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Democrats claim Republicans want to sell TVA. The Annointed One wants to closed it down, or at least the coal fired plants.

Hidden Audio: Obama Tells SF Chronicle He Will Bankrupt Coal Industry
Imagine if John McCain had whispered somewhere that he was willing to bankrupt a major industry? Would this declaration not immediately be front page news? Well, Barack Obama actually flat out told the San Francisco Chronicle (SF Gate) that he was willing to see the coal industry go bankrupt in a January 17, 2008 interview. The result? Nothing. This audio interview has been hidden from the public...until now. Here is the transcript of Obama's statement about bankrupting the coal industry (emphasis mine):

Let me sort of describe my overall policy.

What I've said is that we would put a cap and trade system in place that is as aggressive, if not more aggressive, than anybody else's out there.

I was the first to call for a 100% auction on the cap and trade system, which means that every unit of carbon or greenhouse gases emitted would be charged to the polluter. That will create a market in which whatever technologies are out there that are being presented, whatever power plants that are being built, that they would have to meet the rigors of that market and the ratcheted down caps that are being placed, imposed every year.

So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted.
That will also generate billions of dollars that we can invest in solar, wind, biodiesel and other alternative energy approaches.

The only thing I've said with respect to coal, I haven't been some coal booster. What I have said is that for us to take coal off the table as a (sic) ideological matter as opposed to saying if technology allows us to use coal in a clean way, we should pursue it.

So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can.
It's just that it will bankrupt them.

Amazing that this statement by Obama about bankrupting the coal industry has been kept under wraps until this time.
UPDATE: NewsBusters' Tom Blumer has found out that the San Francisco Chronicle story published on January 18 based upon this January 17 interview did not include any mention of Obama's willingness to bankrupt the coal industry which you can hear on the audio. You can read the story here when you scroll down to the "In His Own Words" section. Way to cover up for The One, SF Chronicle!

Listen to Obamasan, in his own words.

Link
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IP Jones named to Obama Clean Coal Jobs Task Force
WASHINGTON D.C., SEPT. 29 — The Obama-Biden campaign announced last week the creation of a Clean Coal Task Force aimed at furthering Sen. Obama’s and Sen. Biden’s commitment to creating jobs and energy independence through clean coal. Boilermakers International President Newton B. Jones will be a member of the Task Force, which includes leaders representing workers from key coal-producing states. The group will work to promote the Obama-Biden agenda to invest in advanced coal-based technologies, create more jobs in the coal sector and enhance mine safety.

The Task Force also joins Sen. Obama and Sen. Biden in supporting the Senate energy package being debated this week that would offer $1.5 billion in investment in clean coal and call on Sen. McCain to do the same. According to the Congressional Quarterly, McCain has refused to embrace this proposal to invest in clean coal and carbon sequestration and make big oil pay its fair share.

"Senator Obama has represented a coal-producing state and understands its importance in powering our economy and increasing our energy independence,” said Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland. “Ohio's future in coal production is bright under an Obama/Biden Administration, which will support the creation and deployment of clean coal technology and create new jobs.”

"Sen. Barack Obama is from a coal state and clearly understands the long-term role coal can play in our nation’s energy future,” said United Mine Workers Pres. Cecil Roberts. “He has pledged to fund development of CCS technology so that it can be deployed as soon as possible. He has said that America is the ‘Saudi Arabia of coal’ and that we ought to be working as hard as we can to figure out how to use it for decades to come."

Members of the Clean Coal Jobs Task Force:
Rep. Rick Boucher, VA
Sen. Sherrod Brown, OH
Sen. Robert Casey, PA
Newton B. Jones, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers President
Gov. Ed Rendell, PA
Cecil Roberts, United Mine Workers President
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, WV
Gov. Brian Schweitzer, MT
Gov. Ted Strickland, OH
Rep. Charlie Wilson, OH
Obama and Biden on Clean Coal:
Develop and Deploy Clean Coal Technology. Carbon capture and storage technologies hold enormous potential to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions as we power our economy with domestically-produced and secure energy. As a U.S. Senator, Obama has worked tirelessly to ensure that clean coal technology becomes commercialized. An Obama administration will provide incentives to accelerate private-sector investment in commercial-scale, zero-carbon coal facilities. In order to maximize the speed with which we advance this critical technology, Barack Obama and Joe Biden will instruct DOE to enter into public private partnerships to develop five “first-of-a-kind” commercial-scale, coal-fired plants with carbon capture and sequestration.

