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DEL.ICIO.USSen. Johnny Isakson hoping for a “Gang of 51”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, (R-Ga.) in a talk before the Atlanta Kiwanis Club today, used his platform to sell a national energy policy.
Isakson has belonged to a “Gang of 10” — five Democrats and five Republicans — in the U.S. Senate that is pushing for a new energy bill to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil.
Isakson was pleased that as of today, the “Gang of 10” has now become a “Gang of 16” with three more Republican senators and three more Democratic senators. And he hopes that group will increase its ranks to a “Gang of 51,” which would be a majority in the Senate.
The senator told members of Kiwanis that the United States faced similar energy issues in the late 1970s, but the nation didn’t put the policies in place to make the country more independent from other oil-producing countries.
“This is not our second chance,” Isakson said. “This is our last chance.”
If the United States does not enact a sound energy policy, Isakson said that “America will become a second-class country.”
Isakson did summarize the Gang of 16’s energy policies: be able to extract natural resources with the U.S. borders, ie: off-shore drilling for oil; develop nuclear energy by using France as a model; encourage the use of bio-fuels; provide incentives for wind and solar energy; and encourage innovation and new technology.
Until we reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we will continue subsidizing nation’s unfriendly to the United States, Isakson said, mentioning Venezuela, Iran and Russia.
“We are funding a lot of things that are going on the world because they are rolling in money,” Isakson said of those countries.
Isakson left a substantial amount of time for questions, but no one asked him about the current presidential election or the possibility that he will change his mind about running for governor.
A special moment of the luncheon was when the senator was introduced by his daughter: Julie Isakson Mitchell.
“He’s always been just that — ‘Dad,’” she said, adding that he always attended his children’s middle school dances and sporting events no matter whether he was running a company or running for public office. “He always was a family man and continues to be one today.”
When Isakson took the podium and thanked his daughter, he told the group that being a father was the “second best thing in life.” Then he quickly followed up with: “The best thing in life are grand-children.”
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Comments
By Expert1
August 30, 2008 9:04 AM | Link to this
The Gang of 5 Republicans, including Saxby Chambliss, SOLD out Republican values. They further enabled the Democrat energy agenda, NOT a conservative Republican agenda. I am enthusiastic about the McCain/Palin ticket-very excited for the first time in years.
Chambliss is playing re-election politics.
We need strong conservative Republicans and TERM LIMITS. To many guys in Washington for to many years representing their own good. Both of our Senators are certainly NOT representing true conservative values. They need to be replaced. To many good ole boy connections-we need fresh, new ideas with TRUE conservative values even when times are challenging.
Please, somebody with fresh conservative ideas please run against Saxby. I would vote for a true strong conservative.
We need to DRILL, DRILL, DRILL. Yes, we can DRILL our way out of this. We are tired of paying high prices at the gas pump, natural gas, food prices and everything else like trash pickup, while ALL the politicians run around in circles with their “gang” pretending they did something. Tom Price is a leader and a fine example of true conservative Republican values in tough times.
There is a reason Congress has the lowest, near single digit approval rating ever. They have no common sense.
Time to bring in fresh ideas from people that have actually run a successful business and understand economics. Herman Caine are you listening?
By Alex B
September 2, 2008 9:18 AM | Link to this
Expert1 asserts that “we need to DRILL DRILL DRILL” and can drill our way out of high gas prices seem like the rantings of an oil executive.
The Gang of 10/16 has put together a thoughtful energy plan, but they have largely ignored one of the keys to gaining energy independence. That key is REDUCING the amount of oil used. While they address this through incentives and regulations on car makers, they should actually be going to bat for MASS TRANSIT funding.
Commuter rail service, expanded and effective bus service, and other mass transit alternatives would do more to reduce oil consumption than requiring every car to be a hybrid. In addition, they would reduce emissions, reduce the wear and tear on Georgia roadways, and reduce the awful congestion that plagues the highways (and surface roads) throughout metro Atlanta.
The worst part is that 2 of the 10 represent Georgia, which already has mass transit and light rail proposals in place with right of way and they are still ignoring this issue.
By EGIL
September 18, 2008 1:28 PM | Link to this
Expert 1, Your point of view is exactly what has happened and is what is taking place. The “Energy” bill is a sham. Newt G.would get my vote for senator! See American Solutions website.