Posted on 02/03/2008 8:33:55 PM PST by Red Steel
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said Sunday that the energy plan proposed by U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., will be costly for U.S. citizens.
Romney said on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" that McCain's proposed cap-and-trade bill would ultimately cost U.S. citizens a fortune on all energy utilities.
"What he's proposing is a cap-and-trade bill that would cost -- according to the American Energy Institute -- would cost the American consumer an extra 50 cents a gallon and on all of our utilities, an extra 20 percent," Romney said.
Romney said the plan from his main rival for the Republican presidential nomination would benefit neither the environment nor U.S. taxpayers.
"This is something which is just unacceptable and frankly because it would not involve nations like China and India it's not going to help the global environment," Romney said.
Romney said he remained hopeful he could catch up to McCain in the upcoming primaries.
We can no longer afford the government we have.
Great, except it’s another flip-flop from Romney, who was pushing a Northeastern state cap-and-trade scheme before pulling out at the eleventh hour in that magical year 2005 when he seemed to have so many of his epiphanies.
He continues his hypocrisy of attacking others where he himself is weak.
All this is being translated into political action - often led by major Republicans. This month, Massachusetts has adopted aggressive measures to cut emissions of greenhouse gases, making Mitt Romney the third Republican governor of an important state (after George Pataki of New York and Arnold Schwarzenegger of California) to depart from the White House line. The states responsible for most of the US emissions - mainly in the Midwest and South - remain unmoved, but a dozen others have now either adopted such measures or promised to do so, creating a political momentum that is already affecting national politics.
http://www.newstatesman.com/200405170020
Governors of 10 Eastern States Form Regional Approach to Global Warming.
COPYRIGHT 2003 The Boston Globe
Byline: Stephanie Ebbert
Jul. 25—Governor Mitt Romney and five other Republican governors this week joined forces to tackle an issue that environmentalists say their fellow Republican, President Bush, has ducked: Curbing carbon dioxide emissions to control global warming. A total of 10 eastern states, convened by New York Governor George E. Pataki, plan to spend two years developing a regional market-based system to limit carbon emissions, in an acknowledgment that global warming is a current problem.
“Climate change is beginning to affect our natural resources and . . . now is the time to take action towards climate protection,” Romney wrote in a letter to Pataki, sent Monday.
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/premium/0286/0286-8897361.html
Kind of late.
They surely are and it is because they are afraid. They are afraid of being called flat-earthers or being left on the sidelines of what has become a perfectly good power-grab scheme. If I could get my hands on the reigns I would have us energy-independent in 4 years or so and wouldn't even think of bowing to the Cult of Gaia. But then, I am a conservative and would never get elected. An endangered species it would seem :)
McCain had an energy plan?
No, Its because they know there is profit to be had.
Important endorsement for Romney - Michael Cutler
Why I believe Governor Mitt Romney is best on the immigration issue.
By Michael Cutler 2/2/08 MCutler007@aol.com
The presidential campaign is grinding on and this Tuesday is so-called “Super Tuesday.” I have had the opportunity to consider the positions that have ben taken by the candidates for the Presidency especially where the critical issue of immigration is concerned and have come to the conclusion that the only real choice is Mitt Romney.
As many of you know, I am a life-long Democrat and still adhere to the principles that caused me to register as a Democrat many years ago when I first voted. Of course, to an extent, political party affiliation can be a bit like religion, it is often passed down to us from our parents. Indeed, my parents were registered Democrats, but back then, in the 1960’s when I cast my first vote, the Democratic Party had been the party of the union member and blue-collar American workers.
I have no idea where most of the real Democrats have gone! If you consider the immigration issue, the Democrats with very few exceptions, have become advocates for open borders. This is, in my judgement, the absolute antithesis of what the Democratic Party used to stand for. Before you wonder why I have placed so much emphasis on immigration you must first realize that immigration is not a single issue but should be thought of as being a major factor in so many of the most important issues confronting our nation today. As I have often written, immigration heavily impacts everything from national security and criminal justice to the economy, the environment, health care and education. The huge number of illegal aliens who have entered our country have hammered wages and also created a nightmare for law enforcement. It has been estimated that some 25% of the inmate population across our nation are deportable aliens. It is estimated that there are now more violent gang members in the United States than there are police officers and a significant percentage of these violent gang members are illegal aliens.
