Blackburn calls Dems plan a 'nightmare'
Washington (CNN) - Rep. Marsha Blackburn blasted President Obama and his fellow Democrats 'cap and trade' energy legislation Saturday, calling it a "bureaucratic nightmare" for small businesses and households across the country.
In the weekly Republican radio and Web address, Blackburn said the Presidents plan for energy efficiency will only push the country toward a deeper economic recession.
"If President Obama has his way, the Copenhagen conference will produce mandatory emissions limits that would destroy millions of American jobs and damage our economic competitiveness for decades to come," the Tennessee congresswoman said.
While in Copenhagen, Denmark, next week, Obama is expected to set a goal of reducing emissions to 17 percent below 2005 levels over the next decade.
"Just think of what will happen to small businesses and manufacturers hit with these skyrocketing energy bills," Blackburn added. "With Americans already facing double-digit unemployment, there could not be a worse time to unilaterally disarm our engines of job creation and economic growth."
According to the latest CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll, six in 10 Americans support a "cap and trade" proposal to cut pollution.
Touting her proposed bill H.R. 391, which aims amend the Clean Air Act so greenhouse gases are not subject to the act, Blackburn emphasized the Republicans aren't opposed to energy efficiency.
"Republicans are all for clean water, clean air, and clean energy," Blackburn said. "We just don't think we have to tax people out of their house and home to get there. That's why we have proposed an 'all of the above' energy strategy that says, let's put every clean, responsible energy option on the table so we can create jobs, ease the strain on family budgets, and clean up our environment."
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Small business owners generally pay the lowest wages and taxes, yet the Republicans never miss a chance to court that constituency. So if the party which advocates for that demographic with the landlords opposes the party of America's celebrity elite, who's to represent the workers? Anybody else?
For the Republicans to constantly oppose all ideas proposed by the President and the Democrats, without proposing an alternative, is indicative of sorry state of the Republican leadership. They are
"no-ing" themselves into irrelevancy.
Cap and trade, I thought it was called scam and tax. If it gets any colder here in the north east I'm going to have to add more money to my heating budget which I have had to do for the past 10 years, every year.
Yes lets wait until it is too late !!! Great idea.Jut because utility bills go up will not mean loss of jobs and the idea is absurd. Like any increase in expenses to business, you adjust accordinally. The Doomsday Republicans continue to spread lies and of course very little substance in a better solution other then put down President Obama. China is in aggreement and accepts mans harm on the enviroment and is willing to man up to the carbon tax and have alot at stake but with all the conspiracy theories put forth by Republicans we are suppose to believe that the enviorment will take care of itself.The engines of job creation do not come from ignorance and denial, they do come from open minds and innovative ideas. Is she trying to say Americans are too stupid to mange business in a greener and more responsible manner ? Is she saying that business owners do not know how to adapt to change or will just close the doors because expenses go up ?
Eh, Marsha, there sure was a "plan" during the past 8-year administration, right?
Republicans had 8 years to do something about Clean Air and they did nothing. Doing nothing is what they are all about. Nothing on jobs, nothing on health care, nothing on energy conservation. All they got is cut taxes for the rich. Where did that get us.
She's so right!
Well, that depends on what you consider "clean, responsible energy options". Drilling oil isn't clean or responsible. Why don't Republicans believe in the innovative minds of Americans? We can lead the renewable energy movement if given a chance. However, these small business owners Rep. Blackburn is trying to defend cannot compete with big energy companies!
Republicans can say they are for anything good, but sadly, that is merely rhetoric. Take for example, Sarah Palin who claims to be opposed to Socialism, Socialist programs, and abortions, yet she takes a speaking engagement at a Canadian Hospital that provides abortions because she will get paid $200,000. So much for her values and beliefs.
When the automobile was invented just think of the millions of buggy whip making jobs that were destroyed!! When the polio vaccine was discovered, think of how many jobs were destroyed in the iron lung and leg brace industries .....its called progress Rep, Blackburn. Do the people of Tennessee believe in that?
When you only report news in a certain context, you will (for the most part) have readers that agree with that context. Therefore an entitys polls will favor that entitys position. Want a sense of what everyday think? Just start asking. From young to old the people i speak to are a bit nervous about our current administrations ambitions.
This is nothing but a scam. A way to stop any building and expansion of business and a way to shut the coal industry down. Obama doesn't care how many people he puts out of work. Pushing his green agenda when he flies around on AF1 like it is his personnel toy. HYPROCRITE.
