This just in from the News & Observer's Under the Dome:
Richard Moore says the Cliffside coal plant can wait.
The Democratic gubernatorial candidate said today that state air quality regulators should wait to issue a permit for a new coal-fire plant.
"North Carolina should focus on new, efficient energy choices and conservation rather than building more high polluting, coal fired power plants,” he said in a statement. "This type of plant should be a last resort, not a first option."
Moore argued that carbon dioxide emissions from the plant could contribute to global warming and damage air quality in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Duke Energy plans to build the 800-megawatt coal-fired plant in the Blue Ridge foothills, but it needs a permit from the state Division of Air Quality.
You can email a message to all the Gubernatorial candidates, including Bev Purdue, and urge them to oppose Cliffside. Just go to the NC Conservation Network's action alert and submit your message.
Comments
good news
I guess it DOES help when 3 out of 4 Democratic lieutenant governor candidates agree on a stance.
Good for Richard Moore. Perhaps Lt.Gov. Perdue will join in as well?
Dan Besse
Democrat for Lieutenant Governor
www.danbesse2008.org
Dan Besse
Thanks Dan for leading on the environment
and on Cliffside. I do think that your position on this has forced other Democratic candidates like Moore to take a position.
Now if only we knew where Bev Perdue stands on this - she's been totally silent...
For me as a voter, Richard Moore just distanced himself from Perdue in the primary race. Before today I was undecided.
Perdue on Cliffside
Via email
Moore and Perdue both say "wait to approve." Not sure what that means, but at least they're both on record as opposing the current plan.
Moore doesn't say wait, he goes much further
Moore calls Cliffside a last resort. The N&O used the word "wait."
1 Thessalonians 5:21: But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.
I always wanted to be the avenging cowboy hero—that lone voice in the wilderness, fighting corruption and evil wherever I found it, and standing for freedom, truth and justice. - Bill Hicks
Last resort?
What the hell does that mean?
If that's what you call "much further," you sure have lowered your expectations, Mr. Sam.
I'm tired of both of them hemming and hawing on everything.
Cliffside should not be built. See how easy that is to say.
It certainly is confusing.
Of course, I'm still waiting for Beverly to beg our Parton.
OOPS -- wait, she did.
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing
-Edmund Burke
They've both said the same thing
which is good as far as it goes. I wish they'd both say, "No. It should not be built."
Oh hello~
No, they haven't said the same thing.
Bev said Richard was just awful, awful, awful for permitting local government to do what local government insisted was its right to do, stuck ole R. Parton up as a symbol of Moore's great moral failure, and OOPSIE, meanwhile had her political minion figuratively sticking her sweet lil' finger into Parton's ribs saying, "$20,000.00,right now."
I thought it was kind of interesting that we didn't hear anything about this amusing development on BLUENC - In fact I'm mystified by the lack of attention to this development, given the high-flown indignation I heard on this blog about folks not having all the information they needed to make their demand -- I mean decision.
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing
-Edmund Burke
You were much nicer
when I was ignoring you.
Do what you have to do
Obviously, you are the only person who can decide what you can stomach. I'm sorry that you feel this way, but I am not so sorry that I'm not going to say what I think on this blog.
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing
-Edmund Burke
Oh come on.
My standards? I think unequivocal statements aren't smart things to make about things that aren't under your control. They're disingenuous and have other logical flaws. But calling something a "last resort" is linguistically clever, not only condemning Cliffside but putting the mere concept of it at the very bottom of the priority list. Also, if a politician running for GOVERNOR says it is verboten, and then it gets built, then the Governor or candidate can be labeled as a failure - even if it's something that in many practical ways is out of their hands.
But saying both candidates said "wait" when it's clearly not the case, and when one candidate took a weaker stand after another made a stronger stand? That's just incorrect. Just because W. changed the meaning of "last resort" doesn't mean I expect Democrats to eschew the real meaning - an expedient adopted only in desperation.
1 Thessalonians 5:21: But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.
I always wanted to be the avenging cowboy hero—that lone voice in the wilderness, fighting corruption and evil wherever I found it, and standing for freedom, truth and justice. - Bill Hicks
That's crazy
I guess if you're triangulating, being clear is always risky business.
I would have played it another way. I would have said, "I'm not the decision-maker on this, but I have to tell you. Cliffside should not be built, and I'm going to do everything I can to stop it."
You seem to be arguing that it's more important for your candidate not be seen as a failure than it is to take a stand that makes a difference. And we wonder why people think politicians suck.
James
PS This is the only last resort I'm interested in.
Who is Moore triangulating to?
Saying that "North Carolina should focus on new, efficient energy choices and conservation rather than building more high polluting, coal fired power plants” isn't taking a stand? Beating the other candidates to the punch isn't taking a stand? I think Moore it makes it pretty clear that green technologies are in the "good" column and that the evil polluting corporations are in the "bad" column.
And, even though it was only an ancillary comment (hence the "also") and not the primary thrust that you make it, why is it wrong for me to want Democratic politicians to avoid possible pitfalls in politics?
Please, quit treating reason and argument like it's obfuscation. I wasn't the one that obscured the simple truth here: Moore came out against it first; made it clear that green tech is good while coal is bad; and would pursue any type of energy solution - especially green - before pursuing Cliffside. And even though I've had more than enough opportunities to portray Perdue in a negative light, on everything from the environment to abstinence-only education, I've made an effort to keep it to positive diaries about Moore and disputing comments that could be inaccurate. I think this was the closest I got to negative, and I was being more Mercutio than Tybalt. So, to go back to the standards you mentioned, those are mine.
