Jerry McNerney: What Dick Cheney Will Not Say Tonight.../McNerney Conversation With MYDD
Jerry McNerney: What Dick Cheney Will Not Say Tonight... (from email)
"As you may know, Dick Cheney is holding a huge fundraiser for Richard Pombo in Stockton tonight. With the polls showing that Pombo is in deep trouble with voters from both parties, Pombo is getting desparate -- and calling on Dick Cheney, of all people, to rescue his sinking campaign oil tanker.
I would like to take this opportunity to talk substantively about the large white elephant that will be inside that fundraiser tonight -- the gas price crisis and how Cheney and Pombo got us into this mess. And what it will take to get us out of it.
Finally, I would like to hear what you think . Your comments have been invaluable to our campaign and I relish every opportunity to listen and discuss how we can address these great challenges together.
Here's what Dick Cheney will NOT say tonight as he raises thousands of dollars for his Big Oil buddy, Richard Pombo:
1) A PREVENTABLE CRISIS: Americans are now finding themselves in a position that was not only predictable, but inevitable. The rise in the price of gasoline is the result of limited supplies and increasing demand. Of course, there will be gouging and oil prices will fluctuate – up and down, but the long-term trend is clear: prices will increase.
The world is now at the maximum production of oil. We will never see oil taken from the earth at a faster rate than right now. Meanwhile, worldwide demand for oil is increasing exponentially. The result is that oil prices will rise, relatively slowly for the next few years followed by highly volatile and rapidly rising prices.
2) HOW DID WE GET HERE?: We insisted on burning oil as if the supply was completely unlimited. We built an infrastructure that depends entirely on oil at a time when we are becoming more and more dependent on imported oil. Of course, our elected representatives indulged us with these fantasies. Stated clearly, the current seemingly high price of oil is the consequence of a reckless White House and a rubber-stamp Republican Congress that is beholden to Big Oil.
Take a look at what’s happening in Washington today. The political proposals for reducing the cost of gasoline are truly breathtaking: tapping into the strategic petroleum reserve; taxing oil companies and giving the money to consumers; investigating oil companies for windfall profits; drilling in Alaska or off the coast of California.
3) WHAT IT WILL TAKE: Unfortunately, these proposals are just political grandstanding. It takes a public servant, not a politician, to tell the truth.
We may deny the problem. We may punish the messenger, but one way or another we will reduce our oil consumption. The longer we wait, the more difficult the adjustment will be.
The good news is that we have some time and there are viable solutions available. Oil production will stay at current levels for the time being. Technology exists to drastically increase our automobile fuel efficiency, while at the same time, we can move into production of bio-fuels and renewable energy. If we take these steps quickly, we could quite possibly avoid economic disaster.
4) HOLDING WASHINGTON ACCOUNTABLE: The current leadership in Washington has shown that it is unwilling or incapable of taking the necessary steps to prepare for our future, and this applies not only to oil but to the federal budget deficit, the world climate crisis, and numerous other issues.
Make no mistake; these problems are purely driven by politics. If we care about our future, we must replace the corrupt and irresponsible leaders in Washington, transform our democracy through real campaign finance reform, and face these challenges head-on.
Ultimately, we need to balance consumption of oil against what is reasonably sustainable. But first, Americans must hold the politicians who got us into this mess accountable. At the top of the list: Dick Cheney and Dick Pombo.
5) WE CAN RISE TO THIS GREAT CHALLENGE: Washington will have a large role to play in this adjustment. We need a plan to accomplish this change, a plan that balances oil reserves and current consumption against increasing our efficiency and developing new fuels. The plan should end in 10 to 20 years with an economy that consumes petroleum oil at a low rate relative to the supply.
Washington can and must rise to this challenge. The clock is ticking.
As citizens, we have a role to play as well. Washington is not solely responsible for extracting our country from this mess. To that end, I urge every American to start thinking about what it will take to come to grips with this problem, individually and as a nation.
Americans have a tradition of facing and overcoming obstacles, and if we do so now, we can build an America that’s greater than anything we’ve witnessed since our nation's founding.
Join us now and let's get this country back on the right track." (source: from email)
Also, Jerry McNerney Did An Interview With MYDD. Below is an excerpt from the conversation.
MyDD Conversation with CA-11 Candidate Jerry McNerney (source)
"Singer: Let's talk just a little bit of politics before I let you go. You've got a primary on June 6 against Steve Filson. What are going to be doing between now and then to try to ensure victory?
