Bush/Cheny 2004 Platform v. McCain/Palin 2008 Platform - Where's The Change?

[Median Democrat]

The biggest MSM cover-up I see in this election is the complete lack of coverage of the fact there is no real difference between Bush and Cheney versus McCain and Palin on their issues and proposals. For example, energy still relies heavily on more drilling despite the fact that oil prices continued to rise dramatically during Bush's tenure:

Bush/Cheney 2004

http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/pdf/reppla04.pdf

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Ensuring an Affordable, Reliable, More Independent Energy Supply

A stable, affordable, more independent energy supply is vital to fueling America’s
economic growth, increasing prosperity, helping families afford prices at the pump, and
making America more secure. President Bush and Republicans in Congress recognize the
need for a balanced energy policy that increases both energy production and
conservation. We need a comprehensive energy policy so that we will no longer lurch
from one energy crisis to the next. Recent electricity blackouts, the California energy
crisis, natural gas and oil price spikes, and high gasoline prices remind us that only a
comprehensive energy policy will produce energy stability for America’s families and
businesses.
As one of his first acts in office, President Bush released the National Energy
Policy (NEP) report, a comprehensive plan to reduce America’s dependence on foreign
sources of energy by increasing domestic energy production and supporting conservation
and alternative and renewable energy. The President’s proposal would make America
more energy independent while creating jobs and promoting economic growth. It
includes over 100 recommendations, nearly half of which addressed renewable energy,
energy efficiency, and conservation. President Bush has implemented nearly every nonlegislative
recommendation outlined in the NEP report. Republicans in the House and
Senate have stood solidly with the President. We endorse the President’s policy,
appreciate the hard work of Congressional Republicans in the face of intractable partisan
opposition, and urge final passage of a bill to secure America’s energy future.
• Republicans support developing new technologies for more efficient generation
and use of power. New technologies will allow us to create new job-producing industries
and save jobs in industries that have long been staples of America’s economy. For
instance, working with Congressional Republicans, the President has already committed
$2 billion over 10 years for clean coal research and development – which helps keep
America’s coal industry strong and reduces the emissions associated with coal use. As
part of that commitment, we support FutureGen, an international, public-private initiative
to build the world’s first integrated sequestration and hydrogen research power plant that
would burn coal more cleanly. President Bush’s Clear Skies Initiative would create a $50
billion private market to deploy these clean coal technologies.
• The Republican Party supports research and investment designed to realize the
enormous benefits of a hydrogen economy and put the United States on the cutting edge
of energy technology. The FreedomCar Partnership and Hydrogen Fuel Initiative include
$1.7 billion over five years to begin building hydrogen cars and the infrastructure to
support them.
• Using the most sophisticated technologies, we can explore and develop oil
resources here at home with minimal environmental impact. Our Party continues to
support energy development in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
(ANWR), which, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, holds as much as 16 billion
barrels of oil – enough to replace oil imports from Saudi Arabia for nearly 20 years. The
drilling footprint can be confined to just 2,000 acres (the entire refuge contains 19 million
acres), about the size of Washington’s Dulles Airport, on ice roads that melt away in the
summer, leaving little trace of human intervention. We have already wasted precious
time. If the previous Administration had not vetoed the ANWR proposal passed by the
Republican Congress in 1995, at this moment ANWR would be producing up to one
million barrels of oil a day.
• Republicans strongly support removing unnecessary barriers to domestic natural
gas production and expanding environmentally sound production in new areas, such as
Alaska and the Rocky Mountains. Increasing supply, including the construction of a new
natural gas pipeline from Alaska to the lower 48, will bring needed relief to consumers
and make America’s businesses more competitive in the global marketplace.
• Last summer, the largest blackout in North American history affected 8 states,
leaving more than 50 million Americans without power. Republicans support measures to
modernize the nation’s electricity grid to prevent future blackouts and provide American
consumers and businesses with more affordable, reliable power. We will work to unleash
innovation so entrepreneurs can develop technologies for a more advanced and robust
transmission system that meets our growing energy demands. We also support the
establishment of mandatory, enforceable reliability rules for electric utilities to reduce the
likelihood of future blackouts.
• Republicans will continue to support renewable energy through extension of the
production tax credit for wind and biomass, as well as efforts to expand the use of
biodiesel and ethanol, which can reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil while
increasing revenues to farmers.
• Nuclear power provides America with affordable, emissions-free energy. We
believe nuclear power can help reduce our dependence on foreign energy and play an
invaluable role in addressing global climate change. President Bush supports construction
of new nuclear power plants through the Nuclear Power 2010 initiative, and continues to
move forward on creating an environmentally sound nuclear waste repository.