Hey Blackburn! We just survived the nightmare of the Bush Cheney republican leadership. You nit wits tromped on the Constitution, started unnecessary wars, violated the Geneva Convention, tortured, gave away our children's and grandchildren's future with the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, attacked American workers that made up the middle class, tried to destroy public education, sent our troops to war without necessary equipment, and had no clear strategy in Afghanistan.
You republicans assaulted America and tried to make Main Street more like Elm Street.
It seems that anyone's ideas that are not Republicans' ideas, are "nightmares".
The true nightmare is the current state of the Republican party and the Conservative movement in this country.
That's the true nightmare...
You'd think by now the NO party would figure out that the "sky is falling" cry they utter everytime they open their mouths is NOT working and hardly helping in getting the Country out of the MESS THEY and their clown prince got us in during the past administration!
Republicans against everything and anything except- tax cuts for the rich....Vote them out
When the Democrats add language that allows the Administrators of Medicare and Social Security to draw from the general fund if the bill causes job loss. You can bet the Cap and Tax Bill cost jobs,and we do not need this at this time,nor do we need higher energy costs. What is wrong with the Democrats? Are they all so Stupid to think the American people need to pay more for energy or lose more jobs?Where is the Nuclear Power plants we need to build? Hell Clear the regulations and lets get to building,France gets 80% of its power form Nuclear energy,What the hell are we waiting for?
Marsha, thanks for the straight talk. Republicans are do a superb job in elucidating the republican path while stating clearly and factually why the democrats are out of control. Their guy talks with no substance but the same old, monotonous crap. The democrats are in total disarray.
This situation would be funny if it weren't so tragic. Now the Senate wants a cap on annual health care benefits. This will keep the government from having to pay for catastrophic health crises. Remember the democrats' tv ads. They told us we needed a government health care system in order to prevent bankrupting families with health crises. So the Senate wants to cover everything BUT those crises!
Please listen to Marsha Blackburn people!
She is the voice of reason and common sense. If only we had more people like her in power. She is fantastic.
Why do our leading democrats always approach a situation in the exact opposite manner that they learned in economics class? If your economy is bad you don’t threaten the entire business world with a major tax. An economic downturn is 60-70% perception mostly uncertainty. Why don’t the democrats say something like "we want to reinstate a portion of the Bush tax cuts, companies that meet the demands of cap and trade can have those tax cuts back"?
I think cap and trade has the potential to backfire on the democrats also. China will not meet the same demands that we will be required to. This will provide an even bigger advantage for China. Our government will be forced to raise tariffs, making China angry, and in effect we will lose our line of credit with them. No more spending sprees.
Why is it that no one in our government is pushing to investigate the climate gate letters. I am not a scientist but neither are any of our politicians in government. I am all for conserving our environment but I think those letters provide enough questions to investigate it and get a full understanding of what is going on. When I search the web I can find several groups of scientists that claim humans only produce about 2% of the daily greenhouse gas emissions. I do not know who to believe, but with the amount of information I find against the cause, I am very skeptical. Unlike the information we receive for the scientists claiming global warming, these websites provide data and facts. Just because I found those websites does not mean I believe them (too many bbbiiiggg words) but they make a lot of sense, enough sense to be considered.
I heard her address - how did she ever get elected? She has no grasp of science, the economy or the environment. I like the traditional republican basis of a small limited government with fiscal responsibility, but until the republican party starts to acknowledge science and stops its assault on the environment, it will continue to be the "party of no" and the minority party.
Republican policy: platitudes that sound good on the evening news delivered by the blond du jour.
It is precisely this sort of ungovernance that has led to near disaster economically and total disaster in the Middle East. When will the electorate realize the party of the right represents the interests of a few very wealthy people and the large corporations they control and only pays lip service to "the middle class" and small business.
Should the conservative dream of an absolute monarchy become reality, maybe then they could stop pretending to be for the little guy.
Funny how Republicans hate science so much. Of course, these developers, bankers, and big-money tycoons never address what happens if nothing is done. You think they might bet-hedge a little. Whatever, it won't affect their re-election.
On another matter, notice how the media buried Glenn Beck's racist comments comparing Tiger Woods to OJ, and Rush Limbaugh's innuendo concerning black men marrying white women? I guess we don't want to offend the "base", or the advertizers!
Rock on, America!
Hogwash. Conserving energy in all our homes and daily activities will end up saving everyone money and will move our country into the future, developing new industries.
The opposition to this movement simple comes from those who represent old, outdated ways of doing business and who want to hold onto their dwindling power.