Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Who's the Candidate of Big Oil?

Which Democratic candidate will provide most aid and succor to our failed fossil fuel economy?

Both Hillary and Obama support cap-and-trade with auctions, says Brendan Koerner of Slate, and the essential environmental mantra "80 by 50" (80% reductions of CO2 below 1990 levels by 2050), at least in theory. "Clinton's plan is a little better on nitty-gritty details," he writes, such as "Connie Mae," a new federal agency to build green homes.

On the other hand, says How The World Works, when it comes to Big Oil campaign contributions, "Of candidates still left in the race, Hillary Clinton ($267,150) edges out John McCain ($229,685) for first place. Barack Obama is third, having only raised $128,290. Ron Paul raised $84,438; Mike Huckabee, a paltry $51,600."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, if your relatives can do it, you must be qualified...

This isn't to question the merit of your argument about the pathetic gangland imposter, with which I entirely agree.

But didn't you ever consider that rampant nepotism has been part of our generation's undoing? We have a president, obviously unqualified, but who has been enabled by the accident of access to a comparatively ancient familial network with a death-grip on the reins of power.

It is, sadly, also characteristic of our generation. It certainly characterized the Iraq occupation and the corruption run amok among the contractors. It's a critical mechanism of the status quo, which displaces skill sets as a by-product by arbitrarily assigning opportunity based on social connections, encouraged a desperate desire to re-establish class position at a time when the traditional middle class is being destroyed.

Unless you're one of those geneticist, my-genes-prove-my-identity types. In which case: how cute. Dan Brown's car-trunk special must have positively raised your hackles.

This isn't to question your individual literary qualifications. I wouldn't have bothered looking up your blog if your book hadn't contained the relevant facts and arguments. There waded intrigue in the cogent informational morass.

On the other hand, our generation is sufficiently apathetic that even a misguided social concern by more privileged elements represents the grandest virtue. So in that spirit, keep up the good work.

Anya said...

dude, i was kind of kidding. Lighten up. I mean, yes, my parents and sister are writers, of fiction, poetry, and spiritual essays. But I was simply referring in a humorous way to the fact that writing about books is mostly beyond the scope of this blog.