The E-Revolution From The Jorgensen For Congress Campaign

Building A New Energy, Economic, Environmental, Educational Future

For Our Country and Our Planet

          Democratic candidate for California’s 24th Congressional District, Marta Jorgensen has formulated a bold new campaign platform called E-Revolution.  She believes this platform, so named for its focus on the strong and productive reform of federal energy, economic, environmental, and educational policies as well as on citizen engagement, is necessary for the United States to compete and survive in the new millennium.  

The first pillar of E-Revolution is energy reform.  As our older energy sources continue to pollute our environment, make us dependent on foreign governments, and slowly get used up, we must adopt clean, independent, and renewable forms of alternative energy like solar power, wind power, tidal power, geothermal power, and biofuels.  

Countries like Denmark, which already gets 25% of its energy from wind power, and Germany, which expects to get 45% of its power from renewable energy sources by 2030, have already recognized the dangers of an addiction to oil and coal.  But Marta Jorgensen believes that the United States can meet this challenge head on; we can take back the mantle of energy pioneer we once held by supporting these new technologies with tax breaks and federal mandates.

The second pillar of this platform, economic reform, seeks to return the American economy to the robust strength it once had and to create new Green and higher paying jobs for American workers.  This can be done by steering our economy toward alternative energy sources, by making our economy more efficient, by working to overcome global warming, and by creating more favorable trade agreements.

While the American oil and coal industries are losing jobs, renewable alternative energies can create and support millions of new jobs.  According to studies, wind power can account for nearly 350,000 jobs, solar power for over 260,000 jobs and $45 billion in economic investment, tidal power for thousands of jobs per plant, geothermal energy for over 20,000 jobs; and biofuel for over 200,000 jobs.  California is the natural home for many of these industries, and with them our state’s economy, already one of the largest in the world, will surely grow even larger.  

We can also make our economy more efficient.  For example, one study found that an increase in fuel efficiency standards starting in 2001 could have saved drivers in upstate New York more than $2.4 billion in gas by 2012; the savings for California, with its much bigger economy and many more residents, could have been astronomical.  Calling for stricter fuel efficiency standards and supporting the creation of new cars with alternative forms of power like electricity, hydrogen, or fuel cells can make our economy more efficient and each of us better off.

Switching to alternative energies and making our economy more efficient as well as working to reduce pollution and instituting a carbon tax will have the additional and very important effect of helping to ward off the effects of climate change.  The costs of untreated global warming is an increase in wildfires, water conservation, public health, agriculture, and flooding could be incalculable; if we take steps now to mitigate those effects, we will be able to sustain and grow our economy far into the future.

In addition, we can take steps to keep our thriving international trade alive and growing while fixing bad trade agreements so that our only exports are American products, not American jobs.  We can also address the issue of our crumbling dollar by reducing the federal deficit and paying down the federal debt.  These policies form an important part of Marta Jorgensen’s platform.

       Such sweeping economic reform may sound difficult, but it is nowhere near as hard as keeping our economy beholden to the old energy sources, old technologies, and bad trade agreements that have made our economy so weak.  But America is no weakling, and Marta Jorgensen believes that we are strong enough and motivated enough to do what we must to secure success for our economy.

The third pillar of change in E-Revolution, environmental reform, is closely related to Jorgensen’s call for both energy and economic reform.  We face serious peril from the effects of global warming, including a catastrophic rise in sea level, widespread drought, and myriad extinctions in plant and animal species all over the planet, effects that will change our world for the worse.  But Marta Jorgensen thinks we can change the world for the better; Marta Jorgensen has a plan.  

First, she calls for freezing carbon emissions and instituting a carbon tax, which will go a long way to reduce any further impact we might have on the atmosphere.  But we also need to further reduce our creation of greenhouse gases by instituting a moratorium on coal plants not outfitted with carbon capture features, calling for the replacement of inefficient incandescent light bulbs, and building a more efficient electrical grid.  In concert, these changes will drastically reduce our negative impact on the environment.

Of course, while we in the United States bear well more than our fair share of responsibility for global warming, we cannot address this problem alone.  That is why Marta Jorgensen will call for a new and stronger global treaty, more effective than the Kyoto Protocol and with a closer compliance date, and she will do all she can to make sure that this time, we sign on and we stay on.

