Bill Foster: The Say Nothing Congressman

by the Ghost of John Brown

Recently I received in the mail, a very pretty flier from my dear Congressman, Bill Foster. Oh, it is very nicely done.  8-1/2 x 11, full fold out.  It has pictures of a concerned congressman listening intently to citizens.  It shows the Congressman at a manufacturing facility in Gilberts.  It also shows a guy with a clipboard in the middle of a field while it is being plowed.  Don't know if I quite understand that one.  Perhaps it is a campaign worker waiting to get another signature on a petition.  Seems inefficient.

By the way, there is a sentence on the back page "This mailing was prepared, published and mailed at taxpayers expense".  Wow, a congressman that will be honest when he wastes your money.  Maybe I like this guy after all.  Errrr, maybe not.

The whole focus of the mailing is the recent "Cap and Trade" bill.  The Congressman is trying his best to explain his vote.  The trouble is, he speaks in so much double talk, it is hard to understand just where in the heck he's going with it.

To be fair to the Congressman, let me re-print, word for word, what the Congressman says.  I don't want any of his liberal trolls that come on Illinois Review (and yes, we know who you are), to accuse me of taking Congressman Courageous out of context.

Rep. Foster supports energy independence and voted against a flawed cap-and-trade bill.  Outlines his approach to creating American jobs, saving the environment and reducing our dependence on foreign oil. 

(note:that last sentence is typed correctly.  The Congressman needs someone in his office that understands sentence structure)

As a scientist, I believe that climate change is real and that action is necessary.  It is also crucial that we restructure our energy systems to increase efficiency and reduce our dependence on imported sources.

However, as a businessman, I have always believed we have a responsibility to act in a way that comes with the lowest possible cost to the economy.  A more thoughtful bill could have reduced significantly more greenhouse gasses without doing harm to our economy.  It is my home that the Senate will make significant improvements to this legislation.

Now the problem with this is that there was only one substantive amendment that was put forward in the House, and Congressman Foster voted against it.  So, if Congressman Foster really thought it was a flawed bill, and he thought he could do better, why didn't he proposed any amendments?  Hmmm, curious.  Let's keep reading.

Foster's scientific and business principles to reduce greenhouse gasses and create a clean energy future for America:

• Provide incentives for all energy efficiency improvements such as solar, wind, and biofuels that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pay for themselves over the lifetime of equipment before punishing agriculture and energy-intensive industries
• Create incentives and distribution networks for next generation cellulosic ethanol produced from corn stover, switchgrass, and advanced energy crops to reduce energy and greenhouse gas emissions from ethanol.
• Make reducing carbon emissions a global policy that gets China and India to lower their emissions, leveling the playing field for our businesses and protecting American jobs.
• Pursue advanced energy research on promising technologies rather than subsidizing premature deployment of inefficient technologies.
• Minimize impact on American farmers and businesses while creating millions of green jobs.

OK, that is pretty much it from Congressman Courageous.  There are a few other quotes from other people that really have nothing to do with the Congressman, but he threw them in to make himself feel important.

Let's look a little bit more at that last section.  Nearly all of the "ideas" that the Congressman wants to pursue were already in the "Cap-n-Trade" bill.  Provide incentives for promising energy sources - check.  Creating millions of "green jobs" - check (well, the ideas were in the bill.  How effective they will be is questionable).

Congressman Courageous is fond of different forms of ethanol (switchgrass, corn stover, etc.).  There are numerous problems with this.  Removing the corn stover (fancy word for the leaves and the stalks) can deplete the soil of nutrients and can increase erosion.  However, the really significant flaw in Mr. Foster's analysis is that biofuels INCREASE emissions instead of reduce emissions, per this study.  The discussion of biofuels is not an ode to saving the planet, it is a big, fat, juicy bone thrown to agriculture.  Recently we saw that the run up in ethanol production hurt food prices and consumed lots and lots of clean water.  Question: if we plow under fields to plant switchgrass, won't it take fields out of food production?  Hmmm - less food means higher prices if I got that whole supply and demand thing correct from my freshman Economics class.

Congressman Courageous also wants to see the bill cover a global policy to get China and India to lower their emissions.  Question, Congressman:  How would a bill in the United States Congress make China and India lower their emissions?  Just curious, because I think I missed that day in civics class.

The Congressman wants to pursue advanced energy research instead of subsidizing premature deployment of inefficient technologies.  Well that sounds really good.  I mean, who wants to support inefficiency (hmmm, cellulosic ethanol comes to mind)?  Care to name those inefficient technologies, Congressman or is this just an empty sentence that will make people feel good?

I've read this flyer about a dozen times now, and I can find a single, detailed thing that the Congressman really wants to do.  It is complete and utter blather.

The Congressman SAYS that he wants energy independence, but last year he voted on a phony bill that allowed each and every state to veto drilling off of their coasts on the continental shelf, which essentially does nothing.  Again - say you are for something, but in the fine language really show that you are not.

The real purpose of this flier is to give Congressman Courageous some cover.  You see his leftist friends (and financiers) want to know that he is really a lefty.  Thrown in some fancy words about cellulosic ethanol and advanced energy and you are halfway there.  Say that you really WANTED to vote for a climate bill, and everyone gets all warm and fuzzy inside.  Tell farmers that you like ethanol and you don't want to increase their costs, and you'll have free hay wagon rides at your fundraisers for the next 10 years.  Tell business and voters that you don't like the impact on increased taxes, and you will have them jumping for joy.

The truth of the matter is, that Congressman Foster wants to play it both ways. This Congressman stands for nothing, and has done nothing.  He just wants you to think that he cares.  It's time for action, not taxpayer funded fliers.

Comments

[Jon Zahm]

I received this mailer as well. I believe it abuses and stretches the Congressional franking privilege

[Dennis C. Ryan]

It's jes' that we-uns hicks out heer in the sticks jes' don' unnerstann them thar
east-coast intellectuals, like Foster.