Gubernatorial Candidates Take on Mountaintop Removal… or not

Via Bruggers, it appears Governor Steve Beshear — who all Kentucky Democrats adore and respect — expressed his tacit support of mountaintop removal in a recent Seirra Club survey.

The Club asked:

Question: What steps would you propose to curtail the environmental damage and risks to communities caused by mountaintop removal mining?

There are many ways to answer such a question. For an impassioned supporter of King Coal and an alleged Democrat with Democratic Principles such as Steve Beshear, there’s even a way to answer such a question while appealing to both groups… like, claiming that his administration works closely to ensure extraction — including via mountaintop removal — is done as safely as possible.

That’s still a bald-faced lie, but it would at least leave open the possibility that our vaunted Democratic Governor recognizes that mountaintop removal does in fact damage the environment and put people’s lives and health at risk.

But no. No, that’s not Steve Beshear’s style. Steve Beshear belongs to King Coal, and perhaps so too does your vote if that’s how you want to cast it.

Says Steve:

Coal is and will continue to be a critical component of this country’s energy and economic strategy. In Kentucky, the industry is the lifeblood of many of our rural towns and counties, creating thousands of jobs. The state, the nation and the world will continue to be dependent upon the industry while we also fully harness solar, wind, hydro and other energy sources for our energy needs. In this technological age, I believe it is possible to make economic progress and at the same time protect our environment. For example, over the past few years, numerous companies and universities have conducted research on coal-to-liquid and coal-to-gas production, as well as carbon-capture/sequestration methods. It is time to apply this knowledge as we begin constructing the framework for a 21st century economy.

None of that answers or even comes close to addressing the question. Steve Beshear continues to run interference for King Coal.

Additionally… rather than the bald-faced lie proposed above, Steve has chosen a different bald-faced lie: “…while we also fully harness solar, wind, hydro and other energy sources for our energy needs.”

That, friends, is what it sounds like when a politician lies. Looking out across this state, only a liar could claim we are “fully harnessing” any other source of energy. It’s just not true.

The other candidates for the Governor’s office responded as you might expect — which means David Williams followed exactly Beshear’s tactics and totally avoided answering the question, and Galbraith’s campaign, via Ms. Riley, pointed out that theirs is the only one opposed to the practice of mountaintop removal:

As you likely know Gatewood and I are the only candidates to oppose the process of MTR – if elected we would move to ban MTR in the state of KY via any means necessary including but not limited to, legislative, executive order and/or legal action if necessary.

The Attorney General candidates, Messrs. P’Pool and Conway, refused to answer the question.