The final pillar of E-Revolution, educational reform, centers on the need to teach our children how to succeed in an E-Revolution world.  We need programs to teach them how to work on a wind farm, how to design a better solar panel, and how to build a more efficient energy grid.  We need to make sure that they know how important our environment is what they can do as individuals to make sure we maintain it.  In short, we need comprehensive environmental education, and we need to do it on the national level.

      The four pillars of E-Revolution are closely related; if one of them fails, the success of the whole project would be cast into doubt.  Without energy reform to create new jobs in alternative energies and to make the economy more efficient, true economic reform is impossible, and without a switch to cleaner energy sources, true environmental reform is impossible.  Without economic reform to create and maintain alternative energies, true energy reform is impossible, and without a more sustainable economy, true environmental reform is impossible.  Without environmental reform to wean us off our addiction to fossil fuels, true energy reform is impossible, and without an environmental policy that seeks to overcome the problems of global warming, true economic reform is impossible.   And unless we have educational reform to teach our children how to thrive in this new world, all the gains of the rest of the project will be for naught.

We need to make E-Revolution a reality; we need to elect Marta Jorgensen.

Please support Marta Jorgensen’s campaign to unseat Republican Elton Gallegly in California’s 24th Congressional District.

             For more information, visit her website at: www.jorgensenforcongress.com.

805-742-0163

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(Charlie’s coming back after this with a vengeance. – promoted by David Dayen)

As you know, Charlie Brown just released his energy plan —a pragmatic, “all of the above” strategy that calls for more domestic oil supply, a new energy economy that creates thousands of new jobs, and an end to the practice of spending taxpayer dollars on Middle-East oil.

Hundreds of people from across the political spectrum have signed our petition to put Charlie’s plan into action.

In response, Tom McClintock did what career politicians do…

He pandered to the oil interests who have bankrolled his political career (Tom has taken $155K from Big Oil in the last 10 years alone), and in full disregard of the facts, he told the biggest lie he could think of.  

Click Here to Help Charlie Fight Back!

To be fair, Tom got help from Vice President Dick Cheney —the man whose energy policies have been great for oil companies, but awful for American families—driving gas prices from a once manageable $1.46, to nearly $5 a gallon.  So how much do McClintock & Cheney have in common?  Judge for yourself.

“Oil is being drilled right now 60 miles off the coast of Florida. But we’re not doing it. The Chinese are, in cooperation with the Cuban government.”–VP Dick Cheney, 06/11/08.

Cheney then retracted the fabrication the day after he issued it:  “It is our understanding that no Chinese firm is drilling there.”–06/12/08  

Two months later, McClintock repeated the lie:  “The vast oil fields off the coast of Florida…are now being drained by the Chinese Government drilling in Cuban waters.”–8/10/08

Like Dick “imminent threat/last throes” Cheney, Tom McClintock has a credibility problem —and not just on energy.   Then again, career politicians often say just about anything to score cheap partisan points.  By contrast, career military officers like Charlie know that misstatements and distortions don’t solve problems-they are part of the problem.  

McClintock’s ridiculous assertions aside, America is finally having a serious dialogue about our energy future. Consequently, gas prices are falling, but the difference between that drop being temporary, and much bigger and more permanent, rests on our willingness to elect leaders committed to taking action and doing whatever it takes to change how we power our nation.  That’s what makes your support for Charlie Brown so critical.

Click Here to Contribute Now!

Every day we are learning more and more about Tom McClintock.  

We know he is continuing to raise money so he can run for Board of Equalization or Lt. Governor in 2010 —all while he’s running for Congress in a district that is over 400 miles from his home.  

We also know he’s already sending out letters attacking Charlie’s patriotism, but focusing much more on Nancy Pelosi–from which we can only surmise that he should be carpetbagging over to San Francisco, not the 4 th District.  

But that’s not all.

California still doesn’t have a state budget and hundreds of thousands of hard working people are being laid off or paid at minimum wage.  Longtime obstructionist Tom McClintock hasn’t voted for a budget in more than 20 years, but he’s still getting paid a full salary with tax free per diems.

That’s not only hypocritical, it’s just plain wrong.  Results matter.  That’s why Charlie’s stand is that politicians who can’t produce budgets on time and in balance shouldn’t get paid–period.

Help Charlie send Tom McClintock packing once and for all.

You know Charlie.  You know he means what he says and says what he means.  You know that he is a man of action who leads by example and puts his money where his mouth is.

That’s what this campaign is about, and it’s the higher standard of leadership we need in Washington to get our country back on track.

We are less than 85 days from an historic election—and your continued support will make all the difference down the stretch.  

