Dems ‘Bankrupt’ Coal Rhetoric

TOP DEMS: ‘A War On Coal Is Exactly What’s Needed,’ ‘We’re Going To Put A Lot Of Coal Miners … Out Of Business’

HILLARY CLINTON: “We’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.” (“Why Putting Coal Miners Out Of Work Is A Very Bad Thing To Say In West Virginia,” The Washington Post, 5/10/16)

“…Obama’s new rules are absolutely changing the trajectory of the power industry. He has been an ally in the war on coal …” (“Obama’s Ozone Lesson,” Politico, 10/15)

DANIEL P. SCHRAG, White House Climate Adviser: ‘A war on coal is exactly what’s needed’ “The one thing the president really needs to do now is to begin the process of shutting down the conventional coal plants. …a war on coal is exactly what’s needed.” (The New York Times, 6/25/13)

OBAMA EPA Official: ‘Make examples out of people,’ ‘Crucify them’ “The Romans used to conquer little villages in the Mediterranean. They’d go into a little Turkish (sic) town somewhere, they’d find the first five guys they saw and they would crucify them. And then you know that town was really easy to manage for the next few years. And so you make examples out of people...” (“EPA Official Not Only Touted 'Crucifying' Oil Companies, He Tried It,” Forbes, 4/26/12)

THEN-SEN. BARACK OBAMA: “Under my plan of a cap and trade system electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket, even, you know, regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad, because I'm capping greenhouse gases, coal powered plants, you know, natural gas, you name it, whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.” (The San Francisco Chronicle, 1/17/08)

• OBAMA: “So if somebody wants to build a coal fired 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 is being emitted.” (The San Francisco Chronicle, 1/17/08)

 Eager Foot Soliders In The War On Coal Families

KY Coal Association: “One of the Sierra Club’s expressly stated goals is to shut down the coal industry” (“Know Thy Enemy: An Update On The Sierra Club,” Kentucky Coal Association)

SIERRA CLUB: “The Beyond Coal campaign’s main objective is to replace dirty coal … by mobilizing grassroots activists in local communities to advocate for the retirement of old and outdated coal plants and to prevent new coal plants from being built. Our goals include: Retiring one-third of the nation’s more than 500 coal plants by 2020 … Keeping coal in the ground in places like Appalachia and Wyoming’s Powder River Basin” (“Coal Is An Outdated, Backward, And Dirty 19th-Century Technology,” Sierra Club, Accessed 12/9/16)

• “Sierra Club political endorsements …Ohio has one progressive environmental senator in Sherrod Brown…” (“Endorsements,” Sierra Club Central Ohio Group, 2016)

SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D-OH): “Their [Sierra Club members’] advocacy is critical to our efforts...” (Sen. Brown, Press Release, 3/21/16)

• BROWN: ‘replace 300 dirty, large coal plants’ (Sen. Brown, Press Release, 4/19/10)

A ‘War On Coal’ Families Was ‘The Centerpiece Of Obama’s Climate Agenda’

“The [EPA’s power plant] rule, finalized in August, is the centerpiece of Obama’s climate agenda — but its sweeping scope and strict standards make it an especially contentious regulation.” (“Wave Of Litigation Hits Obama Climate Rule,” The Hill, 10/24/15)

• “The regulations were made final in August by the Environmental Protection Agency, and are the main pillar of Obama’s second-term push against climate change.” (“Senate Tees Up Votes Against Obama’s Climate Rules,” The Hill, 11/16/15)

THE U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: ‘As many as 224,000 jobs would be eliminated’ “The country’s largest business lobby warned Wednesday that the Obama administration’s proposal to impose new limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants could eclipse $50 billion in annual costs through 2030. … The Chamber’s study says as many as 224,000 jobs would be eliminated annually through 2030 under the proposal.” (“Chamber: Costs Of EPA Climate Rule Could Top $50 Billion A Year,” The Hill, 5/28/14)

“…in coal country, the changes have meant layoffs. Nowhere has been hit harder than eastern Kentucky, where more than 6,000 miners have lost their jobs since January 2012. For each mining job, there are estimated to be at least three directly related jobs, like trucking, that also disappear.” (Fox News, 1/16/14)

• “According to [Bill] Bissett, [the president of the Kentucky Coal Association] the coal industry has lost more than 6,000 direct jobs, and 18,000 people indirectly connected to the coal industry are out of work. Coal production in Eastern Kentucky is down 30 percent...” (Commonwealth Journal [KY], 1/7/14)

While The Senate Voted To Block ‘Obama Administration’s Rules’ Assaulting Coal Families…

SEN. MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): “Tonight, the U.S. Senate voted to stand up for Middle Class Americans, and specifically our hard working Kentucky coal miners and their families, by voting to overturn the Obama Administration’s deeply regressive energy regulations that would eliminate good-paying jobs, punish the poor, and make it even harder for Kentuckians to put food on the table.” (“Senate Attacks Obama’s Landmark Climate Rules,” Huffington Post, 11/18/15)

• “‘The administration bypassed Congress entirely when it developed this rule, and these resolutions of disapproval will give senators an opportunity to approve or disapprove of these far-reaching regulations,’ Sen. Shelley Moore Capito…” (“Senate Tees Up Votes Against Obama’s Climate Rules,” The Hill, 11/17/15)

“The Senate resolution, which passed 52 to 46, would scuttle a rule that would significantly cut heat-trapping carbon emissions from existing coal-fired power plants. That Environmental Protection Agency rule, released in August, is the centerpiece of Mr. Obama's efforts to address climate change. A second resolution, which also passed 52 to 46, would strike a related E.P.A. rule intended to freeze construction of future coal-fired power plants.” (“Senate Rejects Obama Plan To Cut Emissions At Coal-Burning Plants,” The New York Times, 11/18/15)

…Sens. Brown, Schumer, And Others Voted Against Standing Up For Hard Working Coal Families

(S.J.Res.23, Roll Call Vote #307, Joint Resolution Passed 52-46; R 49-3; D 3-41; I 0-2, 11/17/15) ; (S.J.Res.24, Roll Call Vote #306, Joint Resolution Passed 52-46; R49-3; D 3-41; I 0-2, 11/17/15)

Coal Miner: ‘I Say To You, Mister President Of The United States… We're Hurting.’

GARY LOCKHART, Coal Miner: “Our biggest worries now are just trying to keep a roof over our heads, food on the table, telling your family that this was all caused by the EPA, directed by our President for his political agenda.” (Coal Listening Session, Kentucky, 12/6/13)

PHILLIP CONLEY, Coal Miner: “I just believe the Obama administration has taken a huge impact on the coal industry and Appalachia. Anymore, you just never know from day to day if you are going to have a job or not.” (Fox News, 1/16/14)

HOWARD ABSHIRE, Coal Miner: “I say to you, Mister President of the United States… We're hurting. You say you're the president of the people? Well we're people too. No one loves the mountains no more than we do. We live here. We crawl between them. We get up every morning and we go on top of a mountain in a strip job in the cold rain, snow, to put bread on the table.” (Coal Listening Session, Kentucky, 12/6/13)

• ABSHIRE: “Come and look at our little children, look at our people, Mr. President. You're not hurting for a job; you've got one. I don't have one.” (Coal Listening Session, Kentucky, 12/6/13)

JUSTINE BRADFORD, Teacher: “Dear EPA: Will you please tell Santa Claus all we want for Christmas this year is to be able to work. Here in Eastern Kentucky we too are real people.” (Coal Listening Session, Kentucky, 12/6/13)