Posted on 12/01/2015 3:36:47 PM PST by Isara
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| U.S. Sen Ted Cruz gives a speech at the Iowa Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 24, 2015. (Photo by Rebecca Miller) |
The latest sign of that arrived Tuesday, when ethanol supporters announced an ad campaign against the Republican presidential candidate accusing him of favoring the oil industry — a major part of the economy in his home state of Texas — over farmers in the first-in-the-country caucus state. The offensive, launched by the group America's Renewable Future, centers on Cruz's unapologetic opposition to the Renewable Fuel Standard, a popular measure in the Hawkeye State that sets a minimum amount of biofuels that must be blended into the gasoline supply.
"Politicians like Ted Cruz support subsidies for Big Oil, but want to end support for ethanol," says a 60-second radio ad that brands the senator a "hypocrite." "Cruz backs policies that threaten rural Iowa and thousands of jobs."
The campaign also includes digital advertising, direct mail and the creation of a group named Farmers Against Cruz, according to America's Renewable Future. Majda Sarkic, a spokeswoman for the group, described its anti-Cruz efforts as an initial "six-figure" investment.
Cruz's campaign did not immediately have a comment on the effort, which claims the senator is being influenced by "personal investments of up to $700,000 in oil" as well as $25 million in donations to his allied super PACs from oil interests.
"Cruz owes Iowans an explanation and the truth," Annette Sweeney, a farmer who co-chairs America's Renewable Future, said in a statement. “In the meantime, we have an obligation to the 50,000 caucus-goers who have pledged to caucus for a pro-RFS candidate to let them know that Ted Cruz is dangerous.”
Cruz criticized the standard as recently as Monday night in Iowa, where he was wrapping up a three-day, 14-stop tour of the state. After a town hall in Bettendorf, Cruz denounced the Obama administration's move earlier in the day to increase the amount of ethanol in the American gasoline supply, reiterating his belief the government should not be "picking winners and losers."
Cruz has not shied from his stance on the mandate, which he has described as "corporate welfare." That stance was most evident during a forum this year in Iowa, where he bluntly stated his opposition to the standard, winning some applause from an audience largely made up of ethanol backers.
Cruz regularly brings up the episode when asked about
"Look, I recognize this is a gathering of a lot of folks who the answer you'd like me to give is, 'I'm for the RFS, darn it.' That'd be the easy thing to do," Cruz said at the Iowa Ag Summit in Des Moines. "But I'll tell you, people are pretty fed up, I think, with politicians that run around and tell one group one thing, tell one group another thing, and then they go to Washington and they don't do anything they said they would do." the mandate on the campaign trail in Iowa, saying it shows how he is willing to stick to his principles even in unfriendly settings. He has also used it to differentiate himself from his GOP rivals, claiming that every other Republican at the event embraced the mandate, including some who had previously opposed it.
"Yet when they were all on that stage, somehow they magically did a back flip and turned around and they were for it," Cruz said in October during a stop in Rockwell City, Iowa.
The anti-Cruz campaign comes as he appears to be emerging as a frontrunner in Iowa's Feb. 1 caucuses. Sarkic said the group announced the effort Tuesday partly because of the Environmental Protection Agency's approval a day earlier of a fuel standard for next year that ups the amount of ethanol in the gasoline supply but fell short of producers' expectations.
Here is why we have ethanol mandates.
He’s got the right enemies.
“Cruz’s unapologetic opposition to the Renewable Fuel Standard”
I applaud Senator Cruz for that. Ethanol is nothing more than a payoff to the corn producing states. Iowa being the first in the nation to choose a candidate has alot to do with it.
Okay...
Ted Cruz has integrity. “Republicans” who like ethanol subsidies don’t.
In a nutshell this defines the battle for American government. Politicians who tell the truth versus politicians who say whatever they think the current crowd wants to hear. Limited government that promotes freedom versus strong government picking winners and losers.
That’s a great fight to pick, because ethanol is a loser.
Costs more to produce than gas.
Bad for engine life.
More pollutants per mile, because the mileage sucks.
we don need no stinkin ethanol!
Cruz must be feeling pretty good about Iowa to come out against Ethanol mandates.
Cruz is right on the issue and Trump, who has the exact opposite position, is wrong.
Trump took the position of political opportunist while Cruz stood on principle.
Trump is for ethanol big league.
@realDonaldTrump says “a very strong yes†to the renewable fuel standard. “I am totally in favor of ethanol 100 percent†#ffcdinner
And here’s the video of Trump announcing that he will support the ethanol mandate. He called ethanol “terrific.â€
Read more at http://rare.us/story/this-presidential-candidate-just-came-out-in-favor-of-the-ethanol-mandate/#pm6GrxY3aK1pL5lT.99
I agree with Cruz on this and he is the first candidate I’ve been excited about in many years. I am curious about your list though. The first is very probably true. What evidence is there of engine life problems? What pollutants are more common with ethanol vs octane?
These hucksters put their own financial gain ahead of the well being of the nation. It’s worse than dragging a hundred dollar bill through an Arkansas trailer park.
He’s saying because your car gets worse mileage with ethanol, you’re spewing more pollution because you have to burn some more gallons to make the same trip.
I say let ‘em “grow” all the ethanol they want - but kill the subsidy and let the market play out.
And that’s why I back Cruz!
Which ‘pollutant?’ If one considers CO2 a pollutant than the 12.6 lbs of CO2 from a gallon of ethanol is a lot less than the 19.6 lb from a gallon of octane (and associated CxH(2x_2)). Even if you took a 20% MPG hit for ethanol it still isn’t worse.
Running vehicles on ethanol rather than petrol can increase ground-level ozone pollution, according to a study of fuel use in Sao Paulo, Brazil.Ozone (O3) is a major urban pollutant that can cause severe respiratory problems. It can form when sunlight triggers chemical reactions involving hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emitted by vehicles.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ethanol-fuels-ozone-pollution/
The State of Iowa has hired the two biggest K Street Lobbyist.
They hired one for the Republicans and one for the Democrats.
It is not like the actual Big Corn hired them, it is the State of Iowa that has hired them.
The corn producers don’t even have to pay for their own lobbyist.
Absolutely. For some things (switchgrass? sugar beets?) it might actually work economically. Either way its something the govt should stay out of. I’m glad to have a major candidate with enough sense not to pander to such intervention.
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