Hospitals have had to close their doors in many communities because illegal aliens have come to use the emergency rooms as their primary health care provider.
Last year, it is estimated that some 45 billion dollars were wired from the United States to Latin America and the Caribbean by illegal aliens who were working in our country in violation of law. Additional billions of dollars flowed from the United States to other countries in both the Western Hemisphere and other parts of the world by being smuggled out of this country or otherwise sent out of the United States. These dollars are dollars that should have been earned by American citizens and resident aliens but these hard working folks were priced out of the labor market by illegal aliens who are willing to work for wages that were too low for them to support their families on. Years ago, the meat packing industry paid roughly $19.00 per hour. Today, the jobs in that dirty, dangerous and back breaking industry only pay an average of $9.00 per hour! While much is made of the unemployment rate, you never hear about the underemployment rate!
Additionally, if it weren’t for those billions of dollars being sent out of our country, the “economic stimulus package” being touted by the White House might not have been necessary because our citizens would have been earning more money and that money would not have been summarily shipped out of our country but would have continued to circulate within our economy creating still more jobs. Globalization may help corporation make a financial killing, but in the end, it is the American Dream that, for all too many Americans, is also being killed.
I have been listening to the candidates from both parties and have arrived at my decision that Mitt Romney would be best on the immigration issue and consequently on these issues for a number of reasons.
Several weeks ago, Senator Obama chanted “Si se puede!” with the members of the Culinary Union in Las Vegas prior to the caucus held in Nevada. That phrase, when translated means, “Yes I can!” I have read estimates that some 50% of the members of that union are illegal aliens. That chant was also the chant that was shouted by the hundreds of thousands of protesting illegal aliens who stood on street corners across this nation nearly 2 years ago demanding their rights in our country, notwithstanding the fact that they had violated our nation’s borders and immigration laws and may well have committed violations of other laws in their quest for illegal employment and the menu of benefits that are doled out to illegal alien in our country today.
As I watched the news coverage of that spectacle, I became convinced that Senator Obama would attempt to legalize the millions of illegal aliens who are in our country. and thus create a national security nightmare for our country and also encourage still more illegal immigration because there is no door that can be shut. Our government would be mandated to provide the 20 million, or more, illegal aliens who are present in our country today with official identity documents even though there is no verifiable way to know their names, their identities or the date, manner or place they entered the United States. That is precisely what the term “undocumented” means! They have no official or reliable documentation to establish these critical facts.
I expect that Senator Clinton would do no better on the critical immigration issue.
I cannot forget that it was Senator McCain who had concocted the first of the immigration bills that would have provided amnesty to millions of illegal and undocumented aliens whose identities are unknown and unknowable. The “Comprehensive Reform Bill” that I came to refer to as being the Terrorist Assistance and Facilitation Act of 2007” was, in large measure, based on the McCain-Kennedy Bill and it was my concerns about the huge national security implications aspects of that bill that caused me to so brand the newest iteration of that bill for the reasons I have noted above. It is important to realize that a study conducted of 94 terrorists who had been identified as operating in our country in the decade leading up to the attacks of September 11, 2001, 59 had used immigration fraud to enter our country and/or embed themselves in our country. The 19 terrorists who attacked our nation on 9/11 had used a total of 360 plus identities and variations of identities in order to hide in plain sight among us as they prepared their deadly attacks on our citizens.
I have testified at a number of hearings concerning immigration reform. On September 1, 2006 I testified at a field hearing conducted by the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives on the topic:
“IS THE REID-KENNEDY BILL A REPEAT OF THE FAILED AMNESTY OF 1986?”
You can read the transcript of that entire hearing at:
http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/judiciary/hju29745.000/hju29745_0.HTM
You can also read the individually prepared testimony of the witnesses to this hearing and even view of video of that hearing at:
http://judiciary.house.gov/oversight.aspx?ID=258
The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill that was based on the immigration bill that had been previously drafted by Senators Kennedy and McCain in 2005, that in my judgement, failed to address the majority of the issues especially where national security and the deterrence of future illegal immigration is concerned. The follow-on bill failed to make meaningful changes to address the national security nightmares that this bill would have created. The comments I made at the hearing as noted above, would certainly apply to the McCain-Kennedy Bill as well.