Thanks again for all you do.

Sincerely,  

Todd Stenhouse

Campaign Manager

P.S.  From policy distortions, to sleazy fundraising letters attacking Charlie’s patriotism, Tom McClintock has gone negative with his desperate job search. Please help us ensure that Charlie has the resources to fight back and win this election—Contribute Today!  

P.P.S  And if you aren’t doing anything on Saturday, please come out and join us for our fourth district-wide day of action. Click Here to Sign Up!

Last week, Vice President Al Gore presented the American people with a challenge: meet 100% of our electricity needs through renewable energy within 10 years.  Al would be the first to acknowledge this is not a minor task.  And yet it is an urgent one, a challenge that will require a transformation in how we invest our time and money, and how we view ourselves.

I wanted to respond to Al Gore’s call by asking two things of each of you:

  1. Include your voice with the millions of others expressing support for this mission

  2. Be part of collective solutions to make it a reality

Follow me below the fold to learn how.

Fully renewing our electricity production will not only be a major step towards addressing climate change, it is critical for an equally urgent crisis, though less understood: peak oil.

What is peak oil? Think of it as the ying to climate change’s yang.  If the climate crisis calls on us to renounce fossil fuels for the sake of future generations, energy depletion means that we must do so for our short-term economic survival. We will use fewer fossil fuels one way or another; but if we fail to adapt intelligently to the post-carbon era, the next few decades will see ever higher energy costs and continued high carbon emissions–leaving us with a ruined environment and a shattered economy, unable to face a future without fossil fuels.

The solution to both climate change and fossil fuel depletion is to develop renewable sources of energy, use less energy, use energy differently–and to make this transition as rapidly as possible.  And so the goal to “Repower America” must be front and center in our thoughts and actions.

The real question now is “how?”  

The first step is to join the caucus of those who are supporting Gore’s call.  You can do so by visiting wecansolveit.org.

The second is to get involved in collective solutions to make this vision a reality.  Post Carbon Institute (for which I serve on the Board of Directors) has published a 10-point framework for achieving the goal of 100% renewable energy by 2018–one that recognizes the complex issues of energy depletion, the vulnerability of the supply chain and the limits of technology.  

The ten points can be summarized by the following words:

  1. Reduce

  2. Share

  3. Diversify

  4. Distribute

  5. Store

  6. Reinvest

  7. Relocalize

  8. Reengineer

  9. Reskill

 10. Remobilize

I’ve been impressed by the passion, dedication, and ingenuity I’ve seen in those I’ve met at Netroots Nation and throughout the progressive blogosphere.  

Just look at Energize America, drafted by members of the DailyKos community!  And so I encourage you to check out the plan, share your thoughts, and get involved.

Debbie Cook

Board member, Post Carbon Institute

Board member, Association for the Study of Peak Oil

Mayor of Huntington Beach California

Democratic Nominee for Congress (CA-46)

(Cross posted from Daily Kos and various other places.  This diary talks about issues important to all, including Californians.  If you want to protect the coast from off-shore drilling, the change in Teamster policy is a good thing.  As the Blue/Green coalition grows, it’s good for all of us, no matter where we live.  It’s the future.  I also included the updates from Daily Kos in this diary)    

This is big.

Great news for all of us who seek a Blue/Green Alliance!  The Teamsters today left the ANWR coalition, a group in favor of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  Jim Hoffa has just announced that the Teamsters are pulling out of the coalition supporting drilling in ANWR and are shifting their support to efforts to build coalitions with green groups to create a sustainable energy economy around sources like solar, wind and geothermal.

“We are not going to drill our way out of the energy problems we are facing-not here and not in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,” Hoffa told labor and environmental activists at an Oakland, Calif., summit on good jobs and clean air. “We must find a long-term approach that breaks our dependence on foreign oil by investing in the development of alternate energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal power.”

Hoffa Rejects ‘Drilling Our Way Out’ of Energy Crisis, Demands Long-Term Policy Solutions

More, after the fold.  

Jim Hoffa announced the union’s withdrawal from the ANWR coalition, citing the need to build a green economy that fosters the development of alternative energy sources and creates good union jobs-instead of lining the pockets of big oil tycoons.

“Our economy is in shambles. Gas is climbing to $5 a gallon. The dollar has collapsed. Inflation is on the rise. Americans are seeing their paychecks shrink. Their family health care is being slashed,” Hoffa said. “Finding a long-term solution has a tremendous upside. It will be environmentally friendly and will serve as a much-needed boost to our sagging economy.”