1 Thessalonians 5:21: But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.
I always wanted to be the avenging cowboy hero—that lone voice in the wilderness, fighting corruption and evil wherever I found it, and standing for freedom, truth and justice. - Bill Hicks
He's not trianglulating
You are.
If that's not triangulating, I don't know what is. Let's see, says Sam. Be a failure on one hand by taking a stand. Or leave some wiggle room, just in case.
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I appreciate Moore's position on this as far as it went, I just wish it had gone farther. Perdue could have trumped Moore's "wait" and didn't. I'm not happy with either.
Mercutio? Tybalt? Really? I thought you were just being Sam. Which is always good in my book.
Lost comment.
Long story short: Nobody is triangulating, and not even Perdue is using the dreaded "Clinton Triangulation." To triangulate you have to appeal to two different groups, when I don't think I'm appealing to anybody. Triangulation is a good thing when it brings people to our side without sacrificing the position. Like this:
That's triangulation, but again, not the "Clinton" version that gave us Welfare "Reform." In this case, it's an important rhetorical tool that creates a coalition behind our position and does not concede any jobs. I don't care if Moore is insulating himself when he is still clearly stating that the that the Air Quality Commission should vote down Cliffside again AND clearly telling us that Governor Moore is going to create jobs, invest in new technologies, and build any kind of ecologically friendly power source before he considers coal.
Don't forget that Hackney and Basnight are key players here. They, along with the next Governor, will be re-appointing these board members, or appointing someone else.
FYI, I see our Democratic candidates as a team. Dan is leading on this issue because he's the most qualified to. Just like Pat Smathers is leading on a lot of local government issues, Edwards is leading on health care, and Moore is leading on creating the Democratic vision of a progressive, sustainable economy in North Carolina. I think it's clear that key players are behind Dan on this one.
1 Thessalonians 5:21: But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.
I always wanted to be the avenging cowboy hero—that lone voice in the wilderness, fighting corruption and evil wherever I found it, and standing for freedom, truth and justice. - Bill Hicks
Wait
Sam, you should check stuff like this first.
Wait
I hate to parse, but
It's not my fault if Moore's stated position exceeds the blog title that the campaign put on it.
1 Thessalonians 5:21: But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.
I always wanted to be the avenging cowboy hero—that lone voice in the wilderness, fighting corruption and evil wherever I found it, and standing for freedom, truth and justice. - Bill Hicks
Frankly, just the ten-fold increase
in mercury emissions over what the old plants emitted should be a deal-breaker by itself, as far as the air quality permit is concerned. We've got mercury problems all over this frickin' state, causing illness, birth defects and loss of life. Whether we need the power or not shouldn't even come into play with that question.
Which, if I'm not mistaken, is also in direct violation of the Clean Smokestacks law anyway, which should have kept this nightmare from ever becoming more than just a few squiggles on a piece of note paper.
So we should "wait" now? For what? For a few strategically engineered brownouts to stir up the old Fear Factor?
Hell with that. No is the only answer.
Well it's nice to see a thread started about Moore and Perdue
that actually involves a real issue concerning the voters of NC.
I got an email from the Moore campaign today decrying the DOT Perdue fundraising situation. I responded that I am tired of that crap.
I really don't give a dead rat's fanny about the Parton theater or some moron fundraiser run amok.
Cliffside, the future of energy in North Carolina, now that is a real issue worthy of discussion, rather than some kindergarten 'who can catch who doing what' garbage.
Person County Democrats
I actively oppose gerrymandering. Do you?
I totally agree.
I think we need to hold both candidates' feet to the fire, and when we start getting garbage like that email (I got it, too), we need to respond like that, and ask questions about real issues.
If they're not going to address the real issues now, in the primary, they are going to hurt us all in the General election.
Come on, Richard and Bev. Get your acts together now. You've both got to be above pettiness and finger-pointing. Show us which one of you is the best Democrat to lead the state and be our "figurehead" for the next four years. Don't pull the Clinton/Obama crap. We need you both to be leaders, not children.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. --Gandhi
What she said.
especially this ...
Person County Democrats
I actively oppose gerrymandering. Do you?
I thought you were talking about Hillary and Barack
until I read Linda Cloud's comment above yours.
Robin Hayes lied. Nobody died, but thousands of folks lost their jobs.
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Vote Democratic! The ass you save may be your own.
Well a particular shoe can fit
more than two people, eh?
You are perfectly correct in that my comment could have pertained to Obama and Clinton. I uess we could have a fight night with Perdue and Moore as the warm up fight prior to Clinton and Obama. Our Lt. Gov candidates would be in the audience watching with a beer and a dog.
I guess when political races are well contested things get hot, and that we haven;t had to deal with a heated governor's race in quite a while. I also seem to remember that Kerry had the nomination wrapped up fairly early in 2004, and of course Gore was essentially unopposed in 2000.
Person County Democrats
I actively oppose gerrymandering. Do you?
Fight night...Perfect!
Who needs live-blogs with this lineup?
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Vote Democratic! The ass you save may be your own.
This is a good development
Cliffside should not go forward!
Check this Op-Ed published last week:
New coal plant could endanger our health
Cliffside plant would emit more mercury and other pollutants
LAWRENCE RAYMOND AND STEPHEN R. KEENER
Special to the Observer
Duke Energy's proposed expansion of its Cliffside coal plant 50 miles west of Charlotte would exacerbate several serious problems that already threaten the health of Charlotte-area residents.
Lawrence Raymond, M.D., ScM, FCCP, is director of occupational/environmental medicine at Carolinas Medical Center. Stephen R. Keener, M.D., MPH, is medical director of the Mecklenburg County Health Department. They are members of the Medical Advisory Team