Posted on 12/11/2015 11:57:00 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Donald Trump attacked Ted Cruz for not supporting ethanol subsidies. He said in Iowa on Friday, "Oil companies give him a lot of money, so he's for oil."
The thing about oil and gas is, it doesn't require big subsidies, because it's the cheapest and most efficient form of fuel for cars. Ethanol, on the other hand, does require big government subsidies, because it is highly uneconomical. Ethanol is much more expensive than oil and gas and, gallon for gallon, produces much less energy than gasoline. That's why the government has to hand over billions in subsidies to big agri-businesses to keep it going. And that's also why the government has to force oil companies to blend ethanol in with their fuels. Because without government coercion, oil companies wouldn't do it, and the price of gasoline would be substantially lower than it is now.
Additionally, ethanol actually acts as a corrosive on car engines. It slowly degrades car parts over time.
But the worst thing about ethanol is that not only does it require taxpayer subsidies, and not only does it raise the price of blended gas, but it also raises the price of many different kinds of foods. Ethanol is made with corn - a lot of it. And when a lot of corn production is diverted to ethanol, there is less corn available to use for food. Corn is heavily used as a sweetener in many food products. By raising the price of corn, the price of many different kinds of foods are raised.
That is what subsidizing ethanol gives us. That is what Donald Trump is for and Ted Cruz is against. Ted Cruz is starting to lead in some Iowa polls, and he's doing it without this kind of pandering...
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
“The entire ethanol industry is a product of government coercion. Without subsidies, it ceases to exist.”
Absolutely right, Finny. This is a legitimate way to draw blood. But I agree with Red Steel. If Trump needs to sell out to Big Corn in order to win the primary, I’m willing to forgive him.
Just hope that doesn’t become his SOP. That’s one thing I hate about the Clintons — always selling out to this or that.
Trump is a big government, big spending RINO. Cruz is not. That’s the major difference between them.
This did not sound like an attack but does sound like something that Cruz needs to address.
Where does he stand on subsidies. Not only for ethanol but oil and all farm related subsidies.
I will tell you right now that the farm subsidies in the US are a SHAM and exactly why the mom and pop farms have been bought out by corporations.
I did a search on your accusation, Lauren. This is a cross-thread accusation, I assume? Be careful — cross-thread flames are ‘no-nos’, but IMHO, this is no flame war. Not yet anyway. Best keep civil [as your post here was] and not get into a big argument over this on an ‘ethanol subsidy’ thread.
And I’ll try to smooth things over with my favorite tool — the truth.
Here is a previous thread, posted by Cincinatus’ Wife:
Trump’s Proposed Muslim Immigration Moratorium Is the Wrong Response to Political Correctness
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3369655/posts
~ ~ ~ ~
I looked over C-W’s initial posts, and all I see is incredulity. I too was incredulous when I first heard about the muslim immigration ban. I was astonished. To be honest, I wondered what the politically correct backlash would be.
It would be good for Trump to address also - he’s doing the evasive dance (as usual).
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/in-iowa-donald-trump-hits-ted-cruz-on-ethanol-and-religion/
Dec 11, 2015
DES MOINES - On the state fairgrounds at a campaign event, Donald Trump wasted little time before he went after Ted Cruz’s stance on ethanol.
“He’s for the oil but I understand it oil pays him a lot of money, he’s got to be for oil right,” Trump said. And later in the night Trump expanded on the comment.
“Well look he’s from Texas - to the best of my knowledge, there’s a lot of oil in Texas, right? So, he gets a lot of money from the oil companies, and he’s against ethanol and everything you’re else talking about. And I’m not I’m totally in favor. And you know it’s a big industry here, it’s a big industry. You know if that industry is upset Iowa’s got problems,” Trump said to the crowd of about 1,500, composed of Iowans from special interest groups.
Trump also claimed he is evangelical and Christian, and while talking about Cruz and his religion, also brought up his ethnicity.
“Not a lot of evangelicals come out of Cuba in all fairness it’s true. Not a lot come out, but I like him nevertheless,” Trump said.”
Cruz’s father is Cuban, but he was born in Canada........
That is the current game that media has been ordered to do.
Go out and pit the two best Conservative candidates (Cruz/Trump) against each other. Make their supporters think they are at war. You know what, Trump and Cruz are too damn smart for that.
The GOPe are going to have to use the nuclear option and WE all know where that is going to lead, an independent party challenge.