Hoffa also thanked labor’s partners in the environmental movement, who are currently working to reduce emissions from port trucks. He urged the strengthening of the alliance, known as the Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports, to achieve a common goal: Good jobs and clean air.

“If we are to prosper as a nation, our future lies in a green economy,” he said. “But it’s up to us to help define the rules of that new green economy. A green economy means we must reduce our dependence on foreign oil. And it means creating good union jobs in America’s growing industries.”

Hoffa Rejects ‘Drilling Our Way Out’ of Energy Crisis, Demands Long-Term Policy Solutions

This is the core of the Blue/Greeen alliance that will rebuild and remake a just America:

“A green economy means we must reduce our dependence on foreign oil. And it means creating good union jobs in America’s growing industries.”

Both.  

The Sierra Club praised the Teamsters for this move.

“The Sierra Club and the environmental movement applaud your announcement and look forward to building a powerful movement together-a movement that helps workers, protects the environment, prevents global warming and rebuilds our economy with good, green jobs,” said Greg Haegele, The Sierra Club’s Director of Conservation. “We are proud to stand here today, as allies and friends of the Teamsters.”

Hoffa Rejects ‘Drilling Our Way Out’ of Energy Crisis, Demands Long-Term Policy Solutions

Hoffa and the Teamsters are joining with Al Gore and Barack Obama in working to build a Green economy and all realize that we cannot drill our way out of this mess.  We need alternative energy.

Barack Obama last week:  

“For decades, Al Gore has challenged the skeptics in Washington on climate change and awakened the conscience of a nation to the urgency of this threat. I strongly agree with Vice President Gore that we cannot drill our way to energy independence, but must fast-track investments in renewable sources of energy like solar power, wind power and advanced biofuels, and those are the investments I will make as President.  It’s a strategy that will create millions of new jobs that pay well and cannot be outsourced, and one that will leave our children a world that is cleaner and safer.”

Gore:  “end our reliance on carbon-based fuels”

Al Gore last week:

We’re borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that’s got to change.

But if we grab hold of that common thread and pull it hard, all of these complex problems begin to unravel and we will find that we’re holding the answer to all of them right in our hand.

The answer is to end our reliance on carbon-based fuels.

In my search for genuinely effective answers to the climate crisis, I have held a series of “solutions summits” with engineers, scientists, and CEOs. In those discussions, one thing has become abundantly clear: when you connect the dots, it turns out that the real solutions to the climate crisis are the very same measures needed to renew our economy and escape the trap of ever-rising energy prices. Moreover, they are also the very same solutions we need to guarantee our national security without having to go to war in the Persian Gulf.

What if we could use fuels that are not expensive, don’t cause pollution and are abundantly available right here at home?

Gore:  “end our reliance on carbon-based fuels”

Jim Hoffa today:

“We are not going to drill our way out of the energy problems we are facing-not here and not in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. We must find a long-term approach that breaks our dependence on foreign oil by investing in the development of alternate energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal power.”

Working together with labor, environmentalists and Democratic candidates, we can change America, solve our energy crisis, rebuild a greeen economy with good union jobs, and address global warming.  

Jim Hoffa at Yearly Kos in 2007.

We need to work with the Teamsters and other unions to rebuild a Green America.  Thank you Mr. Hoffa and all Teamsters! Solidarity!

Update.  From Change to Win in the comments.  Grist has a good write up on this:

For years, the Teamsters have supported opening the Arctic Refuge and other protected areas to oil drilling; they ran ads bashing John Kerry on it in 2004. So it is a Very Big Deal that the Teamsters have just come out and rejected drilling as a solution to the energy crisis.

At an event in Oakland, Calif., Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said that drilling won’t do anything to help; he announced that the Teamsters are withdrawing from the coalition pushing for Arctic drilling; and he stressed that pushing for “alternate energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal power” will revitalize the economy and create jobs.

It looks like reality is finally starting to bite in American politics.

UPDATE I: Kate called up Teamsters spokeswoman Leigh Strope for more on the move.

“Americans are suffering in this difficult economy,” said Strope. “[President Hoffa] really realized, like a lot of people have, that there needs to be a long-term energy solution. Like he said, we can’t drill our way out of this problem … We need a comprehensive energy policy to deal with this crisis.”

