Excerpts from Palin’s big speech:
Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America’s energy problems — as if we all didn’t know that already. But the fact that drilling won’t solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all. Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we’re going to lay more pipelines … build more nuclear plants … create jobs with clean coal … and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources.We need American energy resources, brought to you by American ingenuity, and produced by American workers.
Lie No. 1 shows chutzpah, I’ll give her that much. Just two months ago, Palin said “I beg to disagree with any candidate who would say we can’t drill our way out of our problem.” Perhaps someone told the would-be energy expert that even billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens knows her July claim was absurd.
Lie No. 2 is that her “opponents” want to do “nothing at all.” Aside from the fact that Obama is willing to compromise on offshore drilling, his energy plan is by far the most comprehensive one ever put forth by a candidate from a major party.
Lie No. 3 is that “a McCain-Palin administration” would “move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources.” Sorry, she and McCain are soul-mate Luddites. She thinks, “Alternative-energy solutions are far from imminent and would require more than 10 years to develop.” McCain thinks, “The truly clean technologies don’t work,”which is why he has consistently voted against renewables, even though, like Palin, he claims to support them.
Lie No. 4 is “The Big Energy Lie,” which subsumes all the other lies in her entire remarks on energy. The Big Energy Lie is that either John McCain or the Republicans in Congress actually believe in an “all of the above” energy policy. Congressional Democrats will hopefully force votes this fall that will show that claim for the disingenuous deceit it is.
Perhaps the only truth thing Palin said on energy that is true is “We need American energy resources, brought to you by American ingenuity, and produced by American workers.” I could not agree more. That’s what energy efficiency and wind power and solar PV and solar baseload are.
This post was created for ClimateProgress.org, a project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
