The Power of Mark Warner

Undoubtedly, one of Governor Warner's strength's is that he understands the implicit nature of technological progress and the improvements it can bring to the lives of everyday American citizens. He sums up all that I like about his candidacy and energy platform here in his DNC keynote:

You know, America has never been afraid of the future, and we shouldn't start now. If we choose the right path, every one of these challenges is also an opportunity. Look at energy. If we actually got ourselves off foreign oil, we can make our country safer. We'll start to solve global warming. And with the right policies, within 24 months, we'll be building 100 mile-per-gallon plug-in hybrid vehicles right here - with American technology and with American workers.

Warner's emergence as one of the most talented and credible "salesmen" of 21st Century Democratic politics gives him a powerful megaphone on which to shape the debate in our country. And, there is much to like both about the substance of Warner's plan, and the messaging he uses to sell it. Likewise, there is reason for trepidation and room for improvement.

What to Like...
1) Mark Warner understands the challenges of, and need for strong and immediate action on climate change.

There's a lot more on the "flip," including "places for improvement" by Mark Warner
2) He understands that energy innovation stands as our biggest economic opportunity of the 21st century.

3) He is a modern enough entity to know what something like "conservation in the grid" actually means, and he is not afraid of implementing change rapidly.

Places for improvement...
1) Governor Warner must understand that the "middle" path is not always the "right" path when we are talking about climate and energy. Warner spews the industry line far too often for someone in his safe political position (see his support for offshore drilling, MTR, CCS, etc.). Those answers may get you a few votes (probably not), but we burn the planet in the process.

2) Mountaintop removal coal-mining is an epic problem, both environmentally and economically, for Virginia. It needs to stop immediately. (Warner says "We haven't done much of it here in Virginia").

3) Continued investment in coal power is a bad investment for America, especially Virginia tax-payers and Dominion rate-payers.

Kate Sheppard of Grist recently interviewed Governor Mark Warner about his plans for America's energy future. I think the interview is informative, and likewise gives us a lot to hope for in Senator Warner, and a lot to be cautious of...

(Excerpts are from Grists' On Your Mark, by Kate Sheppard.)

The Good:

I would favor much higher fuel-efficiency standards, and tie that to at least a $5,000-a-year hybrid tax credit for next-generation hybrids and plug-in hybrids, 100 miles per gallon ranging down to 40 miles. I would like to see a dramatic increase in funding for research. Two billion dollars is how much we spent on energy R&D in 2006 -- I think we need to look at that and increase it. I'd like to see a permanent R&D tax credit around the alternative energy space.

You've seen when we've tried to have national sound-bite policy prescriptions -- they don't work.

So what we're talking about here is yes, there is going to be some transition cost, but the renewable-energy sector over the next century will create more jobs and more wealth than arguably even telecom...If we don't step up and join the rest of the world on the issue of carbon, you not only are going to have the environmental consequences, you're also going to have the very real business consequences of missing the boat on the next great job and wealth creator for the world...To me it's a win-win-win. This greatest challenge we face is also the opportunity of our time.

Warner: One of the things I was proudest of in my governorship was we made record investments in cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay. We had very high clean water standards. I [want] federal support for continuing to work on the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay. Trying to make sure we've got clean water and other water issues are important to me.

The Bad:
Warner like to take questions on the environmental impacts of coal away from mountaintop removal and emissions straight to "We ought to be doing Carbon capture and sequestration." Unfortunately, this allows him to imply that we can keep blowing up our own mountains in Virginia to send coal to power China.

Warner: I think we're going to continue to use coal. I want to keep pushing utilities to not use best-of-the-last-generation technology, but really push much more aggressively about the possibilities of sequestration. I know there are debates all over the lot about how close it is, but I've seen some research they're doing at Virginia Tech that says they're much closer. I want to keep the pressure on. If we can get this right, think about the leverage that gives us with China, which is still putting up a new dirty coal plant every week.

Statements like "get those pesky regulators out of the way" tend to make me nervous.

One of the challenges I'm interested in is how do we continue to have appropriate environmental reviews that don't take in some cases five to 10 years to do the environmental impact statements. So, [figuring out] how you maintain a commitment to science and environmental policy but realize that sometimes the process transaction costs are a huge challenge. I think most people who have taken on that issue so far have taken it on from an anti-environmental standpoint. I want to take it on from a pro-environment standpoint.

The Political:

I even think that as part of a comprehensive approach you've got to [have] increased domestic [oil] production, including lifting the congressional moratorium on [offshore] drilling, as long as states can still do it in an environmentally friendly way, since the technology around the rigs has dramatically improved. You still have transport issues, but in terms of the rigs themselves they're much better.

We're going to have this whole mix here, emphasizing that we're going to try to free ourselves from foreign oil, but at the same time try to take on climate change. We're going to let the science and the market drive this, rather than the government picking winners or losers.

I'm very much a believer that politics in this country is too often driven by the loudest voices on either end of the political spectrum, and that's not where I'm at. I'm a big believer that to get the American people to agree on transformative change, you've got to show bipartisan support. And I think if we're really going to get the change in the energy field, it's going to take that.

Kate makes a good point, which the Governor says he disagrees with, and I'd be interested as to some of yall's thoughts on this simple little exchange.

Grist: Both you and Obama are strong voices for consensus and bipartisanship. But on climate change, it seems like the maximum of what's politically possible is well short of the minimum we need to do to solve the problem. It's an issue where consensus won't get us where we need to go.

Warner: I don't agree with that.

I hope that Senator Warner had the opportunity to watch and learn from the "Lieberman-[John] Warner" climate battle this year. The bottom line is that the Republicans will block any bill that sufficiently changes the status quo without giving billions away to the coal and oil industry.

Fivethirtyeight.com (where we should all go for such information) gives Democrats a 5-seat pickup this year, which means we'd be at 55+Lieberman. We will hopefully be in a better place to put the pinch on Republicans, but it will give a lot of room for Democrats from coal states (there are LOTS of them) to cause mischief.

Overall I think that Warner will be progressive in pushing for technological advances. I also think that he will be in the Democratic mainstream in the Senate for someone from a coal state. But as a fresh face and a powerful "voice of the center" in the Senate with a business and technology background, Mark Warner has a real opportunity to address issues like mountaintop removal, conservation and efficiency, and alternative energy in a way no other Senator can. I hope that for the sake of Appalachia, Virginia ratepayers, America's economy, and the global climate that Warner will be aggressive in doing whats right, and not just cut unnecessary deals with the coal companies, the oil industry, or the Republicans.

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