Pirate's Cove

He’s still beating the “alternative energy will help save you money sometime in the future” drum, though he’s not particularly concerned with rising gas prices now

Hi, everybody. I’m speaking to you this week from a factory in Petersburg, Virginia, where they’re bringing on more than 100 new workers to build parts for the next generation of jet engines.

Isn’t taking unnecessary fossil fueled flights bad for globull warming?

If we accelerate that trend, we can help drivers save a significant amount of money. That’s why, after 30 years of inaction, we finally put in place new standards that will make sure our cars average nearly 55 miles per gallon by the middle of the next decade – nearly double what they get today. This wasn’t easy: we had to bring together auto companies, and unions, and folks who don’t ordinarily see eye to eye. But it was worth it.

Because these cars aren’t some pie in the sky solution that’s years away. They’re being built right now – by American workers, in factories right here in the U.S.A. Every year, our cars and trucks will be able to go further and use less fuel, and pretty soon, you’ll be able to fill up every two weeks instead of every week – something that, over time, will save the typical family more than $8,000 at the pump.  We’ll reduce our oil consumption by more than 12 billion barrels. That’s a future worth investing in.

For the moment, though, you’re on your own, chumps, and just need to suck it up vis a vis rising gas prices. Which means you’ll only be able to afford to fill up every two weeks. Of course, that $8k you’ll save (interesting that he left out the part about it being over the lifetime of the vehicle) will be be lost immediately to the high cost of these POS cars to purchase. Oh, and the medical bills if you get in an accident, since they are so much lighter.

So we have a choice.  Right now, some folks in Washington would rather spend another $4 billion on subsidies to oil companies each year. Well you know what?  We’ve been handing out these kinds of taxpayer giveaways for nearly a century.  And outside of Congress, does anyone really think that’s still a good idea?

Does anyone outside of Washington, and, in particular, the White House, think it’s a good idea to waste $24 billion on subsidies to the alternative energy sector, will little to show for it?

I want this Congress to stop the giveaways to an oil industry that’s never been more profitable, and invest in a clean energy industry that’s never been more promising.  We should be investing in the technology that’s building the cars and trucks and jets that will prevent us from dealing with these high gas prices year after year after year.

Promising like Solyndra? Like the Chevy Volt? The expensive Fisker POS, made for the 1%, that died during Consumer Reports testing? Like all the other companies that were given DOE loans and died? Wind turbines that can’t be used when it is cold and/or windy? Solar plants that can’t be built because they might affect a turtle? That kind of promising?

Ending this cycle of rising gas prices won’t be easy, and it won’t happen overnight. But that’s why you sent us to Washington – to solve tough problems like this one. So I’m going to keep doing everything I can to help you save money on gas, both right now and in the future. I hope politicians from both sides of the aisle join me. Let’s put aside the bumper-sticker slogans, remember why we’re here, and get things done for the American people.

If he solves it the same way he solved the recession, it’s going to be a long, painful ride, folks. Well, painful for us, not him, since he gets his gas paid for by the taxpayer.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.