Obama Sponsored an Amendment Supported by Biden To Add $200M For Carbon Capture And Sequestration Technology In Senate’s FY 2008 Budget. Obama was the chief sponsor of an amendment to the 2008 Senate Budget resolution that added $200 million for Function 270 (Energy) for the demonstration and monitoring of carbon capture and sequestration technology by the Department of Energy. [SA 599 to SCR 21, Agreed to by Unanimous Consent, 3/23/07]

Biden Proposed Energy Plan That Would Invest In Technologies To Use Coal More Cleanly. In 2007 Biden proposed an energy plan — “Joe Biden supports more than $50 billion in new incentives for research into: alternative fuel and energy sources, renewable energy technology, nuclear waste management and safety, and carbon capture and sequestration technologies that could allow us to use coal cleanly.” [Biden for President Press Release, 11/20/07]

Paid for by the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Campaign Assistance Fund, [phone: (703) 560-1493] and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
Here is more on John McCain and coal
Link
The Real McCain Record on Coal
Think John McCain's supports coal? Think again:
"I would not disagree that with you that in a perfect world we would like to transition away from coal entirely."
John McCain, at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Sept. 21, 2000.

That was just the beginning.

In January, 2003 McCain wrote and introduced cliimate change legislation into Congress, Senate Bill 139, "The Climate Stewardship Act of 2003." An analysis done by the U.S. Energy Information Administration in May, 2004 said:

"Under S. 139 (McCain's bill), the reductions in U.S. coal production...are estimated to be 14 percent in 2010 and 78 percent in 2025."


That bill didn't pass the Congress, thankfully. But McCain wasn't finished working over the coal industry.

In 2007, McCain introduced yet another climate change bill, Senate Bill 280. This time he took aim at coal production east of the Mississippi River, especially in Appalachia.

An analysis of McCain's 2007 legislation by the Environmental Protection Agency showed that the bill called for a cut in Appalachian coal production for electricity generation by 30 percent by 2025.


So now that he's running for President and needs votes wherever he can get them, we're supposed to believe John McCain really supports coal miners?

Come on.

This portion of the UMWA website is paid for by the Coal Miners Political Action Committee (UMWA COMPAC), 8315 Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA 22031; and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
If OBAMA aka...A JOKE becomes president then GOD help us! Talk about national security? It will be a sad day for AMERICA... The people that want to see OBAMA win the election may get what they deserve. God is still in control and on His Throne, but they continue to ask for what they want! They may soon get it! God is a loving God but sometimes He has to show us that He knows better. Please pray before you go to vote on Tuesday. Pray for our country and its leaders. Our land needs God.... change you can BELIEVE IN!!! Trust in HIM and everything else will take care of itself. Jer. 29:11
quote:
Originally posted by LMM:
Ahan, your article is from Sept, 2007.. Obama's comments are from Jan 2008. Guess which one I believe?

McCain wants to move away from dirty coal as a primary production source and go to alternatives, Obama wants to bankrupt them.
Not equal.


Come on....... if my article was from 30 seconds ago I still know which one you would believe. I may be a baby to some of you but I sure wasn't born yesterday. My family lives on coal power.............go figure!
UPDATE @ 1:50pm
West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin appeared on CNBC Monday to discuss the coal controversy.

Governor Manchin says he believes Obama's statements were taken out of context.

Manchin also says he believes "West Virginia is going to be the sleeper for Barack Obama." He believes Obama could win the state in Tuesday's election and that he will be our next President.

He says Obama is the better man to help the nation's struggling economy.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil E. Roberts issued the following statement:

"Sen. John McCain and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, have once again demonstrated that they are willing to say anything and do anything to win this election. Their latest twisting of the truth is about coal and some comments Sen. Obama made last January about the future use of coal in America.

Here what the McCain campaign left out of Sen. Obama’s actual words: ‘But this notion of no coal, I think, is an illusion. Because the fact of the matter is, is that right now we are getting a lot of our energy from coal. And China is building a coal-powered plant once a week. So what we have to do then is figure out how can we use coal without emitting greenhouse gases and carbon. And how can we sequester that carbon and capture it.'

Sen. Obama has been consistent with that message not just in the coalfields, but everywhere else he goes as well. Despite what the McCain campaign and some far right-wing blogs would have Americans believe, Sen. Obama has been and remains a tremendous supporter of coal and the future of coal.

I noted that Sen. McCain even went so far yesterday as to say he has always been a supporter of coal. I wonder, then, how he can justify his statement at a Senate hearing in 2000 that, ‘In a perfect world we would like to transition away from coal entirely,’ and his leading role in sponsoring legislation in 2003 that would have wiped out 78 percent of all coal production in America?

Fortunately, UMWA members, their families and their friends and neighbors in the coalfields know all too well what is going on here. They’re not going to fall for it, and we urge others throughout America who care about coal to review what the candidates’ records on coal actually are. We are confident that once they do, and once they see the many other benefits to working families of voting for Sen. Obama, they will make the right choice for themselves and their families."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- With only hours before election day, coal has become a major topic of Decision 2008.

Sunday, comments resurfaced from a taped interview Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama did with the San Francisco Chronicle in January.

