This weekend, the Duluth News Tribune published an op-ed written by Al Franken called “Coleman’s energy policy puts Big Oil interests before Minnesota.”
Read the entire piece after the jump, including Al’s thoughts on the Bush-Coleman energy policy and his proposals to make Minnesota the epicenter and the engine of a green economy.
Al Franken:
“This is a good decision for Minnesota farmers. I do understand that the high price of corn poses a problem for livestock producers, but economists tell us those high prices are only due, in small part, to ethanol. Instead they are largely due to the Bush-Coleman energy plan, which is driving up input costs. I don’t favor pitting commodities against each other — instead, I support a program of emergency relief for our livestock producers. Ending the failed Bush-Coleman policy of dependence on foreign oil — and solving the energy crisis that is threatening our economy — requires a focus on renewable energy. Although we are moving towards other forms of biofuels, right now corn ethanol is at the forefront of our effort to build a renewable energy economy.”
Spending time in rural Minnesota is one of my favorite parts of campaigning for the U.S. Senate – and not just because I’m hopelessly addicted to sweet corn.
Farming is a vital part of Minnesota’s identity, not to mention our state’s economy and our national security. Without farms, we’d have no food, and no hope of energy independence. Without farms, we’d lose our rural values of service, faith, hard work, and strong communities.
That’s why I’m looking forward to this year’s Farmfest – and why I’m anxious to change the direction of our nation’s economic and energy policies. Because our rural communities are struggling under the weight of a recession and an energy crisis – neither of which Washington seems to be able to fix.
Read full entry for more…
Whether I’m drinking coffee in Tim and Connie Velde’s kitchen near Granite Falls or listening to people’s concerns in a diner in Pipestone, I hear about the price of fuel. For too long, we’ve had an energy policy to benefit big oil companies.
Families are paying double what they used to in order to fill up the tank. School districts are considering going to four-day weeks.
Fortunately, the solution to our energy crisis will strengthen the rural economy: renewables. Right here, we’ll find the key to ending our dependence on foreign oil — and an economic bonanza for rural Minnesota.
There’s plenty we can do for the farm economy: bolster the farm safety net to help farmers weather increased input costs, protect farmers from unfair trade deals, and create a program of emergency assistance to livestock producers. There’s plenty we can do to help middle-class families across Minnesota make ends meet: tax cuts for working families, increased student-aid, and improved access to health care.
But when I get to Washington, there’s nothing I’ll fight for harder than a real investment in renewable energy. Minnesota farms safeguard our national security and provide our state’s identity. They can also be the engine of our nation’s energy economy.
Al Franken
DFL-endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate
The Rochester Post-Bulletin published this letter on July 31, 2008.
Here is an excerpt from Al’s DFL Endorsement Acceptance Speech. The full text is after the jump.
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We’re going to canvass until our feet hurt, and when our feet hurt, we’ll start picking up the phone, start phone-banking. We’re going to get up early and stay up late.
And we’re going to do it because five million Minnesotans need a voice in Washington, and they don’t have one in Norm Coleman.
On issue after issue, he hasn’t brought people together to get things done – he’s sold people out to get ahead.
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