirrell, University of California at Santa Barbara Professor and Founder of the Institute of Energy Efficiency

    Flap will try to make it out to the event in the morning.

    Update:

    Flap has been credentialed and will make the trip to Santa Barbara tomorrow morning. The conference/discussion will begin at 9 AM PDT.

    Flap will LIVE Twitter the event and of course take plenty of photos. Follow Flap on Twitter (also on the right sidebar of FlapsBlog) and watch his Flickr Photostream.


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  • Hannah-Beth Jackson,  Tony Strickland

    Voter Demographics Favor Tony Strickland

    California Primary election June 3 2008 - Gallegly party 026

    Rep. Elton Gallegly talking with GOP California State Senate candidate, Tony Strickand and California Assemblywoman Audra Strickland, R- Moorpark, June 3, 2008. Photo by Flap

    Timm Herdt of the Ventura County Star has some interesting observations on the Tony Strickland vs. Hannah-Beth Jackson California Senate, District 19 race. Observations are derived from June primary election data.

    The total numbers were just about exactly what anyone should have expected. Strickland got 52 percent of all the votes cast districtwide. Given that Republicans have a 2 percentage-point advantage in voter registration and that a higher proportion of GOP voters typically turn out in primaries, a 4 percent margin sounds just about right. No anomalies in that margin to suggest that voters of either party are at this point unhappy with their nominee.

    A quick look inside the numbers shows the obvious challenge for both candidates: Strickland won the heaviliy GOP Ventura County portion of the district by 10,000 votes. Jackson won the Democratic-leaning Santa Barbara County portion of the district by 7,000 votes. But — and here’s something to keep in mind come November — the district also includes a small slice of Los Angeles County — a Republican stronghold in Santa Clarita in which Strickland got twice as many votes as Jackson. That L.A. County sliver could be decisive in the fall.

    Each candidate is going to have to work hardest in the other’s territory. And the general election will be decided by two factors: which candidate most of those decline-to-state voters who stayed home for the primary decide to support in November, and which party does the best job of jumping up its voter participation rates in the general election.

    The election is Tony Strickland’s to lose (he represented the majority of the 19th district in the California Assembly) and if fundraising is any measure of handicapping then Strickland definitely has the advantage. Strickland as of the last reporting period in May had already amassed a $200 K differential to Jackson.

    But, Democrat legislative leaders WILL transfer their massive war chests to Jackson since this race may be the ONLY competitive one in California this fall.

    • Will the Democrats attempt to campaign and turn out their demographic voters in Ventura County?
    • How will the popularity of Barack Obama and his motivated volunteers and donors affect the down ticket races?
    • Will John McCain’s popularity with independent voters drive more DTS (Declined to State) voters to the polls?
    • Or will a “DOWN” Republican year propel Jackson to victory?

    All are questions that will be answered soon.

    Stay tuned…….


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  • John McCain,  President 2008

    John McCain Watch: The Fresno Town Hall

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    John McCain’s prepared remarks at Fresno Town Hall:

    Thank you all very much. I appreciate the kind introduction from Jim Woolsey, and the warm welcome to Fresno State. I’m here to listen about energy issues as well as to talk. So let me just offer a few ideas before we begin our discussion.

    All across this state and nation, people are hurting because the price of gasoline is higher than it should be, and more than many folks can afford. Because of far-off events in the world oil market, a barrel of oil has more than doubled in a year. And the bad effects of that are spreading across our economy. The cost of business is rising, the cost of food and other essentials is rising, the whole cost of living is rising. What isn’t rising is the value of your paychecks and the rate of America’s economic growth. Back in the 1970’s, they used to call this “stagflation.” And it feels the same today, because the unwise policies of our government have left America’s energy future in the control of others.

    America imports about one third of its oil from Canada and Mexico and no one need worry about a reliance on friendly, stable neighbors, and partners in NAFTA. The Middle East and Venezuela are a different story. We import roughly a quarter of our oil from them, and they have a disproportionate impact on world prices. When we buy foreign oil from these and other sources, there are many consequences — all of them far-reaching and none of them good. Worst of all, by relying on foreign oil, we enrich bad actors in the world, some of whom finance terrorists.