In the interview, which has been available online for months, Obama talks about the importance of coal. He went on to talk about his cap and trade proposal to help curb global warming.

"If somebody wants to build a coal power plant they can, it's just that it will bankrupt them because they are going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted," Barack Obama said to the San Francisco Chronicle in January.

The campaign for Republican presidential candidate John McCain jumped on those comments today and is already sending out taped phone messages to voters in Ohio.

Campaigning in Marietta today, McCain's running mate Sarah Palin mentioned the Obama comments.

"He said that, sure, if the industry wants to build coal-fired power plants, then they can go ahead and try, he says, but they can do it only in a way that will bankrupt the coal industry, and he's comfortable letting that happen. And you got to listen to the tape," Sarah Palin said.

The Obama campaign says the quote is being taken out of context and that Obama is actually from a coal state and is a strong supporter of the industry.

The campaign sent a statement today saying "the point Obama is making is that we need a transition from coal burning power plants built with old technology to plants built with advanced technologies."

Monday, the San Francisco Chronicle pointed out the interview has been available on its website since January. It was critical of blogs which claimed the audio was hidden until this point.

More information is provided in the link below.


Link
I have little doubt the audio was available and held in rserve by the Republicans -- so what?

United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil E. Roberts is an old line labor lord who makes his living off the union and his association with the Democrats.

Meanwhile: "Mike Carey, president of the Ohio Coal Association (OCA), today issued the following statement in response to just-released remarks from Senator Barack Obama about the nation's coal industry.

"Regardless of the timing or method of the release of these remarks, the message from the Democratic candidate for President could not be clearer: the Obama-Biden ticket spells disaster for America's coal industry and the tens of thousands of Americans who work in it.

"These undisputed, audio-taped remarks, which include comments from Senator Obama like 'I haven't been some coal booster' and 'if they want to build [coal plants], they can, but it will bankrupt them' are extraordinarily misguided.

"It's evident that this campaign has been pandering in states like Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana and Pennsylvania to attempt to generate votes from coal supporters, while keeping his true agenda hidden from the state's voters.

"Senator Obama has revealed himself to be nothing more than a short- sighted, inexperienced politician willing to say anything to get a vote. But today, the nation's coal industry and those who support it have a better understanding of his true mission, to 'bankrupt' our industry, put tens of thousands out of work and cause unprecedented increases in electricity prices.

"In addition to providing an affordable, reliable source of low-cost electricity, domestic coal holds the key to our nation's long-term energy security - a goal that cannot be overlooked during this time of international instability and economic uncertainty.

"Few policy areas are more important to our economic future than energy issues. As voters head to the polls tomorrow, it is essential they remember that access to reliable, affordable, domestic energy supplies is essential to economic growth and stability."

Link
Good job people getting upset about something that was said 10 months ago, Kudos for twisting it as well. Link

What he said was that if the power industry chooses to build plants with dirty coal technology he will bankrupt them due to the huge sum of greenhouse gas that's being created. In other words, build plants with CLEAN coal technology.

Seriously, stop relying on blogs for 'Bombshells' half the time its half baked information.
quote:
Originally posted by ryokurin:
Good job people getting upset about something that was said 10 months ago, Kudos for twisting it as well. Link

What he said was that if the power industry chooses to build plants with dirty coal technology he will bankrupt them due to the huge sum of greenhouse gas that's being created. In other words, build plants with CLEAN coal technology.

Seriously, stop relying on blogs for 'Bombshells' half the time its half baked information.


Its so nice to read a sensible comment on here! Kuddos! Wink
Show me where he says 'dirty' in this statement? He says 'if' technology exists, it does.
The only thing I've said with respect to coal, I haven't been some coal booster. What I have said is that for us to take coal off the table as a (sic) ideological matter as opposed to saying if technology allows us to use coal in a clean way, we should pursue it.

So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can.
It's just that it will bankrupt them.
quote:
Originally posted by LMM:
Show me where he says 'dirty' in this statement? He says 'if' technology exists, it does.
The only thing I've said with respect to coal, I haven't been some coal booster. What I have said is that for us to take coal off the table as a (sic) ideological matter as opposed to saying if technology allows us to use coal in a clean way, we should pursue it.

So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can.
It's just that it will bankrupt them.


Link

Here's the rest of the quote that is stripped out every time.

quote:
But this notion of no coal, I think, is an illusion. Because the fact of the matter is, is that right now we are getting a lot of our energy from coal. And China is building a coal-powered plant once a week. So what we have to do then is figure out how can we use coal without emitting greenhouse gases and carbon. And how can we sequester that carbon and capture it.’


Again, dont use blogs as the gospel. Research further. And as the United Mine Workers of America link shows, McCain has sponsored legislation that would have wiped out 78% of coal production in America and has said in 2000 "In a perfect world we would like to transition away from coal entirely."