“It’s important to our members,” Strope continued. “There’s an opportunity to really explore the whole issue of green jobs, and that would obviously benefit Teamsters and all Americans.”

grist: Blockbuster Teamsters announcement rejects oil drilling as an energy solution

Update II:  The Republicans are doubling down on drilling.  This shows how important the Teamster decision to support alternatives is.  Hoffa, Gore, and Obama all said it: “we can’t drill our way out of this.”

Senate GOP hands Dems oil ultimatum  

By Manu Raju  

Posted: 07/23/08 07:43 PM [ET]  

Senate Republicans have threatened to block nearly all other bills pending before the August recess if Democrats refuse to vote with them on expanding offshore drilling.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said bills that do not pertain to energy can wait until after the August recess, with gas prices now surpassing $4 per gallon. McConnell and top Republicans indicated Wednesday they would oppose any procedural votes to take up other legislation, which require 60 votes to succeed.

We think there is nothing more important that we can do right now than to deal with the Number One issue of the country,” McConnell said. “This is the biggest issue since terrorism right after 9/11. People are pounding on their desks, saying, Why don’t these people get together and do something about this problem?”

The Hill: Senate GOP hands Dems oil ultimatum

Update III:  Think Progress now has this story.  Here are some fun quotes from their post:

Hoffa’s call on behalf of workers is echoing leaders of the environment, energy, and economic justice:

“If you’re in a hole, stop digging!” – Al Gore

“We can’t drill our way out!” – T. Boone Pickens

“We cannot drill and burn our way out of this problem. If we do, we will burn this planet!” – Van Jones

Think Progress: Teamsters Join Fight For Good Jobs, Clean Air, Clean Future»

Field Poll today on 5 of our hottest propositions for November (pdf). Results below, h/t to Cap Alert which also has the crosstabs.

Proposition 1 (High speed rail)

Yes: 56 percent

No: 30

Undecided: 14

Proposition 2 (Treatment of farm animals)

Yes: 63 percent

No: 24

Undecided: 13

Proposition 4 (Abortion notification for minors)

Yes: 48 percent

No: 39

Undecided: 13

Proposition 7 (Renewable energy)

Yes: 63 percent

No: 24

Undecided: 13

Proposition 11 (Redistricting)

Yes: 42 percent

No: 30

Undecided: 28

A few of these are looking very good, parental notification is looking a bit iffy, and redistricting is…well…have fun with that one.

As founder of the CALIFORNIA LIST I know all too well the importance of political positioning during an electoral cycle, especially when it comes to issues that matter to voters within your district.  And if a particular issue is a hot button to the majority of your voters, your record had better be aligned with that voting bloc if you hope to win. This is what separates the committed legislator from the calculated chameleons. Senate District 19 is community of long-standing environmental activists and GOP candidate Tony Strickland has apparently donned his coat of many colors in his senate bid against Hannah-Beth Jackson.

Lately Strickland has been wearing a green coat of paint listing himself on the ballot as “Alternative Energy Executive,” a title he dubiously earned a year ago when he co-founded GreenWave Energy Solutions.  That does sound nice!  After all, SD19 loves green and GreenWave Energy Solutions certainly conjures thoughts of eco-friendly energy solutions. So what is GreenWave and what has Strickland done in his tenure as co-founder, and more importantly, what has Strickland done for the environment before his eco-heroic rebirth?

Strickland is one of five partners of GreenWave who have each pledged to give $5000 of their own dollars to start the company – although he hasn’t paid his share yet. The company’s stated goal is to convert the force of the ocean waves off the California coastline into energy and they have applications in with the FEC to develop two projects to do so. However, all his website has about energy is the section titled “Reducing Our Dependence on Foreign Oil,” which reads:

“As Vice President of GreenWave Energy Solutions, a company created to harness the power of ocean waves, Tony Strickland is helping to invest in new, innovative, clean and renewable energy sources to help reduce our dependence on foreign oil and help jumpstart California’s economy.”

Unfortunately for Strickland, a thin coat of green paint won’t cover up the fact that he has a zero rating from the League of Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club. It won’t cover up the fact that he opposed a bill that requires utilities to use a higher percentage of alternative energy sources, choosing typical Republican “no-mandates” orthodoxy over the environment.  I’m sure it the voters in SD-19 are intelligent enough to discern who the real eco-friendly candidate is – Democrat Hannah-Beth Jackson and she has the record to prove it.

