Barack Obama uses the BP oil spill to push climate change legislation, part 2

  I have previously written a post about how Barack Obama was going to use the BP oil spill to push climate change legislation. That post can be read here. Word is now coming out that Barack Obama will use his speech to the nation tomorrow night to, in part, promote the need for climate change legislation.

  We are now getting word that Joel Benenson– a pollster for the Democrat National Committee– has released a briefing that urges the Obama regime and Democrats to use this crisis to promote climate change legislation. Again, as Rahm Emanuel has famously stated, never let a good crisis go to waste because it provides an opportunity to pass legislation that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to pass– that is what the Democrats are planning to do.

  From the briefing:

The oil spill is intensifying the public’s desire for clean energy investments and increased regulation on corporate polluters

In the aftermath of the spill, people firmly believe Congress needs to do more than just make BP pay. Even when pressed with opposition messaging that now is not the time for some ‘job killing energy tax,’ people coalesce around comprehensive clean energy reform. Consequently, support for a comprehensive energy bill is very high. With the right messaging, that support holds strong in the face of harsh opposition attacks

  I do not have a problem with “making BP pay” for the oil spill; they are responsible for the spill– unless the reports on various international media sources are correct and North Korea actually torpedoed the oil rig– and they should pay for the damages. But the briefing goes on to say that “making BP pay” isn’t enough.

 Benenson’s briefing argues that “Making BP Pay Isn’t Enough.”

  His briefing then states the Obama regime needs to “frame” the argument so that people will buy into climate change legislation and disregard the argument that cap and trade will amount to nothing more than a national energy tax. He does not deny that cap and trade will be a tax on all Americans, but feels as if this crisis will weaken the opposition to the tax within the hearts and minds of the American people if only the crisis is used to properly frame the argument.

First, “frame the opposition” as “Big Oil and corporate polluters who have blocked energy reform for decades” and “politicians protecting the special interests that fund their campaigns.” Second, “illustrate the costs of our dependence: … $1 billion a day on foreign oil … Oil spill destroying jobs and livelihoods.” Third, “tap into deeply held values.” “Put America back in control of our energy situation. Cut foreign oil spending in half. Invest in energy that’s made in America and creates millions of jobs for Americans

  Barack Obama himself has compared the BP oil spill to September 11th by stating that 9/11 shaped the way Americans felt about foreign policy and that the oil spill should be used to shape the way Americans feel about climate change legislation. He now intends to use this disaster to shape the way Americans feel about climate change.

  Don’t get me wrong, I am not against alternative energy; I support any technology that will bring down the price of energy– including the expansion of oil drilling, wind, solar, and nuclear power. That is not the issue here. What is at issue here is the president’s politicizing of the BP oil spill to push through a climate change bill that the American people are against.

  The president’s first priority should be stopping the leak. If BP is unable or unwilling to do so than it is up to the president to step up and lead the way. Yet he seems only concerned with using this crisis to promote a leftist ideal that most Americans are against, hoping that Americans will be too afraid to appear politically incorrect on this issue as oil continues to spill into the gulf.

  As the president plays golf and does nothing to show that he is leading an effort to stop this disaster, one has to wonder if his lack of action is due to the fact that he wants oil to leak into the gulf so that he can use this catastrophe to push his leftist agenda.

  One has to wonder where the president’s priorities are.