2016 presidential contenders differ sharply on climate, energy
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders calls climate change the greatest threat to national security. Front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton promises to install more than 500 million solar panels across the country. On the Republican side, Jeb Bush would phase out tax credits for solar power. Rival Marco Rubio wants to cut the federal gas tax by 80 percent. There are stark differences between the two parties on energy and environment issues that underscore the sky-high stakes for both sides of the debate in the 2016 presidential race. After President Barack Obama‘s two terms, business and environmental groups see a game-changing election. Many environmental groups and Democrats fear a potential rollback of the Obama administration’s policies on climate change and renewable energy under a Republican president. Business groups and Republicans are eager to boost oil and gas production following years of frustration with Obama. “At the end of the day, there’s a clear choice for all” of the candidates, said Tom Pyle of the pro-business American Energy Alliance. “Either continue the Obama administration’s anti-energy agenda or chart a new course that promotes affordable and reliable energy for all Americans.” “Everywhere you look, from New York’s Wall Street to Iowa’s Main Street, voters are ready for real climate action and the clean energy revolution,” countered Khalid Pitts of the Sierra Club, “except if you are a Republican running for president.” Some of the issues dividing the candidates in the presidential election: — CLIMATE CHANGE Obama heads to Paris on Sunday for an international climate conference, and Republicans are united in opposition to a possible pact and the president’s plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. power plants. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump are among several Republican candidates who reject mainstream climate science. Ben Carson calls himself a “climate science questioner” and says “the temperature of the earth is always fluctuating.” Bush said at a New Hampshire town hall last month that he thinks the climate is changing and that “humans have some say in it for sure.” But, he added, “What I don’t want to do is destroy the American economy as the solution.” Rubio asserted at a recent GOP debate that “America is not a planet” and said that when it comes to global warming, he was “not going to destroy our economy the way the left-wing government we are under now wants to do.” Republican candidates all warn that Obama’s plan to curb greenhouse gas emission from U.S power plants could cost thousands of jobs and raise electricity costs for businesses and families. Clinton, Sanders and fellow Democrat Martin O’Malley support the president’s Clean Power Plan, calling it a legacy-worthy effort to slow climate change. — OIL & GAS DRILLING Republican candidates all say they would approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline recently rejected by Obama. Democrats support the president’s action. Republicans also agree on lifting the 40-year-old U.S. ban on crude oil exports; Democrats are opposed. Sanders wants to stop all new oil and gas drilling on federal lands, as well as in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, while Republicans would expand drilling for oil and natural gas. Like Sanders, Clinton opposes drilling in the fragile Arctic region, which she calls “a unique treasure.” But she generally supports drilling on federal lands. — RENEWABLES Democrats back federal subsidies for renewable energy such as wind and solar power. On the GOP side, the candidates range from skeptical to hostile about a policy several describe as Washington “picking winners and losers.” Trump has long opposed wind power. He famously objected to a proposed wind farm near a golf course he was building in Scotland. But as a presidential candidate, his views have evolved. At a recent event in Iowa, one of the nation’s top wind-farm states, Trump offered grudging support for a federal tax credit for wind energy. While calling wind turbines “very, very expensive” to build and maintain, Trump said he is “OK” with subsidies. “I don’t think they work without subsidy, which is a problem,” he said. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie backs credits for wind energy and supports a federal Renewable Fuel Standard that mandates ethanol in gasoline, a policy Cruz has denounced as “corporate welfare.” Trump also supports the corn-ethanol mandate, which is hugely popular in early-voting Iowa. Rubio, Bush and Ohio Gov. John Kasich say it should be phased out over time. “Ultimately, whether it’s ethanol or any other alternative fuel … the markets are going to have to decide this,” Bush said. Democrats back the ethanol mandate as well as incentives for biofuels. — COAL AND NUCLEAR After running as a champion of coal in 2008, Clinton now calls for protecting health benefits for coal miners and their families and helping retrain them for new jobs. She would use a combination of tax incentives and government grants to help coal-dependent communities repurpose old mine sites and attract new economic investment. Republicans all support coal production and enthusiastically back nuclear energy; Clinton offers cautious support for nuclear power. Sanders has called for a moratorium on nuclear-plant license renewals and cheered the closure of the aging Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. Sanders’ record wins plaudits from environmental organizations, but the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund has endorsed Clinton, the group’s earliest endorsement since 1984. “When it comes to fighting the climate crisis, the stakes couldn’t be higher, and we are confident that Hillary Clinton is the right person for the job,” LCV president Gene Karpinski said. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Reporter mocked by Donald Trump says the 2 knew each other well
