I find it hard to understand how, in such a close election as this, that the Obama campaign and the Democratic Party itself are intentionally giving Pennsylvania to McCain. What do I mean? In the matter of just a few weeks, Murtha has insulted the residents of Western Pennsylvania for being racist and “redneck,” and now we find out Obama wants to bankrupt an industry and lifestyle of thousands of hardworking Pennsylvanians.

First, John Murtha said:

There’s no question Western Pennsylvania is a racist area.

He later corrected himself by saying:

What I said, that indicted everybody, that’s not what I meant at all. What I mean is there’s still folks that have a problem voting for someone because they are black… [this] whole area, years ago, was really redneck.

This weekend, an audiotape was released where Obama intends to bankrupt anyone wishing to build a coal power plant:

If somebody wants to build a coal power plant they can, it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they are going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.

Not to be out done, Joe Biden himself has stated his views on the coal industry:

We’re not supporting clean coal… No coal plants here in America. Build them, if they’re going build them, build them over [in China].

Pennsylvania extracts approximately 75,000 short tons every year, employing tens of thousands of citizens directly and indirectly in Western Pennsylvania. The state is fourth in national coal production, behind Wyoming, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Nationally, half of our power generation comes from coal production. It is estimated that there is more coal in the United States than there is oil in the Middle East, and with our desire to end our addiction to foreign oil, coal has been seen as our closest alternative in the short-term.

So why is it that the Obama campaign and John Murtha would want to threaten the livelihoods and economy of Pennsylvania (as well as Eastern Ohio)? For a campaign that is often lauded as being very disciplined, why would they be so careless? In 2004, George Bush lost Pennsylvania by 100,000 votes. Western Pennsylvania counties that went to Kerry were Beaver, Allegheny, Washington, and Fayette - all four of which sit on top of Pennsylvania’s Main Bituminous coal field. Obama cannot afford to lose these counties to McCain if he wishes to carry the state.

Is this an insight into the future of the industry and economy under Barack Obama if he were to win on Tuesday? It has already been shown that he is not interested in nuclear power by his desire to put so many regulations and benchmarks in place to make it next to impossible to build a new power plant. He is against offshore oil drilling unless the wells are so far off the coast, away from the easily accessible oil fields, making it less profitable to drill. Now he wants to make it cost ineffective to produce more power by using our largest natural resource? In my opinion, this is not the solution for our nation, especially as our energy needs continue to climb in a down economy. Voters in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wyoming, and West Virginia should take a moment and research Obama’s position on an industry that directly impacts their livelihoods as well as our national economic security.

Related articles:
Bloomberg - “Obama and McCain Campaign in Swing States as Race Nears Close”
WSAZ - “Obama Called Out for Comments about Bankrupting Coal Industry”
NewsBusters - “CNN Spins Obama Wanting to Bankrupt Coal Industry as Old News”
Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources - Map: coal distribution
Energy Information Association - Table: coal production and number of mines by state
The Politico - “Biden: ‘No coal plants here in America’”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - “Murtha says Obama will win Pennsylvania despite racism”
Blue Star Chronicles - “John Murtha Insults Pennsylvania”


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