McNerney: Jonathan, we're just going to work on the network, the relationships, the organization that's already in place. We have a tremendous grassroots organization. People are stepping up and helping us. And we want to just continue to work the grassroots with the tremendous amount of labor support that as come forward. The California Federation of Labor - 2 million members - is stepping in to help us. Many of the individual labor unions... And continue to reach out to the individuals and make connections, show them that we have a positive vision for our district and for our nation. And basically walk the precincts, press the flesh and do face-to-face communicating, Jonathan. That's what it's all about.
Singer: One of the interesting things about the primary campaign there in the 11th district is the split support of Democrats. You have Congressional Democrats - a lot of the Congress people from your area, surrounding districts - are supporting your opponent, Mr. Filson whereas a lot of the state party apparatus and people within the district are supporting you. Can you talk a little bit about how that came to be and what it means to this campaign?
McNerney: I think it's an interesting dynamic, Jonathan. We have been working on relationships for the last two years and building trust and reaching out to people, talking to people, getting vision for what's needed for the country. Because of that, the grassroots, the California Democratic Party, every single Democratic club in the district (that's endorsed) has come forth has endorsed our race. We feel like we're connecting to the people in this district. In fact you can look at our financial records. We have, just this year, about 1,500 donors, small dollar amounts. That's where most of our money is coming from. So we're really reaching out to the people. We're the candidate of the people.
Now I really can't speak for members of Congress. They certainly have their own agenda and idea of how to win election. But when it comes down to it, we need to put someone in office who represents the people, not really the interests of Washington, DC. And that's what we're fighting so hard for, Jonathan.
Singer: Final question. You talked a little bit about posting on Daily Kos and the netroots. If there's one message you'd like to send out to the readers of the progressive blogosphere, what would that be?
McNerney: I think the important thing in this context really is that the internet, the netroots, the blogging... all that stuff has opened up democracy in a way that wasn't possible before, and I think it really empowers our democracy. So I really challenge people that would be interested to keep participating and to broaden this sphere of influence, because this is how we take America forward as a country of the people rather than a country of the corporations.
For example, this net neutrality issue. To me, it's absurd that that would even be an issue right now. We need to protect the neutrality of the network and let people get into it as individuals at an equal basis. I can tell you when I get to Congress next year, I'm going to be looking at the blog, because you get a lot of unfiltered information from the blog and it's very refreshing." (More-At-Source)
"As you may know, Dick Cheney is holding a huge fundraiser for Richard Pombo in Stockton tonight. With the polls showing that Pombo is in deep trouble with voters from both parties, Pombo is getting desparate -- and calling on Dick Cheney, of all people, to rescue his sinking campaign oil tanker.
I would like to take this opportunity to talk substantively about the large white elephant that will be inside that fundraiser tonight -- the gas price crisis and how Cheney and Pombo got us into this mess. And what it will take to get us out of it.
Finally, I would like to hear what you think . Your comments have been invaluable to our campaign and I relish every opportunity to listen and discuss how we can address these great challenges together.
Here's what Dick Cheney will NOT say tonight as he raises thousands of dollars for his Big Oil buddy, Richard Pombo:
1) A PREVENTABLE CRISIS: Americans are now finding themselves in a position that was not only predictable, but inevitable. The rise in the price of gasoline is the result of limited supplies and increasing demand. Of course, there will be gouging and oil prices will fluctuate – up and down, but the long-term trend is clear: prices will increase.
The world is now at the maximum production of oil. We will never see oil taken from the earth at a faster rate than right now. Meanwhile, worldwide demand for oil is increasing exponentially. The result is that oil prices will rise, relatively slowly for the next few years followed by highly volatile and rapidly rising prices.
2) HOW DID WE GET HERE?: We insisted on burning oil as if the supply was completely unlimited. We built an infrastructure that depends entirely on oil at a time when we are becoming more and more dependent on imported oil. Of course, our elected representatives indulged us with these fantasies. Stated clearly, the current seemingly high price of oil is the consequence of a reckless White House and a rubber-stamp Republican Congress that is beholden to Big Oil.
Take a look at what’s happening in Washington today. The political proposals for reducing the cost of gasoline are truly breathtaking: tapping into the strategic petroleum reserve; taxing oil companies and giving the money to consumers; investigating oil companies for windfall profits; drilling in Alaska or off the coast of California.
3) WHAT IT WILL TAKE: Unfortunately, these proposals are just political grandstanding. It takes a public servant, not a politician, to tell the truth.
We may deny the problem. We may punish the messenger, but one way or another we will reduce our oil consumption. The longer we wait, the more difficult the adjustment will be.
