Hidden Audio: Obama Tells SF Chronicle He Will Bankrupt Coal Industry

Newsbusters ^ | 11/02/2008 | P.J. Gladnick

[chessplayer]

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.

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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.

[Gator_that_eats_Dems]

Agreed. This is a real hot potato - it WILL make a difference in PA.

[Gator_that_eats_Dems]

And Ohio, Colorado and Wyoming. It should be run in any state that produces or depends on coal.

[longtermmemmory]

The link :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdi4onAQBWQ

the email list to send the link to:

360@cnn.com, a.latour@wsj.com, a.murray@wsj.com, abrams@msnbc.com, am@cnn.com, amhotshots@cnn.com, “Andrew Kalb Executive Director, Programming” , Andrew Sullivan , atc@npr.org, The Beltway Boys , The Big Story Weekend , Bob Herbert , brian.williams@msnbc.com, Bulls & Bears , byork@nationalreview.com, caffertyfile@cnn.com, campbellbrown@cnn.com, Cashin In , Cavuto on Business , Committee of Concerned Journalists , chris.matthews@msnbc.com, Chuck Todd , cnn.feedback@cnn.com, cnn.onair@cnn.com, cnn@cnn.com, cnnfutures@cnn.com, Colmes , comments@mclaughlin.com, countdown@msnbc.com, cristi.d.landes@abc.com, crossfire@cnn.com, Cynthia Tucker , darren.mcdermott@wsj.com, dateline@nbc.com, “David Remnick (the New Yorker)” , daybreak@cnn.com, DaySide , Institute for Public Accuracy , dlow@cnbc.com, eason.jordan@cnn.com, Ed Schultz , American Journalism Review , JOURNALISM WATCHDOG AGENCIES TO CONTACT FACTCHECK , Columbia journalism Review , elrushbo@eibnet.com, evening@cbsnews.com, FAIR , FOX News Live , FOX News Sunday , Forbes on FOX , foxreport@foxnews.com, FOX & Friends , gary.sheffer@ge.com, gretawire@fox.com, hannity@foxnews.com, hardball@msnbc.com, headlinenews@cnn.com, Heartland w/ John Kasich , “Heidi Oringer Executive Director, Entertainment” , hemmer@foxnews.com, hume@foxnews.com, “E.J. Dionne” , insidepoliticts@cnn.com, inthemoney@cnn.com, j.fry@wsj.com, jake.tapper@abc.com, “Jim Kane Deputy D.C. Bureau Chief” , FOX News Live w/ Jamie Colby , je@msnbc.com, jeff.greenfield@cnn.com, “Jeff Fitzgerald Executive Director, Operations” , The Journal Editorial Report , Jim Lehrer , joe@msnbc.com, Jon Newman News Coverage , C-SPAN Contacting C-SPAN’s Washington Journal , Joyce Alcantara Assignment Manager , late.edition@cnn.com, letters@charleskrauthammer.com, letters@msnbc.com, The New York Times Editors , Mark Halperin , lindamuller@buchanan.org, The Lineup , lisa.lanspery@ge.com, live@cnn.com, livefrom@cnn.com, livetoday@cnn.com, lookingout@cnn.com, loudobbs@cnn.com, Mark Ambinder , me@glennbeck.com, Mike Malloy , media matters , moneyline@cnn.com, morning@npr.org, The Big Story w/ John Gibson , netaudr@abc.com, newshour@pbs.org, newsnight@cnn.com, newsradio@abc.com, newstips@cnn.com, FOX News Watch , nightly@nbc.com, ontherecord@foxnews.com, The O???Reilly Factor , paulazahn@cnn.com, peter.salinger@abc.com, phil.griffin@nbc.com, podcast@cnn.com, primenews@cnn.com, question@cnn.com, race08@msnbc.com, Rachel Maddow , Randi Rhodes , renata.hopkins@ge.com, “Robert Garcia Executive Director, News & Sports” , Eugene Robinson , Special Report w/ Brit Hume , Stephanie Miller , steve.capus@nbc.com, steve.capus@nbcuni.com, Steve Clemons , stu@glennbeck.com, Studio B w/ Shepard Smith , t.cullen@wsj.com, Josh Marshall , Thom Hartmann , tina.cowles@cnn.com, today@nbc.com, tom.hannon@cnn.com, totn@npr.org, POLIFACT , ureport@foxnews.com, FOX News Specials , viewerservices@msnbc.com, wam@cnn.com, War Stories w/ Oliver North , “Wayne Fisk Director, Programming” , Howard Fineman , weekendlive@foxnews.com, wolf@cnn.com, world@msnbc.com, wsj.ltrs@wsj.com,

and

the transcript to include in email:

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.