Donald Trump said he couldn’t have been making fun of a reporter’s disability because he doesn’t know the man. Not so, says the reporter. Serge Kovaleski of The New York Times says he has met Trump repeatedly, interviewing him in his office and talking to him at news conferences, when he worked for the New York Daily News in the late 1980s. “Donald and I were on a first-name basis for years,” he said in a Times story about the Republican presidential candidate’s behavior at a rally in South Carolina last week. Onstage Tuesday, a mocking Trump flailed his arms in an apparent attempt to imitate mannerisms of the “poor guy.” He accused Kovaleski of backing off a story from a week after the 9/11 attacks that said authorities in New Jersey detained and questioned “a number of people who were allegedly seen celebrating the attacks.” Kovaleski then worked for The Washington Post. Trump cites the story as proof of his claim that “thousands” of Muslims in New Jersey celebrated the devastation across the river. But the story did not suggest “thousands” were observed celebrating or that the reports of such a scene were true. Other accounts from that time concluded the allegations were unfounded. Kovaleski has arthrogryposis, a congenital condition that restricts joint movement. In his speech, Trump cited the 2001 story, “written by a nice reporter,” and went on: “Now the poor guy, you oughta see this guy — uh, I don’t know what I said, uh, I don’t remember. He’s going like, I don’t remember.” He made jerking gestures and his voice took on a mocking tone. On Thursday, Trump posted a statement on his Twitter account saying “I have no idea” who Kovaleski is and claiming to have “one of the all-time great memories.” He wrote: “If Mr. Kovaleski is handicapped, I would not know, because I do not know what he looks like. If I did know, I would definitely not say anything about his appearance.” Kovaleski challenged that statement in a Times story posted online Thursday night. “I’ve interviewed him in his office,” he said. “I’ve talked to him at press conferences. All in all, I would say around a dozen times, I’ve interacted with him as a reporter” when he worked for the Daily News. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
As many African-American see it, there are 2 Ben Carsons
Ayauna King-Baker loved Ben Carson‘s “Gifted Hands” memoir so much that she made her daughter Shaliya read it. So when Carson showed up in town to sign copies of his new book, King-Baker dragged the giggly 13-year-old along to the bookstore so they could both meet him. To King-Baker, Carson’s “up-by-your bootstraps” life story makes him a genuine celebrity worth emulating in the African-American community. But she’s also a Pompano Beach Democrat watching Carson rise in the Republican presidential polls. For King-Baker and many other African-Americans, the vast majority of whom are Democrats, there are two Carsons: One is a genius doctor and inspirational speaker and writer who talks of limitless horizons; the other is a White House candidate who pushes conservative politics and wishes to “de-emphasize race.” How they reconcile the two may help determine whether Republicans can dent the solid support Democrats have enjoyed in the black community for decades. President Barack Obama won 95 percent of the black vote in 2008 and 93 percent in 2012. Carson wasn’t immune to the excitement of seeing the U.S. elect its first black president. “I don’t think there were any black people in the country that weren’t thrilled that that happened — including me,” Carson told The Associated Press in a recent interview when asked about Obama’s first victory. “Everyone had hope this would be something different. It was nice having that hope for a little while.” Carson has since become an aggressive critic of Obama’s. Carson rose to prominence in the tea party movement after repudiating the president’s health care law in front of Obama during the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast. Today, Carson charges that Obama’s performance has actually set black candidates back. “I don’t think he’s made my path any easier,” he said. “So many people said there’d never be another black president for 100 years after this.” Carson has not gone out of his way to court black voters this year. He insists he won’t change his message to attract specific audiences, although his campaign tried a rap-filled ad this month. He already has one convert — King-Baker. She says she plans to change her registration to vote for the doctor in the Florida primary. “He