    Some in Washington seem to think that we can still persuade OPEC to lower prices — as if reason or cajolery had never been tried before. Others have even suggested suing OPEC — as if we can litigate our way to energy security. But America is not going to meet this great challenge as a supplicant or a plaintiff. We are not going to meet it with words at all — we are going to meet it with action. We’re going to produce more, conserve more, and invent more. And to a large extent, this strategy hinges on innovations in the cars and trucks we drive.

    Ninety-seven percent of transportation in America runs on oil. And of all that oil, about 60 percent is used in cars and trucks. Yet the CAFE standards we apply to automakers — to increase the fuel efficiency of their cars — are lightly enforced by a small fine. The result is that some companies don’t even bother to observe CAFE standards. Instead they just write a check to the government and pass the cost along to you. Higher end auto companies like BMW, Porsche, and Mercedes employ some of the best engineering talent in the world. But that talent isn’t put to the job of fuel efficiency, when the penalties are too small to encourage innovation. CAFE standards should serve large national goals in energy independence, not the purpose of small-time revenue collection.

    Innovation in the use of alternative fuels in transportation presents the greatest opportunity for energy independence. At the moment, entrepreneurs and engineers are trying to figure out which among the various alternatives to oil works best. Alcohol-based fuels are the farthest along in both development and commercial use. Some, such as ethanol, are on the market now, and new sources of ethanol are on the horizon that will not require the use of so much cropland. Corn-based ethanol, thanks to the money and influence of lobbyists, has been a case study in the law of unintended consequences. Our government pays to subsidize corn-based ethanol even as it collects tariffs that prevent consumers from benefiting from other kinds of ethanol, such as sugarcane-based ethanol from Brazil. The result is that Americans take the financial hit coming and going. As taxpayers, we foot the bill for the enormous subsides paid to corn produ cers. And as consumers, we pay extra at the pump because of government barriers to cheaper products from abroad.

    Here’s a better way. Instead of playing favorites, our government should level the playing field for all alcohol fuels that break the monopoly of gasoline, lowering both gasoline prices and carbon emissions. And this can be done with a simple federal standard to hasten the conversion of all new vehicles in America to flex-fuel technology — allowing drivers to use alcohol fuels instead of gas in their cars. Brazil went from about five to over 70 percent of all new vehicles with flex-fuel capacity. It did all that in just three years. Yet those same automakers that helped Brazil make the change say it will take them longer to reach the goal of 50 percent new flex-fuel vehicles for America. But I am confident they can do more, and do it faster, in the interest of our energy security. And if I am elected president, they will. Whether it takes a meeting with automakers during my first month in office, or my signature on an act of Congress, we will meet the goal of a swift conversion of American vehicles away from oil.

    At the same time, smart policy can also help to broaden the market for energy-efficient cars. Right now we have a hodgepodge of incentives for the purchase of fuel-efficient cars. Different hybrids and natural-gas cars carry different incentives, ranging from a few hundreds dollars to four grand. They’re the handiwork of lobbyists, with all the inconsistency and irrationality that involves.

    My administration will issue a Clean Car Challenge to the automakers of America, in the form of a single and substantial tax credit based on the reduction of carbon emissions. For every automaker who can sell a zero-emissions car, we will commit a 5,000 dollar tax credit for each and every customer who buys that car. For other vehicles, whatever type they may be, the lower the carbon emissions, the higher the tax credit. And these large tax credits will be available to everyone — not just to those who have an accountant to explain it to them.

    Furthermore, in the quest for alternatives to oil, our government has thrown around enough money subsidizing special interests and excusing failure. From now on, we will encourage heroic efforts in engineering, and we will reward the greatest success.

    I further propose we inspire the ingenuity and resolve of the American people by offering a $300 million prize for the development of a battery package that has the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars. This is one dollar for every man, woman and child in the U.S. — a small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil dependency — and should deliver a power source at 30 percent of the current costs.