[LucyT]

Thank you, WestCoastGal. Bringing this over from a similar thread:

Coal provides 50 percent of the electricity in America. It directly employs 81, 278 very hard working Americans.

By its nature, it supports a large portion of the United States economy.

And just for the record West Virginians (the country’s number 2 coal producing state), Governor Manchin, Senators Rockefeller and Byrd, and Representatives Rahall and Mollohan all endorsed the Presidential candidate that will devastate an industry.

26 coal producing states, 52 Major Coal Mining Companies, 81,278 Coal Miners

27 states produce coal. The major coal-producing states are (in descending order as of 2000, with annual production in thousands of short tons):

Wyoming (338,900).
West Virginia (158,257)
Kentucky (130,688)
Pennsylvania (74,619)
Texas (49,498)
Montana (38,352)
Illinois (33,444)
Virginia (32,834)
North Dakota (31,270)
Colorado (29,137)
Indiana (27,965)
New Mexico (27,323)
Utah (26,656)
Ohio (22,269)
Alabama (19,324)
Arizona (13,111)
Total United States: 1,437,174

[hecht]

wacist!!!!

[dila813]

They got to get this out as an ad right away.

The press isn’t reporting this, even now!

This has to go to Ohio, Virginia, and Pennsylvania

[unspun]

Digg This!
http://digg.com/business_finance/OBAMA_TELLS_S_F_HE_IS_WILLING_TO_BANKRUPT_COAL_INDUSTRY

Investigating Obama: Career Path Toward a Neo-Marxist Presidency
http://investigatingobama.blogspot.com - spread the word!! - spread the word!!

[word_warrior_bob]

If elected he’s willing to bankrupt the whole country.

Taxes?? It’s getting worse by the day with him, I can’t believe they’re admitting the 250K threshold is a lie.

Capital Gains - Raising those

Death Tax - Making a big comeback under Obama.

Real Estate - 28% Tax on all profits

Energy Policy - Recipe for disaster

GIRD YOUR LOINS!

I’ll be so relieved after we crush him Tuesday.

[Rick_Michael]

My impression is if we did this one of two things would happen...

1)Industries collapse.

2)Our economy struggles with energy for a long-time. Consumers pay high prices for a few decades....We eventually end that policy.

---

The chances of that happening....scary....close.

[dalebert]

we need to find a candidate for the next election right now so we are well prepared for the crap the dems will try to dump on this us. we may all have to go independent.

[Anti-Bubba182]

Lot’s of Coal mining in Pennsylvania......

[Parley Baer]

I have emailed the tape to everyone on my list and posted on a couple of web sites. Everyone needs to do the same for maximum exposure.

[Anti-Bubba182]

And this guy is a Senator from Illinois? Looks like a lot of coal on that map.

[Free America52]

It’s not just the coal miners that should be concerned. How about every employee of every electric company in the US? I live relatively close to two Duke Energy coal power plants, and there are hundreds of employees that would be impacted by “bankrupting” electric companies that use coal.

And on top of that, “electric costs naturally have to skyrocket” which means that every person in the country is impacted by this statement.

This is very damaging to Obama, especially on top of the other news items breaking in the last few days.

[meyer]

I think it would be rather interesting if, for 1 day (preferably a very hot day), electric utilities all over the country shut down all their coal-fired power plants. Of course, they’d have to shed a very sizeable portion of their customer load as well or risk a major, uncontrolled blackout. But I’d like to see how people, manufacturers, retailers, food processors, and everybody else would get along if more than 1/2 of the power production capability in this country were missing.

[meyer]

and just why isnt this getting legs

It is. Sarah Palin has been mentioning it in her campaign speeches in Ohio today, and at least one major coal executive in West-by Gawd-Virginia has made a rebuttal. It's getting around.

[WVDeerHunter]

“AMERICA’S COAL” deserves a Drudge Siren!

[Anti-Bubba182]

"....This is very damaging to Obama, especially on top of the other news items breaking in the last few days.."

Correction. It would be if people heard. I just saw it on the net myself.

[calex59]

It only came out this morning and Sarah already used it in one of her rallies in Ohio, and will surely use it during the one at 5:00, well I guess that one is over but I bet she used it. There is a video of Sarah's rally on CNN, about 17 minutes in she tells about this audio of Bozo and asks why it was hidden from the American public until now. She hammered Bozo.

I agree that an ad should be put out there in coal states as quickly as possible, but who knows, maybe one is making the rounds already!

[Jay777]

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