The Election: Close With Energy
In the final weekend of the 2024 election cycle, it seems every candidate is closing with energy, and not just Republicans. Donald Trump’s “drill baby drill” phrase is constant and consistent at his rallies, as it is many pro-energy conservatives candidates, but in the home stretch, even Democrats are trying to get in on the fun.
Consider Vice President Kamala Harris, whose campaign has offered 180-degree reversals on several key energy issues. In 2019, Harris stated, “there’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking” Harris forcibly stated at a CNN Town Hall, and stating it more succinctly on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” saying she is committed to “putting an end to fracking once and for all.” Harris even sought to prosecute oil executives on criminal charges.
Harris’ message now sounds a lot like Trump. She celebrates record high oil and gas production and even tries to take some level of credit as these production numbers are the result of Biden-Harris policies. And in interviews and even at the Presidential debate against President Trump, Harris walked back her previous position, claiming “I will not ban fracking.”
Someone on her campaign team must have read the polls or seen the focus groups. No matter the survey or its source, the number one issue on voters’ minds is inflation and the cost of food. Just recently, when asked about her top priority on “day one” if she were to win, Harris said “reduce the cost of living.” The most surefire way to achieve such a goal is by lowering energy costs.
Late to the game, even contradicting herself, Harris is closing with energy.
This phenomenon is playing out across the congressional races, too.
In the hotly-contested battle for the Pennsylvania Senate, 18-year incumbent Bob Casey raised eyebrows with a campaign ad claiming to have stood with President Trump to “protect fracking.” Never mind that Casey votes 99% of the time with President Biden. This is remarkable positioning when considering much Democrat messaging has centered on “Trump is Hitler” and even President Biden declared Trump voters as “garbage.” Now, virtually tied with Dave McCormick in the polls, Casey is closing with energy.
In the last year, Ohio’s two-term Senator Democrat Sherrod Brown has changed his tune on energy and environmental issues, backing away from climate change rhetoric and embracing the energy industry. Brown even celebrated Buckeye coal miners for their “pioneering” and labelling their work in graphite “exciting.” Brown is virtually tied with Bernie Moreno in the polls, so late the game, Brown is closing with energy.
In Alaska, at-large Congresswoman Mary Peltola, Democrat, touts her support for oil and gas. In New Mexico’s second congressional district representing the critical oil and gas region of the Permian Basin, Democrat Gabe Vazquez is struggling to deliver a pro-energy message to the many energy workers who will vote.
My question to all these legislators and to the Vice President herself: what took you so long?
Where have you been these past four years as oil sanctions on Iran and Venezuela were eased allowing these hostile countries to produce more while the fewest domestic oil and gas permits were issued since World War II? Where were you while the Inflation Reduction Act slush fund poured hundreds of billions into Chinese-made wind and solar?
Where was Senator Brown’s enthusiasm for coal or Senator Casey’s defense of coal, a crucial industry in the Keystone State, when the Biden Environmental Protection Agency announced new rules, the implementation of which would shut down all coal plants nationwide? Coal workers were met with silence.
Speaking in Flint, Michigan, Harris vows, “I will never tell you what care you have to drive,” yet her Administration issued an executive order mandating 50% off all vehicle sales be electric by 2030. Meanwhile in Michigan, Ford announced it lost $1.3 billion dollars, or about $132,000 for every electric vehicle sold even canceling production of the electric F-150 which Joe Biden drove around a parking lot just three years ago. Stellantis indefinitely laid off approximately 1,100 workers from its Warren Truck Assembly in Michigan.
Where was your support for the combustion engine then, and why has it only conveniently surfaced now that the polls are tight, and the markets are wrecked? There is not much bravery or credit for a candidate who is unabashedly pro-extinguisher after the fire has done the damage.
America deserves better than candidates who merely close with energy and hope their words appease the electorate enough to score some votes and another term in Washington. We deserve elected officials who lead with energy in their actions. For years the Biden-Harris Administration has created market chaos, geopolitical turmoil, and economic hardship. We deserve elected leaders unafraid of threats from energy competitor OPEC, renewables manufacturer China, and radical green activists who do their bidding under the guise of climate change.
Energy is on the ballot. I will not vote for energy closers. I will vote for energy winners.
Daniel Turner is the founder and executive director of Power The Future, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for American energy jobs. Contact him at daniel@powerthefuture.com and follow him on Twitter @DanielTurnerPTF