    My friends, energy security is the great national challenge of our time. And rising to this challenge will take all of the vision, creativity, and resolve of which we are capable. The good news is, these qualities have never been in short supply. We are the country of Edison, Fulton, and two brothers named Wright. It was American ingenuity that took three brave men to the moon and brought them back. Think of all the highest scientific endeavors of our age — the invention of the silicon chip, the creation of the Internet, the mapping of the human genome. In so many cases, you can draw a straight line back to American inventors, and often to the foresighted aid of the United States government.

    For all the troubles and dangers our energy vulnerability presents, we know that we can overcome them, because we have overcome far worse problems and met far greater goals. Together, we Americans can achieve anything we set our minds to. I believe this about our country. I know this about our country. And now it is time to show those qualities once again.

    Thank you.

    John McCain will be participating in an environmental forum in Santa Barbara, California tomorrow.


  • Barack Obama,  John McCain

    John McCain Watch: Four State Campaign?

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    Graphic courtesy of electoral-vote.com

    Clarence Claus makes the case for a four state campaign strategy for John McCain and the GOP to defeat Barack Obama.

    Looking at today’s electoral college map and the polls, those four states may not be enough.

    Flap says Missouri is another must win state for McCain besides Ohio, Florida and Michigan. Pennsylvania will have to be defended by Obama but REALLY is NOT in play.


  • John McCain

    Reminder: John McCain Town Hall at 10 AM PDT

    John McCain to adress California voters at a Fresno town hall at 10 AM PDT.

    The subject: Energy and National Security.

    John McCain will push on Monday for car makers to build more environmentally friendly vehicles, threatening new legislation if they do not comply and proposing tax breaks to encourage consumers to buy “cleaner” cars.

    “Whether it takes a meeting with automakers during my first month in office, or my signature on an act of Congress, we will meet the goal of a swift conversion of American vehicles away from oil,” he will say.

    The Arizona senator who has wrapped up his party’s White House nomination, will also propose tax incentives to prod Americans to buy vehicles that produce less pollution.

    “For every automaker who can sell a zero-emissions car, we will commit a $5,000 tax credit for each and every customer who buys that car,” he will say.

    “For other vehicles, whatever type they may be, the lower the carbon emissions, the higher the tax credit.”

    McCain will say that the existing financial penalties levied on car makers for not complying with fuel efficiency standards — known as U.S. Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) — are too low.

    Flap has the speech but it has been embargoed and will release it at 10.


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  • Barack Obama,  Bill Clinton,  Hillary Clinton

    Hillary Clinton Watch: The Obama Endorsement Means What?

    billclintonjune7

    Chelsea Clinton sits with her father, former US President Bill Clinton, as they listen to US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) speak at the National Building Museum in Washington June 7, 2008. Clinton endorsed presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) to be the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate on Saturday and suspended her own White House bid less than a week after the Illinois senator secured enough support to win the nomination

    Ed Morrissey outlines the lukewarm support of former President Bill Clinton for Barack Obama. The less than enthusiastic support for Obama’s environmental policy was decidely evident at the Mayor’s conference in Miami.

    Former U.S. President Bill Clinton offered faint praise for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s energy policy on Sunday, saying he preferred it to that of Republican rival John McCain.

    “I think we’ll get better national policy next year,” Clinton told the U.S. Conference of Mayors in a speech centered on improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gases.

    It was the former president’s first public appearance since his wife, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, ended her presidential campaign on June 7, after Obama emerged as the Democratic candidate in the November election.

    The former first lady endorsed Obama, urged her supporters to rally behind him and is scheduled to campaign with him later this week.

    But her husband has not publicly endorsed the presumptive Democratic nominee to succeed President George W. Bush. Asked by journalists when he might do so, Clinton smiled and shook hands with spectators without acknowledging he heard the question.

    And, why?

    Answer: The normal resentment – NOPE

    It is ALL about the money.

    With Obama opting out of public financing he cannot help Hillary and Bill retire her campaign debt which approaches $20 million, $10 million of which comes personally from the former first couple. Obviously, there has been discussion between the Obama and Clinton camps about the debt but there has been NO announcement of a deal.

    Watch for Hillary to twist in her support for Obama and press him later in the summer if Obama nor the Democrat Party comes to her and Bill’s financial rescue.

    Are the Clinton’s REALLY hoping for an Obama’ misstep to reclaim her candidacy in Denver?

    They will be patient.


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