I would also ask you read the following article and read the highlighted sentences attributed to Senator McCain. As you read his statement about securing the “border first” several questions need to come to mind. First of all, at what point will he claim the borders are secure? It is currently estimated that 40 per cent of the illegal aliens in the United States did not run our nation’s borders but entered the United States by undergoing the inspections process and then, either by deceiving the inspectors at ports of entry or by violating the terms of their admission into the United States, went on to violate our nation’s immigration laws and became illegal aliens as a consequence of this. It is essential to recall that the 19 terrorists who attacked our nation on 9/11 all entered the United States in this fashion. Therefore it is absolutely vital to understand that we cannot control the border at the border alone but must remove the incentives for aliens to enter our country either by running our borders or by entering the United States via the inspections process with the intentions of violating our immigration laws once they succeed in entering the United States.
Moreover, any program to “legalize” illegal aliens is destined to simply attract many more aliens to, in one way or another, gain entry into our country to violate our laws. Local governments are increasingly filling the void created by the federal government’ failure to not only secure our nation’s borders but to create an immigration system that possesses true integrity. When John McCain says he will “First secure the border” my concern is what will follow! I believe it is his intention to create a massive program to legalize the millions of aliens who are already present in our country and, in the process, attract millions more who would falsely claim to have been present in the United States for the requisite period of time to qualify for McCain’s program. This would enable John McCain to complete the efforts initiated by George W. Bush and endorsed by the Democratic Party’s candidates to legalize God knows how many millions of illegal aliens.
If you like what George W. Bush stands for on immigration, then you have to be absolutely ecstatic about what John McCain would do on this critical issue! (Notice the article that I have attached below is aptly named, “McCain adjusts immigration stance.” The article is not entitled “McCain repudiates immigration stance” for a good reason, it would seem he is simply taking a different approach to selling his amnesty program!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21614851/
MSN Tracking Image
MSNBC.com
McCain adjusts immigration stance
GOP hopeful emphasizes securing borders first
The Associated Press
updated 11:27 p.m. ET, Sat., Nov. 3, 2007
SIMPSONVILLE, S.C. - John McCain spent months earlier this year arguing that the United States must combine border security efforts with a temporary worker program and an eventual path to citizenship for many illegal immigrants.
Now, the Republican presidential candidate emphasizes securing the borders first. The rest, he says, is still needed but will have to come later.
“I understand why you would call it a, quote, shift,” McCain told reporters Saturday after voters questioned him on his position during back-to-back appearances in this early voting state. “I say it is a lesson learned about what the American people’s priorities are. And their priority is to secure the borders.”
The shift in approach is likely to draw criticism from McCain’s GOP opponents. Immigration has been a flash point in the race, with rivals Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson all seizing on it.
McCain, who has led on the issue in the Senate with Democrat Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, got a wake-up call of sorts in June when Congress again failed to enact a broad immigration proposal that he championed and that split the country.
The measure also exposed deep divisions within the Republican Party, and McCain’s high-profile support for it hurt him politically. During debate on the issue as spring turned into summer, the Arizona senator saw his poll numbers in some early primary states slip and his fundraising wane.
Early in the year, McCain told Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina voters the country must take a comprehensive approach — strengthening the borders as well as creating a temporary worker program and providing millions of illegal immigrants the opportunity to earn citizenship if they meet certain criteria.
Over the past few months, he has stressed border security first and said border-state governors should certify their borders are secure before making other needed immigration changes.
McCain said he listened to what the public was saying when the legislation failed — and responded accordingly.
“I said, OK. We’ll secure the borders, but after we secure the borders, we’ll have a temporary worker program, we’ll have to address the 12 million people here illegally, and I think the best way is the proposal that we had,” McCain said.
“It’s not a switch in position. I support the same solution. But we’ve got to secure the borders first,” he added.
Given the public outcry, McCain predicted Congress again would fail if it tried to pass broad reforms without ensuring secure borders.
“You’ve got to respond to the people,” he said. “If your job is to succeed in addressing a major issue then you’ve got to do what’s necessary to succeed. We failed.”