Where that leads is anybodies guess. I think everyone on this forum would jump the Republican ship and vote independent. However, as Jim Rob says, we are at the Rebellion but I think the rest of America is at the Mall
“I will tell you right now that the farm subsidies in the US are a SHAM and exactly why the mom and pop farms have been bought out by corporations.”
A huge number of farm owners live in NYC. I remember Boortz mentioning a chart. Great tax incentives. Then the real farmers have to work out deals with the New Yorkers.
And the reason we see Chinese cigarettes is because Clintoon had restricted the amount of tobacco US farmers could grow. He tightened US tobacco production to help his Chinese cronies. Sickening.
“The GOPe are going to have to use the nuclear option and WE all know where that is going to lead, an independent party challenge. Where that leads is anybodies guess.”
I predict that if this primary is hijacked in a blatently corrupt manner, conservative leaders will get together and form a new party. But that election will be a complete mess because many third party candidates would end up as ‘write-in’ votes. The ‘G’ OP would time it that way.
The next off-year election, however, will ciphon away congressional seats to the Third Party, and that trend will continue relentlessly — the ‘G’ OP would be toast unless the Supreme Sandwich Court rides interference for them, or unless the senate works out a corrupt treaty to disenfranchize us. That would lead to anarchy.
But back to the law as it stands now — a new third party would require some key talk radio hosts to back it up. If two of the the top talk radio hosts get together, they could negotiate an entirely new party system and get feedback from the internet — a new system that empowers the People.
Thank you for trying to inject some sanity into the mix.
Here is another thing the states could initiate that would revolutionize this nation within four short years:
BOLD SOLUTION: Constitutional Excoriation
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3225815/posts
An oversight committee with subjective power [aka creative power] that must conform to strict rules that permit lengthy and public deliberation. No one gets excoriated with 3/4 state approval or something similar.
My pleasure. Our nation is in a state of massive change at this moment. We need cool heads here — open and civil debate.
“If Trump supports ethanol, he necessarily supports subsidies.”
Absolutely. I, as a Trump supporter, agree with you. This is a wart in his campaign.
What does that statement mean in Iowa?
It's obvious. He's either in favor of price supports or he phrased his statement to imply that he is.
Trump has been inconsistently conservative in the past and is inconsistently conservative in the present.
Worse still, Trump has a record of adapting his positions to serve his own self interest.
Trump donated a lot of money to Democrats "so he could do business" in NYC. Now he is supporting ethanol subsidies in Iowa on the verge of the Iowa caucuses.
So he should put conservative principles aside in Iowa in order to boost his campaign?
Most candidates would.
But Cruz' track record speaks for itself. He's conservative even when it doesn't serve his self interest. This used to be called being principled.
Which Twitter statements?
No
However, I forgive Trump over this flawed position because he takes the Islamic threat seriously, and his powerful sound byte clearly defines the difference between them and Christian refugees. Oh, and BTW ... so does Cruz ...
[copying an informative post here]
[quote]
Cruz is for tighter screening and would allow Middle-Eastern Christian refugees to emigrate here because they are the ones truly facing persecution there:
‘You know, one of my biggest concerns with the Gang of 8 bill is that it dramatically lessened the restrictions on refugee policies so it would have given President Obama the power to bring in a great many more refugees from the Middle East without properly screening them for whether they’re national security threats.
‘But that’s also why, Hugh, I’ve said that a different standard should apply to the Middle Eastern Christians. Why? Because number one, the Christians are facing religious persecution and genocide. ISIS is crucifying them. ISIS is beheading them. And U.S. law has always recognized that when a religious minority like the Christians are being persecuted and facing genocide, that a different standard applies.
‘That’s been true for decades, if not hundreds of years. And the President is engaged in sophistry when he ignores that, but he ignores the fact that ISIS consists of radical Islamic terrorists. Indeed, the President, astonishingly, argues the Islamic State is not Islamic. That is a level of Orwellian double speak that boggles the mind.’
From his interview with Hugh Hewitt on 11/16/2015
— posted by Reegs
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3371223/posts?page=255#255
~~~~~
Why I still prefer Trumps plan is posted here —
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3371223/posts?page=303#303
Copied your quote of Cruz again in post 117.
**And I say let the market decide what the farmer grows. Big government doesn*t need to be in the family farm. Heck - that*s what I*m campaigning against - our government is big enough and intrudes enough already!** -Cruz
That*s why I support him.
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