Straight from the Candidate's Dot Com, Part 2

by Andrea Millar — May 13, 2008

"It's time to quit wringing our hands and start rolling up our sleeves," she said. What a great line from Hilary Clinton regarding the recent gas crisis. Her plan for a tax holiday to lower gas prices for the summer, however, has not drawn rave reviews; it does sound strangely similar to that of her Republican counterpart, John McCain. Barack heard opportunity knocking and drew another fat line in the sand. But how much difference is there really in their plans? Straight from Hillary's Web site, the plan 2008:

Like Obama, Clinton (I'm just gonna assume you know which one I'm talking about here) has thrown a dart at 2050 as the year to cut emissions by the 80% demanded by scientists to really make a dent in atmospheric CO2. She's also a proponent of cap-and-trade regulation of major polluters, although Obama's plan differs in that it integrates an auction system. I don't know--I could see simplicity being the way to go here, at least initially.

Also mirroring Obama and the current Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 is her implementation of smart grids and investment in plug-in vehicles. She uses the language of "partnerships." What does that mean? Forgive me, Hillary (because we're on a first-name basis), if I feel a little burned by that whole Halliburton fumble.

OK, maybe you're heard of DARPA? If no, you've probably heard of the packet-switching protocol they've developed in ARPANET, or rather, its eventual grandchild: the Internet. Hillary wants to adapt the successes of this model to alternative energy research by funding the ARPA-E. Welcome to the alternative-energy-industrial-complex!

Talking numbers, she wants to set aside $50 billion for a Strategic Energy Fund. While this is one third of Obama's Ed McMahon-sized 150 billion dollar green alternatives allocation, his plan is spread out over a decade. Hillary's appears to be $50 billion in the next 4 years--although honestly, I could use a date here, Hil. The people are waiting.

Currently, Federal regulation is in place to direct automakers to improve their mpg to 35 by 2020. If Hillary is the chosen one come November, we'll see that ratcheted up to 55 mpg by a mere 10 years later. How to accomplish this? According to the verbiage, automakers will be asked, very nicely, to strap down their emissions. Leave it to Hillary to find her way to an effective pantsuit curtsy. In addition to extreme politeness, "Green Vehicle Bonds" will be utilized to assist with cost. This last bit is in line with her "Connie Mae" program to assist Americans financially with achieving green homeownership, and her requirement that publicly traded companies "report financial risks due to climate change" annually to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Financial risks? Like what? Here she must be thinking of the entire salmon industry.

Finally, Hillary finishes her spiel with a commitment to greening Capitol Hill, specifically mandating the organization of a "National Energy Council" and zero-emissions standards for all buildings built after her inauguration, built no doubt by the green collar workers she's utilizing to build 20 million low-income homes across the country. Obama just got the Friends of the Earth endorsement, but from these numbers, you can be assured Hillary's no slouch either.