The issue often stokes passions at McCain’s campaign events in South Carolina and elsewhere.
‘I got the message’
In Simpsonville, S.C., a man asked why McCain had changed his position.
“I haven’t. I haven’t,” the candidate insisted. “I still believe we need to have comprehensive immigration reform, but the lesson is people want the border secure.”
“I will secure the border first. That’s what Americans want,” he said to applause. “They don’t want a repeat of 1986 when we said we’d secure the border, gave amnesty to 2 million people and we ended up with insecure borders and more illegal people here,” he added.
Earlier, in Irmo, S.C., a women pressed McCain on the issue during a stop at a hot-dog shop.
“This meeting’s adjourned,” he joked to laughter.
Then, McCain turned serious, and said the issue was one of national security.
“I got the message,” he said to clapping. “We will secure the borders first and then go on to other issues.”
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21614851/
MSN Privacy . Legal
© 2008 MSNBC.com
With Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo withdrawing from the campaign, I came to the conclusion that Mitt Romney was apparently the most serious candidate on the immigration issue and on the other issues that are so heavily impacted by the immigration crisis confronting the United States today. especially considering two more factors have come into play, compelling me to make my feelings known about the candidacy of Governor Mitt Romney.
First of all, I watched the President’s State of the Union Address last week and watched an interview of Governor Romney that was conducted by Anderson Cooper after the President spoke. I have been able to find the transcript of that interview and have attached it below. I believe that if you read the interview and especially the high-lighted segments you will quickly understand why I am convinced that of all of the candidates, Romney is the only candidate who truly “gets it!”
His proposal to create incentives for older Americans to take jobs in the workplace rather than to seek to important foreign workers represents a major step in the right direction. He also understands that you must not provide aliens who are illegally present in our country with an opportunity to legalize their status because of a number of issues, but first and foremost is the issue of national security that I discussed previously. I had spoken with a member of the governor’s campaign staff a few times and these issues were among those that we discussed, clearly, the governor is willing to listen to reason! Just consider his statement: in response to a question by Anderson Cooper:
COOPER: That is the issue which many of your critics comment about you. I mean, they say that is the — the biggest problem they have with you, that you have changed your position. Have you ever changed your position in a way that did not help you at the polls?
ROMNEY: Well absolutely. And of course, anybody who doesn’t learn from their life experience should be fired. They’d be too stubborn to possibly consider for a position of leadership.
Finally, I have been able to confirm the fact that none other than Kris Kobach has become the immigration advisor to Governor Romney. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Kris, I can tell you that I am quite familiar with him. He was counsel to then Attorney General Ashcroft and in that role was the architect of the NSEERS Program that sought to identify aliens in our country who might pose a national security risk in the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001. Kris is a constitutional law professor and was my debating partner a few years ago when I did one of my first public appearances and traveled to a debate conducted at Kansas State University. He is the attorney who represented Mayor Lou Barletta of Hazelton, PA when the mayor was sued by the ACLU for enacting laws and regulations intended to penalize companies that knowingly hired illegal aliens and landlords who rented apartments to illegal aliens in that small Pennsylvania town. I was the last witness that Kris called at the trial. I also participated with Kris at a News Conference at the National Press Club when the McCain-Kennedy Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill was being debated in Washington.
Of all of the people I have had the privilege of working with on the various aspects of immigration, I would have to rank Kris Kobach as being among the best. For Governor Romney to select Kris and for Kris to support the candidacy of the governor, speaks volumes as to the sincerity of Mitt Romney on the immigration issue. It is for the reasons I have noted above that I urge you to vote for Governor Romney. I would also request that you pass this commentary to your friends so that they can consider the facts for themselves.
We the People can and must make a difference; especially this year!
Democracy is not a spectator sport!
Lead, follow or get out of the way!
-michael cutler-
[an extra 50 cents a gallon and on all of our utilities, an extra 20 percent]
Well, I guess it’s a toss up between that or Hillary ‘garnishing’ our wages!!!
I love that graphic, very cute.
Yup, but not much of one. As I recall, he does not want anymore oil drilling off the coasts or in ANWR. He endorses a gasoline tax hike and a national carbon caps CO2, which would squeeze us out of much $$$.
Excellent post. Thank you, AB!!!!!
Wake Up America!!
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