Jackson is committed to developing California’s green economy, protecting our air and water, preserving open space and our eco-diversity, and improving public health by working for a cleaner environment. Her record in the Assembly and as an activist on environmental issues is unparalleled. While serving in the California Assembly, Jackson chaired the two committees in the Assembly considered most critical to environmental policy:

         o 1999-2001. The Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee

         o 2002-2004. The Committee on Natural Resources

Jackson has also authored over 30 pieces of legislation designed to promote alternative energy sources, protect air and water quality, fight offshore oil drilling, reduce coastal pollution, preserve open space, protect against pesticides and toxics in our daily lives, and protect the Coastal Commission and the California coast against overdevelopment and pollution.

Jackson has received an early endorsement from the League of Conservation Voters for this election, and has received the endorsement of the Sierra Club in every election in which she’s been a candidate.  The choice is clear if you are looking for a committed environmental legislator — Tony Strickland just can’t measure up to Hannah-Beth Jackson.  To learn more about Jackson’s candidacy and other CALIFORNIA LIST supported candidates visit our website.

Our governor was on This Week this morning and as Arnold has a largely undeserved reputation for being an environmentalist George Stephanopoulos decided to ask him some questions on that topic. The answers were quite revealing, and should give Obama a major opening to attack McCain should he be interested in doing so.

ABC doesn’t yet have a transcript up, so I’m borrowing from John Campanelli’s transcription. First up, he destroys McCain on oil drilling:

Arnold: I have no interest in off-shore drilling off California. People can do it wherever they want…[McCain] can give us the rights to drill offshore but we will say “No thanks, we will not drill because we want to protect our coasts.

Stephanopoulos: That’s more important than bringing down the price of gas, bringing down the price of oil?

Arnold: First of all, let me tell you, anyone who tells you drilling, nuclear power, alternative fuel, fuel cells will bring down the price right now is pulling wool over your eyes because we know that will all take at least 10 years.

Which is of course the point I made when this drilling nonsense first emerged. Offshore drilling will line oil company pockets and contribute absolutely nothing to the easing of gas prices. The “wool over your eyes” comment is priceless – let’s hope the Obama campaign replays that quote often in the days and weeks to come.

Arnold took the opportunity to go further in explaining the need for a sustainable energy policy, praising Jimmy Carter’s approach:

Arnold: But it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do those things. The problem in America is not that we don’t have ideas. It’s that we aren’t consistent. Jimmy Carter in the late ’70s came in with a great energy policy. He talked about (couldn’t make this out), tax credits for people investing in windmills, and all those things. And then President Reagan came in and scrapped the whole thing because oil prices came down and said it didn’t make sense financially. Well, many countries all over the world  stayed with the program even though oil prices came down. In Germany, with solar, they’ve been working on it for 30 years and they are number one in solar. I think that is what we need to do. We need to stay the course. We got to go and stay, “Here’s the plan: here’s how we get energy independent. We need renewables, we need nuclear power, we need alternative fuels. All of those kind of things. Let’s do research. Let’s never go off course, no matter who the administration is or no matter what the oil prices. Let’s stay on course. That’s the big problem in America.

It’s a great set of points he makes – Carter’s energy policy was smart, but Reagan came to power and promised America a painless return to the cheap oil days of the 1950s and led a conservative attack on sustainable energy and transportation alternatives. America certainly would have been better off had we continued with the late 1970s energy policy instead of abandoning it for cheap political gain.

Stephanopoulos went on to ask Arnold if he’d serve in an Obama cabinet, Arnold said he won’t rule it out. That may be the main media takeaway from the interview, but the more important statements were those quoted above. Arnold does recognize the need for a more sensible energy policy and also admits that McCain isn’t on board with it – instead McCain prefers to continue the failed policies of Reagan and Bush, policies that have caused gas prices to soar and thrown our economy into recession.

Of course we need to not go too far here. Arnold’s own record on energy and the environment is not good. His water bond proposal would ruin the Delta and spend $9 billion on wasteful and damaging dams. He greenwashed himself with AB 32, but continues to target public transportation for crippling cuts. He has endorsed Proposition 1 on high speed rail but hasn’t taken a leading role in campaigning for it. He could help implement a wind and solar strategy in California, along the lines of what Proposition 7 proposes, but prefers to remain silent on the matter.

So ultimately his appearance on This Week is more of the usual environmental grandstanding we’ve come to know and love from our governor. But this time it has political value for Democrats and Obama in particular, who would be smart to exploit these comments for all they’re worth. It would be a good way for Obama in particular to start flipping the script and generating his own news for a change.