has the momentum, he has the conversation, he’s very serious, he’s speaking to the people, and I just think he would be a very good president,” she said. None of this will matter unless Carson survives the primaries, where he’s been leading in early preference polls. Black votes aren’t a major factor in GOP primaries. Only about 16 percent of African-American voters affiliated with the Republican Party in 2012. But they will be a factor in the November general election. African-American voters are one of the few growing segments of the voting public. The percentage of black voters eclipsed the percentage of whites for the first time in 2012, when 66 percent of blacks voted, compared with 64 percent of non-Hispanics whites and about 48 percent of Hispanics and Asians. Carole Bell, a professor of communication studies at Northeastern University, estimates that Carson could attract as much as 25 percent of the African-American vote if he’s the GOP candidate. “That would be a tremendous accomplishment for the GOP at this stage,” she said. Carson is better known by African-American voters than were other black Republicans who ran for president, such as businessman Herman Cain, who achieved passing prominence in the 2012 race, and former ambassador Alan Keyes before him. Carson was a celebrated figure before he entered politics because of his work as a neurosurgeon. Carson led a team that successfully separated conjoined twins, which led to movie appearances, best-selling books, a television biography and a motivational speaking career that crossed racial lines. “Black people were proud that Carson had become a famous surgeon and had accomplished what no one else ever had in separating the twins,” said Fredrick Harris, director of the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University. That’s part of his appeal, said Rebecca Britt, 43, a registered Democrat who also came to see Carson in Fort Lauderdale and buy his most recent book. “He’s one of the heroes in our community, with what he’s been able to accomplish in the medical field,” she said. But can that translate into many black votes? Carson has said he would not support a Muslim for president, a position his campaign says helped him raise money and attract conservative support. He’s been critical of the Black Lives Matter movement, which drew its name from protests that followed the death of an unarmed black 18-year-old, Michael Brown. The retired neurosurgeon told the AP that Americans should take the focus off of race during a recent trip to Brown’s hometown, Ferguson, Missouri. Carson may draw support from conservative African-Americans and those already in the GOP, but it’s unlikely that he would make major inroads in the Democratic Party’s dominance among blacks in a general election, said D’Andra Orey, a political science professor at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi. Given the GOP’s fraught history with African-Americans, it could be “nearly impossible for blacks to support a Republican who espouses what they deem to be racially conservative rhetoric,” Orey said. “Put short, it’s an uphill battle for any Republican who seeks out the black vote.” Bell, the Northeastern professor, said Carson’s celebrity may have helped him at the beginning of his candidacy, but that shine may have worn off. “He had tremendous positives before he started speaking as a potential candidate,” Bell said, “but the more he speaks, the more there’s opportunities to sort of really show there’s a gulf between him and a lot of African-Americans.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Bill Clinton opening fundraising spree for wife’s campaign
Former President Bill Clinton is going on a fundraising swing reminiscent of his presidential campaigns of the 1990s. But this time he’s doing it for his wife. Hillary Rodham Clinton‘s presidential campaign has scheduled more than a dozen December events featuring the former president as her team prepares for an end-of-year finance deadline ahead of the first contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. The fundraising blitz, Bill Clinton’s most aggressive stretch of the year, shows how Hillary Clinton’s campaign can multiply her money largesse with the help of her husband, one of the Democratic party’s most prolific rainmakers. Working together, the couple will hold at least five fundraising events on some single days in December. After staying behind the scenes for much of the year, Bill Clinton has slowly begun taking a larger public role in the campaign. And it isn’t just with fundraising. He introduced pop singer Katy Perry at a concert before the Iowa Democratic Party’s Jefferson-Jackson dinner last month and appeared with his wife at a party barbecue in Ames, Iowa, last week. “No one knows her better than him and no one knows the process better, so it’s a natural fit,” said Ira Leesfield, a Miami attorney and longtime Clinton donor. “It’s like Derek Jeter taking the field when he was 38.” The fundraising push comes as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton’s main Democratic challenger, makes campaign finance reform a central part of his message. Hillary Clinton’s ties to Wall Street and financial industry donors will influence her agenda, Sanders has said. Bill Clinton kicks off