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McCain/Palin

http://www.gopplatform2008.com/2008Platform.pdf

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Growing American Energy Production
If we are to have the resources we need to
achieve energy independence, we simply must draw
more American oil from American soil. We support
accelerated exploration, drilling and development in
America, from new oilfields off the nation’s coasts to
onshore fields such as those in Montana, North
Dakota, and Alaska. The Green River Basin in
Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming offers recoverable
shale oil that is ready for development, and most of it
is on federal lands.
To deliver that energy to American consumers,
we will expand our refining capacity. Because of
environmental extremism and regulatory blockades
in Washington, not a single new refinery has been
built in this country in 30 years. We will encourage
refinery construction and modernization and, with
sensitivity to environmental concerns, an expedited
permitting process.
Any legislation to increase domestic exploration,
drilling and production must minimize any
protracted legal challenges that could unreasonably
delay or even preclude actual production. We
oppose any efforts that would permanently block
access to the coastal plain of the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge.
Nuclear Power: the Earth’s Clean Future
Nuclear energy is the most reliable zero-carbonemissions
source of energy that we have.
Unwarranted fear mongering with no relationship to
current technologies and safeguards has prevented us
from starting construction of a single nuclear power
plant in 31 years. Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy has for
decades relied upon nuclear-powered vessels, and
other nations have harnessed nuclear power to provide
a major portion of their energy consumption.
There is no reason why the United States cannot
catch up and do the same. Confident in the promise
offered by science and technology, Republicans will
pursue dramatic increases in the use of all forms of
safe, affordable, reliable — and clean — nuclear
power.
As new plants are constructed using the highest
safety and operation standards, the nation’s industrial
and manufacturing base will be rejuvenated. The
labor force will expand, with nearly 15,000 high quality
jobs created for every new nuclear plant built —
and those workers will lead the nation away from its
dependence on foreign oil.
Solar,Wind, Geothermal, Hydropower
Alternate power sources must enter the mainstream.
The technology behind solar energy has
improved significantly in recent years, and the commercial
development of wind power promises
major benefits both in costs and in environmental
protection. Republicans support these and
other alternative energy sources, including geothermal
and hydropower, and anticipate technological
developments that will increase their economic viability.
We therefore advocate a long-term energy tax
credit equally applicable to all renewable power
sources.
Republicans support measures to modernize
the nation’s electricity grid to provide American
consumers and businesses with more affordable,
reliable power. We will work to unleash innovation
so entrepreneurs can develop technologies for a
more advanced and robust United States transmission
system that meets our growing energy
demands.
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Clean Coal
Although alternate fuels will shape our energy
future, coal — America’s most affordable and abundant
energy resource and the source of most of our
electricity — remains a strategic national resource
that must play a major role in energy independence.
We look to innovative technology to transform
America’s coal supplies into clean fuels capable of
powering motor vehicles and aircraft. We support
coal-to-liquid and gasification initiatives, just as we
support investment in the development and deployment
of carbon capture and storage technologies,
which can reduce emissions.
We firmly oppose efforts by
Democrats to block the construction
of new coal-fired
power plants. No strategy for
reducing energy costs will be
viable without a commitment
to continued coal production
and utilization.
Natural Gas
Natural gas is plentiful in North America, but
we can extract more and do a better job of distributing
it nationwide to cook our food, heat our homes,
and serve as a growing option as a transportation
fuel. Both independently and in cooperation with
alternative fuels, natural gas will be an essential part
of any long-term energy solution. We must ensure it
gets to consumers safely and quickly.
Energy Cooperation
We embrace the open energy cooperation and
trading relationship with our neighbors Canada and
Mexico, including proven oil reserves and vast,
untapped Canadian hydroelectric generation.
Reducing Demand for Fossil Fuels
While we grow our supplies, we must also
reduce our demand — not by changing our lifestyles
but by putting the free market to work and taking
advantage of technological breakthroughs.
Increase Conservation through Greater Efficiency
Conservation does not mean deprivation; it
means efficiency and achieving more with less. Most
Americans today endeavor to conserve fossil fuels,
whether in their cars or in their home heating, but we
can do better. We can construct better and smarter
buildings, use smarter thermostats
and transmission grids,
increase recycling, and make
energy-efficient consumer purchases.
Wireless communications,
for example, can increase
telecommuting options and cut
back on business travel. The
Republican goal is to ensure
that Americans have more conservation
options that will
enable them to make the best choices for their families.
New Technologies for Cars and Other Vehicles
We must continue to develop alternative fuels,
such as biofuels, especially cellulosic ethanol, and
hasten their technological advances to next-generation
production. As America develops energy technology
for the 21st century, policy makers must consider
the burden that rising food prices and energy
costs create for the poor and developing nations
around the world. Because alternative fuels are useless
if vehicles cannot use them, we must move
quickly to flexible fuel vehicles; we cannot expect
The Republican goal is to ensure
that Americans have more
conservation options that will
enable them to make the best
choices for their families.


• 34 •
necessary investments in alternative fuels if this flexibility
does not become standard. We must also produce
more vehicles that operate on electricity and
natural gas, both to reduce demand for oil and to cut
CO2 emissions.
Given that fully 97 percent of our current transportation
vehicles rely on oil, we will aggressively
support technological advances to reduce our
petroleum dependence. For example, lightweight
composites could halve the weight and
double the gas mileage of cars and trucks, and
together with flex-fuel and electric vehicles, could
usher in a renaissance in the American auto
industry.

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