NJ-04: Declaring Energy Independence Day

by: Zeitz for Congress (NJ-4)

Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 01:03:52 PM EDT

First, I want to wish you all a Happy 4th of July. I've been thinking about the meaning of Independence Day, a day on which we as a people publicly declared our desire to be masters of our own destiny, to chart our own course as a free and independent society no longer under the control of others. For 232 years we Americans have done just that. We have governed ourselves, and I'd say that our record is one in which we can justly take a great deal of pride.

On this 4th of July, I've also been thinking about another kind of independence, namely energy independence. We are a strong country with our best days yet ahead of us. Right now, however, we face tremendous problems because we are deeply dependent on foreign oil. And we're not just importing oil from friendly democracies like Canada, but from places like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela, countries who have very different values and interests from our own.

More after the jump.

Zeitz for Congress (NJ-4) :: NJ-04: Declaring Energy Independence Day

We've seen the price of oil go through the roof since George Bush, supported by Chris Smith, invaded Iraq and destabilized the Gulf region. Energy independence is vital because too many families can't afford to fill up their gas tanks or heat their homes, and also because too much of what we spend on energy ends up with regimes or terrorist groups that want to hurt us here at home and attack our brave servicemen and women in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the summer of 1776 our Founding Fathers literally put their lives on the line to declare our independence from King George III. We need to honor their bravery, and to defend our country's independence for the sake of our children by taking serious measures starting this summer.

We must increase fuel economy standards for vehicles and invest in more renewable energy. We also need to increase the Hybrid-Vehicle tax credit so all working families can afford a new, fuel efficient vehicle for the cost of their current car payment. Greater fuel efficiency means we import less oil and help families pay the bills. Think about it. If your car got twice as many miles to the gallon, it would be like cutting the price of gas in half because each gallon would get you twice as far.

For more details about my ideas on energy issues, take a look here and here.

George Bush and Chris Smith's answer to our energy problems is to ask the Saudi king to increase oil production, which will do nothing more than send more American dollars into Saudi coffers.

The time has come to decide whether we are going to elect leaders who fight for energy independence or whether we will continue to send politicians back to Washington, DC who won't push for change because their party is in the pocket of multinational oil companies. That's why we need a change, why we need new leadership. That's why I'm running for Congress.

Tags: NJ-04, Chris Smith, Josh Zeitz, George W Bush, energy, oil, gas prices, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, (All Tags)

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NJ-04: Declaring Energy Independence Day | 2 comments

Comments (4.00 / 1)

Ian Reifowitz here for the campaign. I'm happy to hear comments. I hope you'll contact me about volunteering at ian_at_joshzeitz_dot_com.

by: Zeitz for Congress (NJ-4) @ Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 17:05:13 PM UTC

good specifics (0.00 / 0)

There's a difference between providing platitudes on environmental preservation and on providing specific alternatives. What I like about Zeitz's plan here is that it provides a large-scale framing of the problem (global warming and energy independence) but also specific policy proposals -- increasing the hybrid-tax credit, relenting from increasing Saudi oil production, and so forth.

To be fair to Smith, he has voted against increased oil production in 2005, but he doesn't seem to grasp that the very foreign policies he supports, that is, unilateral invasion of Iraq with no withdrawal date, contributes to the destabilization of the region and the subsequent increase in oil prices.

by: Martin @ Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 01:53:52 AM UTC