The good news is that we have some time and there are viable solutions available. Oil production will stay at current levels for the time being. Technology exists to drastically increase our automobile fuel efficiency, while at the same time, we can move into production of bio-fuels and renewable energy. If we take these steps quickly, we could quite possibly avoid economic disaster.
4) HOLDING WASHINGTON ACCOUNTABLE: The current leadership in Washington has shown that it is unwilling or incapable of taking the necessary steps to prepare for our future, and this applies not only to oil but to the federal budget deficit, the world climate crisis, and numerous other issues.
Make no mistake; these problems are purely driven by politics. If we care about our future, we must replace the corrupt and irresponsible leaders in Washington, transform our democracy through real campaign finance reform, and face these challenges head-on.
Ultimately, we need to balance consumption of oil against what is reasonably sustainable. But first, Americans must hold the politicians who got us into this mess accountable. At the top of the list: Dick Cheney and Dick Pombo.
5) WE CAN RISE TO THIS GREAT CHALLENGE: Washington will have a large role to play in this adjustment. We need a plan to accomplish this change, a plan that balances oil reserves and current consumption against increasing our efficiency and developing new fuels. The plan should end in 10 to 20 years with an economy that consumes petroleum oil at a low rate relative to the supply.
Washington can and must rise to this challenge. The clock is ticking.
As citizens, we have a role to play as well. Washington is not solely responsible for extracting our country from this mess. To that end, I urge every American to start thinking about what it will take to come to grips with this problem, individually and as a nation.
Americans have a tradition of facing and overcoming obstacles, and if we do so now, we can build an America that’s greater than anything we’ve witnessed since our nation's founding.
Join us now and let's get this country back on the right track." (source: from email)
Also, Jerry McNerney Did An Interview With MYDD. Below is an excerpt from the conversation.
MyDD Conversation with CA-11 Candidate Jerry McNerney (source)
"Singer: Let's talk just a little bit of politics before I let you go. You've got a primary on June 6 against Steve Filson. What are going to be doing between now and then to try to ensure victory?
McNerney: Jonathan, we're just going to work on the network, the relationships, the organization that's already in place. We have a tremendous grassroots organization. People are stepping up and helping us. And we want to just continue to work the grassroots with the tremendous amount of labor support that as come forward. The California Federation of Labor - 2 million members - is stepping in to help us. Many of the individual labor unions... And continue to reach out to the individuals and make connections, show them that we have a positive vision for our district and for our nation. And basically walk the precincts, press the flesh and do face-to-face communicating, Jonathan. That's what it's all about.
Singer: One of the interesting things about the primary campaign there in the 11th district is the split support of Democrats. You have Congressional Democrats - a lot of the Congress people from your area, surrounding districts - are supporting your opponent, Mr. Filson whereas a lot of the state party apparatus and people within the district are supporting you. Can you talk a little bit about how that came to be and what it means to this campaign?
McNerney: I think it's an interesting dynamic, Jonathan. We have been working on relationships for the last two years and building trust and reaching out to people, talking to people, getting vision for what's needed for the country. Because of that, the grassroots, the California Democratic Party, every single Democratic club in the district (that's endorsed) has come forth has endorsed our race. We feel like we're connecting to the people in this district. In fact you can look at our financial records. We have, just this year, about 1,500 donors, small dollar amounts. That's where most of our money is coming from. So we're really reaching out to the people. We're the candidate of the people.
Now I really can't speak for members of Congress. They certainly have their own agenda and idea of how to win election. But when it comes down to it, we need to put someone in office who represents the people, not really the interests of Washington, DC. And that's what we're fighting so hard for, Jonathan.
Singer: Final question. You talked a little bit about posting on Daily Kos and the netroots. If there's one message you'd like to send out to the readers of the progressive blogosphere, what would that be?
McNerney: I think the important thing in this context really is that the internet, the netroots, the blogging... all that stuff has opened up democracy in a way that wasn't possible before, and I think it really empowers our democracy. So I really challenge people that would be interested to keep participating and to broaden this sphere of influence, because this is how we take America forward as a country of the people rather than a country of the corporations.
For example, this net neutrality issue. To me, it's absurd that that would even be an issue right now. We need to protect the neutrality of the network and let people get into it as individuals at an equal basis. I can tell you when I get to Congress next year, I'm going to be looking at the blog, because you get a lot of unfiltered information from the blog and it's very refreshing." (More-At-Source)
posted by progressivedem11 at 11:36 PM
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