If you have read my blogs before, you know where I stand on my feelings toward the oil and gas industry. Shoot, even if you haven’t read my blogs…I WORK in the industry. It doesn’t take much to figure out how I feel about it. But enough about me! Today, as I sit and think about what my blog should be about I asked myself, “What are some of the most common topics/issues being talked about right now?” What came to mind was presidential elections. Even for those of you who don’t keep up to date on this, all it takes is a simple scroll through Facebook to see it is a hot topic. For good reason. Besides the fact that one of these candidates is our furture president, it is also a very “entertaining” race.
I am not here to give any viewpoint whatsoever on how I feel about either candidate. I know better than to go down that road… No, I am here to only give facts about how each candidate feels in regards to the oil & gas industry. What is their take on the industry and what do they hope to accomplish if they become president?
Have y’all ever heard of ontheissues.org? If you haven’t, you should check it out. It breaks down how each candidate feels on each issue. It will have a quote from the candidate and the year they said it in. I have really enjoyed this site and the simplicity of it. It helps save a lot of my time researching each candidate. Anyway, I ask this because this is where I am going to be pulling the majority of my information from today.
Donald Trump
Oh the infamous Donald Trump. Below is straight from the site I mentioned above. In timely order, this goes through quotes Trump has said throughout the years dating back to 2010. He makes it very clear on how he feels about oil & gas and about renewable energy.
- Green energy is just an expensive feel-good for tree-huggers. (Nov 2015)
- Offered to oversee response to 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. (Sep 2015)
- Windmills are destroying shorelines all over the world. (Aug 2015)
- Solar hasn’t caught on because it has a 32-year payback. (Aug 2015)
- Maybe some climate change is manmade, but not all. (Jun 2015)
- Climate change is a hoax. (Jun 2015)
- No Cap-and-Tax: oil is this country’s lifeblood. (Dec 2011)
- Jobs will slump until our lifeblood–oil–is cheap again. (Dec 2011)
- Enough natural gas in Marcellus Shale for 110 year supply. (Dec 2011)
- Libya: No oil, no support; no exceptions. (Dec 2011)
- It’s incredible how slowly we’re drilling for oil. (Mar 2011)
- We need nuclear energy, and we need a lot of it fast. (Mar 2011)
- Oil is the lifeblood of all economies. (Apr 2010)
Hillary Clinton
So among all the other political leaders, Hillary had by far the longest list of stances on this topic. Like, really long! So I am not going to post the entire list.
- Half a billion solar panels in first 4 years. (Feb 2016)
- I now oppose Keystone, but I withheld opinion at first. (Oct 2015)
- Get tough with energy speculators and with OPEC cartel. (May 2008)
- Gas tax holiday, paid for by windfall oil tax. (May 2008)
- GovWatch: Gas tax holiday saves $8B; but that’s 64 cents/day. (May 2008)
- Investigate gas price manipulation; add windfall profits tax. (Apr 2008)
- FactCheck: Yes, FTC is investigating gas price manipulation. (Apr 2008)
- $650 for help with energy bills to those who can’t afford it. (Jan 2008)
- FactCheck: Oil & gas giveaways stripped from final 2005 Bill. (Jan 2008)
- Investigate & move toward energy efficiency and conservation. (Oct 2007)
- Opposes Yucca Mountain; earthquake fault goes under it. (Sep 2007)
- Invest in alternative energy; jobs that won’t be outsourced. (Aug 2007)
- End Big Oil tax break; $50 billion for strategic energy fund. (Jul 2007)
- Agnostic about nuclear power until waste & cost issue solved. (Jul 2007)
- FactCheck: There was no Big Oil tax break under Bush-Cheney. (Jul 2007)
- Energy Independence 2020: $50B for Strategic Energy Fund. (Jun 2007)
- Extensive funding into alternative energy. (Jun 2007)
- Will make big oil fund alternative energy research. (Feb 2007)
Bernie Sanders
Feel the Bern! I always liked his slogan. His and Donald Trump’s slogans have stuck the best in my opinion.
- Climate change partly causes rise of terrorist groups. (Nov 2015)
- Address climate change so we can leave planet to our kids. (Oct 2015)
- Climate change is a moral issue: tax on carbon. (Oct 2015)
- Opposed Keystone Pipeline from day one. (Oct 2015)
- Combat climate skeptics with overwhelming evidence. (Sep 2015)
- Keystone pipeline transports the dirtiest fossil fuel. (Sep 2015)
- Charge companies for carbon emissions; then fund renewables. (Apr 2015)
- Transform to sustainable system & away from fossil fuels. (Mar 2015)
- Weatherize millions of homes and buildings. (Jan 2015)
- Gas tax increases are regressive. (Jun 1997)
- Voted NO on barring EPA from regulating greenhouse gases. (Apr 2011)
- Voted NO on protecting middle-income taxpayers from a national energy tax. (Apr 2009)
- Voted NO on requiring full Senate debate and vote on cap-and-trade. (Apr 2009)
- Voted YES on tax incentives for energy production and conservation. (Jun 2008)
- Voted YES on addressing CO2 emissions without considering India & China. (May 2008)
- Voted YES on removing oil & gas exploration subsidies. (Jun 2007)
- Voted YES on making oil-producing and exporting cartels illegal. (Jun 2007)
- Voted YES on factoring global warming into federal project planning. (May 2007)
Gary Johnson
Last but not least! Here is our Libertarian’s thoughts.
- Cap-&-trade imposes costs with no environmental improvement. (Aug 2012)
- Alternative energy good; ethanol subsidies bad. (Nov 2011)
- Supports nuclear power. (Aug 2011)
- Current policy prevents common-sense energy development. (Jul 2011)
- No cap-and-trade; no taxing carbon emissions. (Jul 2011)
- I accept global warming but not cap-and-trade. (Jun 2011)
- Voluntary partnerships reduce greenhouse gases economically. (Aug 2000)
- Kyoto Treaty must include reductions by all countries. (Aug 2000)
- Federal tax incentives for energy, with state decisions. (Aug 2001)
There you have it. There is the viewpoint of our two nominees. No matter your view on the industry, oil & gas is still a huge necessity. One thing I love about CROFT is that we try to be as environmentally friendly as possible while cleaning up natural gas.