December with fundraisers in Seattle, Los Angeles, the Phoenix area and in Laredo, Texas, where he will join with Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas congressman who represents the state’s Rio Grande Valley. The former president then raises money on Dec. 7 in Rhode Island with the state’s Democratic governor, Gina Raimondo, and Rhode Island’s congressional delegation. He headlines events in North Carolina later that same day. Later that week, the couple will show how they can spread their fundraising clout around the country. On Dec. 10, Hillary Clinton raises money in New York City while her husband meets with donors in Pennsylvania with stops in Pittsburgh, Bethlehem and Scranton. The next day, the former secretary of state will fundraise in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and St. Louis while her husband appears at events in the Chicago area and Munster, Indiana. In mid-December, the ex-president will raise money in Washington, D.C., including an event at the home of longtime Democratic powerbrokers Vernon and Ann Jordan. He will travel to Richmond later that day for a fundraiser with Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a friend and fundraiser for the Clintons. The Clintons will head into the holidays with a New York City dinner concert with musician Sting on Dec. 17. The event will benefit a new joint fundraising committee called the Hillary Victory Fund and will range from $33,400 per person to $100,000 for couples who serve as event chairs. David Brock, a Clinton supporter who runs several progressive groups aiding her candidacy, said Bill Clinton is a “gifted orator who has the ability to move people.” Brock recalled how in the spring of 2013 the former president spoke at a donor conference for two of his projects, American Bridge 21st Century and Media Matters. It was no standard stump speech, Brock said. “Rather, off the cuff, he wove an intricate tapestry for probably 45 minutes about the history of news and its relation to democracy,” he said. The 150 donors in the New York hotel ballroom were “in a trance,” Brock said. “There’s no one else at his level who is that good,” Brock said. “He says things about you that you can’t say about yourself, making him quite an effective endorser and validator.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Martha Roby: VA “Takeover” bill gets hearing
As someone who represents a district with a high concentration of veterans, an important part of my job in Congress is making sure national Department of Veterans Affairs leaders pay attention to Alabama and remain focused on improving the long-troubled Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System. We certainly got their attention last year. Working with courageous whistleblowers and the press, we were able to expose major instances of misconduct, negligence and cover-up that led to the director of the Central Alabama VA being the first manager terminated for cause under the new VA reform law. That was just over a year ago, and since then, our efforts to work with VA leaders to overhaul the system and improve access to care have been frustrating to say the least. Out of this frustration came an important lesson: we cannot depend on a broken bureaucracy to fix itself. I believe one major problem is that for a year we had been asking for VA leaders to intervene at this troubled system, rather than requiring them to. I believe it’s time to change that, which is why I filed legislation that would compel top VA officials to intervene and take over failing VA medical centers. It’s called the Failing VA Medical Center Recovery Act, and it offers the VA new tools to turn around the worst of our health care centers. Further, it puts responsibility for doing so squarely on the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. I recently presented my VA “takeover” bill before a hearing of the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health, where I discussed the legislation with fellow lawmakers, representatives from the VA and other interested groups. Not surprisingly, some entrenched in the system weren’t welcoming to a bill that disrupts the status quo. Still, I appreciate their willingness to engage, and I remain hopeful that they will embrace this legislation as a powerful new tool for improving veterans’ health care services. I am willing to work with anyone who truly wants to improve the VA through this proposal or others. But, let me tell you what I’m not willing to do: I’m not willing to let my bill become a victim of the VA’s culture of complacency. Minor tweaks here and there aren’t going to cut it. We need wholesale change, and the veterans I represent know it. I am cautiously optimistic about the future prospects for the Central Alabama VA. The numbers have been improving in recent months and a new, permanent director will soon be selected to bring needed stability. I’m working to bridge the gap between the VA and the local medical community to make sure we have a strong network of local providers where veterans can access care quickly and without driving long distances. I will keep you updated on this progress as we go. Martha Roby represents Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District. She is currently serving her third term.