The bottom line is that both are going to change the coal industry and transition to clean coal technologies.
"McCain says Union's out"
Anti-union business group endorses McCain
THE ANTI-UNION BUSINESS group, Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC), has endorsed John McCain for president. That should be no surprise, considering his anti-union positions listed on their brochure. Look for yourself. The statements given below are direct quotes from their publication.


Brochure (PDF, 124kb) gives many good reasons for Boilermakers to oppose McCain.
“John McCain opposes… Project Labor Agreements (PLAs).” PLAs have been successfully used to make construction projects run smoothly for over 60 years. They guarantee that basic terms and conditions for labor are established in advance. They include no-strike, no-lockout language and include both union and nonunion companies – and they stifle a contractor’s ability to pay substandard wages. By opposing PLAs, McCain supports substandard wages.

“John McCain believes the Davis-Bacon Act should be repealed.” The Davis-Bacon Act protects the wages of workers on projects financed with federal tax funds. Repealing Davis-Bacon would help nonunion contractors pay substandard wages and open the door wasteful spending. A University of Utah study showed that when Utah repealed its prevailing wage law, lower incomes reduced state income tax revenues by $4 million, while cost overruns on state-funded jobs more than tripled.

“John McCain supports anti-salting… legislation.” In the construction industry, salting refers to the union organizing tactic of hiring on to organize. Groups who want to rid the world of unions oppose salting because it works. By eliminating it, McCain would seriously harm our ability to organize the construction industry.

”John McCain believes that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) policies must be thoroughly reviewed to ensure it does not overburden American employers.” In 2006 (latest year for which BLS provides statistics), nearly 6,000 workers died as the result of injuries on the job – a rate of 4.0 per 100,000 workers. As terrible as that statistic is, in 1970, before OSHA began requiring employers to protect their workers, the fatality rate was more than four times as high. So OSHA works. Its programs have saved hundreds of thousands of lives and helped workers avoid millions of jobsite injuries and illnesses. But McCain wants to weaken OSHA, because sometimes those safety regulations reduce profits.

Visit these Web sites to learn more about McCain’s stated positions:

Link – the AFL-CIO’s Web site explaining his record and his proposals
therealmccain.com – featuring video footage using McCain’s own words and dramatizations about his proposals.
quote:
Originally posted by ryokurin:
Come on man, don't play dumb. It was sat on till the very last minute to sway union workers. Come to think about it, every time a post shutdowns one of your threads you tend to say how its irrelevant to the thread's content so this is typical.

It was 'hidden' by the SF chronicle for 10 months until a researcher found it looking for other stuff. That's why no one heard it till now. Blame the paper for hiding it.
Link

So hidden means that they didn't print it, yet they posted the audio. Link Google verifies the post date, January 27th.

What did I say about blogs?

And before you say they should have printed, they did November 3, here And google also shows where it was mentioned several times over the past few months.

No one sat on it, no one gave him a pass. It was a non issue until people were afraid of McCain losing, thus the last minute blitz.
Wait, I found it. Buried as deep as possible under opinions.
Where does it say on here Barack will shut down coals plants, listen?????
Oh,yes, Roll Eyes , they did their very best to bring this to light. BS!!!!!!!!!!!


The Opinion Shop breaking thoughts from the members of the San Franciso Chronicle Board



« Naomi Campbell the... | Main | John Diaz: Interview... »
An interview with Sen. Barack Obama
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., makes a point to Editor Phil Bronstein (left) and Editorial Page Editor John Diaz.

Andrew S. Ross/The Chronicle

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., makes a point to Editor Phil Bronstein (left) and Editorial Page Editor John Diaz.

Sen. Barack Obama fielded questions on a variety of topics -- including experience, subprime mortgage crisis, Iraq -- in meeting with The Chronicle's editorial board today. Meetings with candidates are an important component of the board's endorsement process. Here is a chance to see what we asked -- and how he answered. Our editorial board has also put out meeting requests with the other major candidates. Obama was the first to respond.

-- John Diaz, Editorial Page Editor

Here is the entire interview:
Listen: 48:33 min
(Download Audio 29.13 MB)

You can also listen to excerpts from the interview:

In this clip, Obama responds to a question about former President Clinton's reaction to a ruling that upheld Nevada caucus locations on the Las Vegas strip.
Listen: 2:29 min
(Download Audio 1.49 MB)

In this clip, Obama responds to a question about how to keep Iraq from imploding:
Listen: 12:54 min
(Download Audio 7.74 MB)

In this clip, Obama responds to a question about his ability to make tough decisions:
Listen: 5:22 min
(Download Audio 3.22 MB)

Posted By: Marcus Chan (Email) | January 17 2008 at 05:07 PM

Listed Under: Presidential Politics | Comments (29) : Post Comment

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