Posted on 08/15/2012 6:19:19 AM PDT by Kaslin
With only the formality of the Republican National Convention standing between them and the November election, the “Comeback Team” of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan has a little less than three months in which to convince a majority of the American electorate it is better equipped to govern the country for the next four years than its Democrat counterpart. If these two Republican leaders wish to get a jump start on accomplishing that goal, there is one person with whom they quickly should set up an appointment – Texan T. Boone Pickens.
Romney noted in his speech last Saturday at which he announced Wisconsin Rep. Ryan as his vice-presidential running mate, that working to achieve “North American energy independence” was one of the top priorities of his campaign. Words, of course, are important; but if in fact the GOP presidential candidate is serious about accomplishing that goal, he should waste no time in scheduling a trip to Dallas and visit with Pickens.
Such a move would not only underscore the Republican Party’s commitment to developing a comprehensive national energy policy, but demonstrate it understands what it will take to do so. This would show also that the GOP standard bearers are not afraid to seek the assistance of those who truly understand what a winning energy strategy will entail.
Drawing a clear difference with the current administration on energy policy will not be difficult for the Romney-Ryan team.
During his first four years in office, President Obama has done nothing to move America closer to energy independence. In fact, the current administration’s drive toward the mirage of “green energy” -- as exemplified by the multi-hundred million dollar Solyndra scandal - - coupled with its heavy-handed regulatory edicts, has made us more rather than less dependent on foreign energy sources. Even Obama’s legislative failures – most notably the “cap and trade” proposal he championed prior to losing his Party’s majority in the House of Representatives two years ago -- would have worsened our energy- dependent position.
Stacked up against the Obama Administration’s failed energy policy – the U.S. now imports some 60% of the oil we use -- the Romney-Ryan team has an excellent opportunity to seize the initiative on this one aspect of federal policy that could not only assist in turning around the economy, but help secure economic stability for generations.
And there is no need for the Republicans to reinvent the wheel in this regard. Pickens has mapped it out for them. In the past four years, this legendary Texas entrepreneur has crisscrossed the country touting the need to develop alternate energy sources. The “Pickens Plan” provides a workable blueprint for unleashing the potential of resources sitting untapped inside the United States’ borders; at the same time offering diversity in sources of energy that could be utilized to keep the economy thriving.
As Pickens has noted, the U.S. currently relies heavily on oil produced by OPEC nations. According to a report by the Congressional Research Service in April, the United States spent “$327 billion on net oil imports in 2011.” Especially when considered in the context of the $1 trillion budget deficit the federal government will rack up this fiscal year, our reliance on foreign oil serves neither our national security nor our economic interests. It only empowers our allies-of-convenience and our potential adversaries in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Is the Pickens Plan perfect? No. Would its author insist on rigid adherence to every jot and tittle as the price for helping the GOP craft and articulate a workable and comprehensive energy independence platform to present to the voters over the course of the coming campaign? Of course not; Pickens is too good a businessman to make such a demand.
A sit-down with Pickens would be a session from which both Romney and Ryan would emerge with a deeper understanding of the true cost of continuing the energy-policy status quo. More important, they would be learning from a man who has been phenomenally successful since the 1950s in identifying and implementing real solutions to the energy needs of American businesses and consumers.
Go ahead. Call Pickens. It could be one of the most important calls of the entire campaign.
Wasn’t this guy(Pickens) pushing wind energy a little while ago?
Yeah, and the subsidies needed to go with it. (He called it a taxpayer investment or the ever popular “Public private partnership”.
Right. Might want to call in Warren Buffett if you are going to seek the advice of crony capitalists!
I agree. When expert advise is needed you don’t go to the nearest fortune teller.
Pickens is shilling a lot for NG these days as he is all in on it. I like Boone, made a lot of money following him in the 80s especially. Given our NG surpluses and its potential use as an independent energy source for the US, having him on the team or even as an advisor would be a good move. He would be the perfect foil to Obama’s accedemic crowd running the energy department and looking for a rabbit hole “clean” energy source in the middle of the proverbial ocean.
Romney has to be careful here though because if he begins touting Pickens, he will get clobbered with the rich are for the rich crap that is spewing out of the Obama camp. Of course having someone with on the ground skills verses some pie in the sky theorist who has gotten nowhere would make for a wonderful stage to exhibit more of Obama’s incompentence.
Right. And put Ted Turner in charge of the FCC.
T Boone pushes what is best for T Boone whether it is subsidies for the wind farms he used to own or for natural gas vehicles that would increase demand for the natural gas supply he owns.
I have tons of respect for people like Pickens and Trump but they are so used to their money making things happen that the real world of politics frustrates them and they “vote” their pocket too much.
T-Boone’s natural gas plan for motor fuels would sure help. The biggest problem is so few CNG fueling stations.
Obviously we, and maybe the whole world, has plenty of natural gas. US Natural gas production is so high its driven the price through the floor.
No thank you.
Four years ago he campaigned for thousands of government subsidized windmills in Texas and sought billions of dollars in government subsidies to build the power lines to carry the electricity.
Whoops, never mind...
Two years ago he changed his mind completely.
Then he decided he wanted billions in government subsidies to convert commercial truck engines to run on natural gas and billions more in government largess to build gas pipelines and fueling stations.
The guy is like Newt Gingrich...
A serial fantasist.
Every time he [they] hear an interesting technology idea, he goes on TV and dreams out loud until financial and engineering reality laughs him out of town.
no way, t.boone is corrupt. He favor tax payers subsiding green energy esp his company
Picken’s Wind Power push got killed because of insufficient electric transmission lines from Texas Panhandle and natural gas making electricity much cheaper and more reliably than wind.
I have come to the conclusion that T. Boone Pickens is only another opportunist looking for tax dollars to fund his ventures.
t-boon was once asked in an interview if he would invest in wind energy without government and he answered that there must be government or he wont invest in it. t-boon is like those wall street bankers right now demanding taxpayers guarantee mortgages, so if heads bankers win, tails taxpayers loses.
Yes, and not only that, the timing of his ads seemed to be a direct rebuttal to “Drill here, drill now.” I certainly got the impression that Pickens was campaigning for Obama.
Upon learning he had no transmission access, Pickens cancelled his order and struck a deal with GE to quietly market all those wind turbines to other buyers so as not to have a public squabble, lawsuits, and a massive turbine inventory in storage.
Wind Energy Development 101: FAIL
He’s a loose cannon - only out for his best interests. Which is fine... but to be part of a campaign, you have to be out for the candidate’s best interests.
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