Delahunt, Frank, Markey, and Neal To Vote To Kill Cape Wind Project
TAGS: Barney Frank, John Olver, John Tierney, Massachusetts Democrats, Michael Capuano, Richard Neal, Stephen Lynch, William Delahunt.
For all the Democrats’ posturing about being pro-environment and for clean energy and all things green, when it comes to practicing what they preach, Massachusetts Democrats certainly don’t.
Four Massachusetts congressmen say they will vote for a measure that could kill the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm as the faceoff over the project intensifies on Capitol Hill.
U.S. Reps. William Delahunt, Barney Frank, Edward Markey and Richard Neal plan to vote for the provision, according to a survey of the state’s delegation by The Associated Press over the past several days. They say the state deserves a strong say in the approval process.
A fifth lawmaker, U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, is a probable “yes” vote. The rest of the 10-member House delegation was either undecided or refused comment.
U.S. Reps. Martin Meehan, John Tierney and James McGovern said they were still reviewing the measure. Reps. Stephen Lynch and John Olver declined comment on how they plan to vote.
The 130-turbine project proposed by Cape Wind Associates has stoked controversy for five years. Delahunt, who represents Cape Cod and is a leading project foe, brands it as a government giveaway because the project is exempt from competitive bidding rules.
Yeah, that’s why Delahunt opposes the project. Why can’t Democrats admit that when it comes to the environment they are hypocrites?
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Matt Margolis is co-author (with Mark Noonan) of Caucus of Corruption: The Truth About The New Democratic Majority. He also blogs at The Buffalo Bean. Follow Matt on Twitter.
So, conversely, you must be saying that Mitt Romney and Kerry Healey are consistently anti-environment because their own opposition to Cape Wind is not hypocritical. My guess is that Romney and Healey would dispute that notion, but by employing Cape Wind as a litmus test, as you have done, I would have no other choice but to arrive at that conclusion.
Cape Wind is opposed by many Republicans and many Democrats, so your effort to make it a partisan issue is both strange and ineffective.
This issue crosses both sides of the isle and pings the wealthy “N.I.M.B.Y.” type. Both parties are hypocrites on this issue folks.
Mav — I have no problem employing Cape Wind as a litmus test, and I am very annoyed that any elected representative who claims to be an environmentalist would use the means being employed here to kill the project.
Here’s the difference, though. Republicans who profess to be environmentalists are immediately branded hypocrites out of the box, because they’re “pro-business,” “pro-pollution,” laissez-faire “anti-regulation” types who let power plants foul the air and water. You can’t possibly be pro-business and pro-environment, can you?
It is quite different when, say Senator Kennedy, by all accounts a “standard-bearer” for the party and the environmental community, and all of the other congressmen with their 90% Audubon ratings, toss up these phoney canards as reasons why the project should be killed. Their positions are entirely devoid of any intellectual honesty, but their supporters and their party are silent (save for the truly legitimate environmentalists like those at CLF), and they will continue to enjoy the green endorsements, etc.
That’s the hypocrisy.
First it was “navigation,” the “marine habitat” and “tourism.” When legitimate authorities on those subjects dismissed those concerns, they came up with this silly “sweetheart deal” argument. A group of visionary businesspeople would move into this frontier and spend TENS OF MILLIONS of RISK CAPITAL to pursue this highly-speculative project, see the light at the end of the tunnel, and then face an obstacle put in their way years and years into their permitting process: “you can’t do this without competition, we’re changing the rules.”
Baloney. Proof? How about this: if there were truly a competitive environment for this project (or the other project in the Gulf of Mexico), don’t you suppose the viable competitors would be front and center saying “we deserve a shot at this too”? They’ve had what — SIX YEARS to come forward? The hypocrite opponents have had SIX YEARS to beat the bushes and push someone forward to support this latest mendaciousness.
The MA Democrats in Congress (which has, by the way, appropriated and spent BILLIONS of taxpayer money supporting alternative energy R&D money since the mid-1970’s) have talked the talk, but now they have to walk the walk. Same goes for Romney and Healey, but they’re followers, not leaders..
BTW – for all you pro-enviornment Republicans like me, please visit REP – Republicans for Enviornmental Protection.
Unlike the Democrats, we have no Borg-like central group brain on these issues, and Republicans occupy a variety of positions on the spectrum of just about any issue.
Hey Matt — you can breath a sign of relief that we didn’t bring over those wack-jobs from Against the Wind!