Climate Denial Crock of the Week

What is it about republicans from Wisconsin?  What is it that the GOP hates about free, renewable, clean energy?

I’ve already reported about Scott Walker and the Wisconsin GOP’s roadblocks to new wind development, and the jobs that they’ve already destroyed in Wisconsin. Now they’re ready to build on that success…

The New York Times reports:

A long-term Republican budget plan released this week by Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin calls for drastic cuts in federal spending on energy research and development and for the outright elimination of subsidies and tax breaks for wind, solar power and other alternative energy technologies.

According to the article, the GOP plan talks about “eliminating welfare for energy companies,”, and references “uncompetitive” energy sources, a code word for new energy like solar and wind power, which receive subsidies to encourage new technology and level the energy playing field.  Tellingly,

Other energy incentives may go unchallenged, however. Questioned on Fox News on Sunday by Chris Wallace on whether multibillion-dollar subsidies for oil and gas companies would also be eliminated, Mr. Ryan did not give a direct answer.

“Do you eliminate tax breaks?” Mr. Wallace asked. “Do you bring in new revenue by eliminating,  for instance, tax breaks for oil companies?”

“The problem with our deficit is not because Americans are taxed too little — the problem with our deficit is because Washington spends too much money,” Mr. Ryan responded. “So we’re not going to go down the path of raising taxes on people.”

Pressed further on the subsidies, Mr. Ryan stated that the “little details” of the Republican spending plan would be worked out later by the Ways and Means Committee, which is led by Representative Dave Camp.

Rep. Camp released a statement in support of the plan, saying, “..the Path to Prosperity… is a proposed budget which provides an honest reality to the American people about what is wrong with Washington and how we can fix it.”

Gee, if only these guys had been in power when the internet was being laid out by pointy headed intellectuals and lefty computer geeks. Surely they would have put the kibosh on that boondoggle..

Note to self. Dave Camp is my rep, and a high school chum…..I need to remind him about the explosion of new,sustainable energy investment and jobs in his district….