Pick Your Poison Vol. 2: Will House Democrats choose Clinton or Sanders on Energy?

Hillary Clinton has failed in her quest to unify Democrats behind her, and now faces the prospect of a contested convention that will be decided by party insiders rather than voters. House Democrats now have a choice to make: Will they risk the ire of the liberal base and stand by unpopular FBI target Hillary Clinton? Or will they turn to socialist Senator Bernie Sanders and his extreme policies?

In this second of a series of pieces highlighting the pair of undesirable choices placed before Democrats, we will examine the Clinton and Sanders positions on energy.

• Hillary Clinton supports an irresponsible energy policy that would eliminate jobs and drive up energy prices for American families.
  • Despite previously admitting that the natural gas industry was creating tens of thousands of jobs and lowering prices, Clinton now supports placing additional regulations on natural gas development that she predicts will eliminate the industry in many places across the country.
  • Clinton would go even further than President Obama in blocking oil production, by banning oil and gas drilling in the Arctic.
  • In a CNN town hall, Clinton admitted that her energy policies would “put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.”
• Alarmingly, socialist Senator Bernie Sanders is even further left on energy issues than Hillary Clinton.
  • Sanders has called for a nationwide ban on hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”), an oil and gas drilling technique responsible for the boom in gas production in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania.
  • Sanders has proposed a complete ban on future oil and gas leases on public lands.
  • Sanders has criticized Hillary Clinton for taking campaign contributions from energy lobbyists, pointing out that 43 lobbyists who represent fossil fuel interests have given maximum contributions to Clinton and acted as bundlers for her campaign.
• House Democrats will have to choose which path they prefer on energy: an extreme left-wing policy that will destroy jobs and raise energy prices on families or an extreme left-wing policy that will destroy jobs and raise energy prices on families slightly more slowly.

NRCC COMMENT: “Whether House Democrats stand with unpopular FBI target Hillary Clinton or socialist Senator Bernie Sanders on energy policy, they will be supporting a position that destroys jobs and raises energy prices for American families. The extreme energy policies supported by both Clinton and Sanders will be toxic for their supporters down-ballot in November.” – Bob Salera, NRCC Spokesman

Background:

Sanders: ‘It will be a contested convention.’ “Bernie Sanders predicted Sunday that Hillary Clinton would not win enough pledged delegates to claim the nomination ahead of the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, and he delivered his most forceful call yet for superdelegates in states he’s won to consider throwing their support to him. Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., the Vermont senator argued that Clinton ‘will need superdelegates to take her over the top at the convention in Philadelphia. In other words, it will be a contested convention.’” (Daniel Strauss, Politico, 5/1/16)

Hillary Clinton Speech at the 7^th Annual National Clean Energy Summit – September 4, 2014 ““There are challenges here to be sure. But the boom in domestic gas production is an example of American innovation changing the game. And if we do it right, it can be good for both the environment and our economy. With the right safeguards in place, gas is cleaner than coal. And expanding production is creating tens of thousands of new jobs. And lower costs are helping give the United States a big competitive advantage in energy intensive industries.”

Democratic Presidential Debate – March 6, 2016 “So by the time we get through all of my conditions, I do not think there will be many places in America where fracking will continue to take place… So first, we’ve got to regulate everything that is currently underway, and we have to have a system in place that prevents further fracking unless conditions like the ones that I just mentioned are met.” – Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton Says She Opposes Arctic Drilling in Break With Obama. “Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton declared her opposition to oil and gas drilling in the Arctic on Tuesday, a day after a federal agency gave Shell final approval to begin drilling there. The move marks a significant break with the Obama administration and an attempt by Clinton to bolster her environmental credentials.” (Justin Worland, Time, 8/18/15)

Hillary Admits ‘We’re Gonna Put A Lot Of Coal Miners And Coal Companies Out of Business.’ “At a town hall event in Ohio with CNN, Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton told the crowd that her energy policies are ‘gonna put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.’” (Derek Hunter, The Daily Caller, 3/14/16)

Bernie Sanders Proposes Fracking Ban and Attacks Hillary Clinton on the Environment. “The Vermont senator began his day speaking to an estimated 5,000 people in Binghamton and by releasing a new television ad that called for the end of fracking across the country. Mr. Sanders said Mrs. Clinton has advocated for natural gas pipelines that will hurt the environment, and that as secretary of state she had rewarded companies through fracking expansions.” (Yamiche Alcindor, New York Times, 4/11/16)

BernieSanders.com: Combating Climate Change to Save the Planet. “Bernie recently co-sponsored the Keep It in the Ground Act to ban future fossil fuel leases on our public lands. His legislation would keep over 90 percent of the potential carbon emissions from fossil fuels on our federal lands and waters underground forever.”

Sanders attack on Clinton over oil and gas money: ‘Let the voters decide.’ “The Democratic presidential contenders have traded shots in recent days over contributions from those with fossil fuel ties. Sanders said the problem isn’t individual contributions from those working for energy companies — but Clinton and her super PAC taking money from oil and gas lobbyists. ‘Let the voters decide whether paid lobbyists who represent the fossil fuel industry, 43 of them, gave maximum contributions to the Clinton campaign and whether or not these same people are out in some cases are out in some cases bundling, trying to bring in even more money,’ Sanders told CNN’s Jake Tapper on ‘State of the Union.’” (Eric Bradner, CNN, 4/4/16)