Vilsack: McCain Puts Oil First, Not Country

The Obama campaign and Democratic operatives have been pushing for weeks to paint McCain as a stooge of Big Oil. On Tuesday they tried a new tactic: using the Arizona Republican's own words against him.

Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, on a conference call with reporters, leveled some of the hardest energy policy attacks to have emanated from the Obama team this campaign.

"[McCain] continues to reject bipartisan compromise because it would roll back massive tax breaks for the oil companies," he said. "That is not putting the country first, it is putting the interest of oil companies first."

The former governor looped his comments, which played off of McCain's new motto "Country First," into the current legislative debate. Pointing to the Gang of Ten compromise -- a deal that would open up limited land for off-shore drilling while leveling a windfall profits tax on oil companies, which Obama supports and McCain opposes -- Vilsack spoke of the presumptive Republican nominee as unwilling to back even the most rudimentary tolls on Big Oil.

"We have been talking about our energy problems for 30 years," he concluded. "And John McCain has been in Washington for 26 years. It is now time for someone, Sen. Obama, to put the interest of the country ahead of oil."

Comments

[haleywins]

mc bush, all about the oil companies, not America's citizens.

[aOsO]

Good, now put him on the cable shows.

[LiberalBuzz]

Exactly, publicize the heck out of that.

Put it into ads as well.

[harriscrl3]

Thank you Vilsack you're a good democrat unlike some of the others intent on praising this guy and his energy policy. Thats succint and true he puts Oil ahead of Country.

Carol

[GetReal08]

Finally McCain puts Oil First - Not Country First

Why stop there
McCain puts Tax breaks for the rich First, Not breaks for the struggling middle-class

[Rick K]

My commercial:

The definition of Republic is that leaders represent those who elect them.

Who does John McCain represent?

- The wealthiest 3 percent of the population?
- The oil companies?
- His lobbyist friends?

- Does he represent you?

[KillTheMessenger]

And I thought McCain puts McCain before everything else. If I were big oil, I would be afraid he might sell me out just like everyone else.

[LeawoodKansas]

Drill here.
Drill now.
Stand up. Sit down. Fight. Fight. Fight.

Go Oil!

[KevinFitzz]

My friend...

[Rick K]

Drill here.
Drill now.
If you touch that pipeline, the cold war is on!

(...and we don't need any more investment in alternate energy (directly from his plan), we just need to spend THAT MONEY more wisely)

[JenMI]

Drill here.
Drill now.
If you touch that pipeline, the nukes are coming.
-John McCain

[JenMI]

LOVE IT!

[Rick K]

One of the very reasons our government exists is to foresee and balance the naturally short term and monopolistic tendencies of companies who provide our basic infrastructure.

Oil companies do and probably should have their own best interests coded in their DNA - but they can't and don't have the capacity to level their quarterly earnings with America's foreign policy, threats of military action and global ecological concerns.

We elect leaders to represent us on that - and they are doing a lousy job, and John McCain does not seem at all inclined to change that - and he should be attacked relentlessly for this.

Being oil-cetric is the most unpatriotic policy with the most far-reaching implications that the new president can hold.

Bluster directed at Russian leaders made stronger by our inaction on this national crisis is not patriotism - it's patriot-colored theater that hurts the US by reducing our standing with the allies whose cooperation we need.

[JJ30]

An accurate statement.
What's the saying? An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Let's see hos upset McCain and his camp are going to get after having their own words used against them.

Nice going Tom!

[loper2008]

This is great! This guy needs to be an Obama surrogate.

[JEP]

Vilsac hits the nail on the head here,
McCain's voting record is all the proof necessary to show everyday Americans that McCain is a pawn of the oil industry, and big corporations in general.
Unfortunately the MSM, the voice of that corporate serpent, isn't about to put the facts out in any coherent fashion so the media-numbed public can rise above the numbness.
It's great to have the blogs to offset the media lies, but the majority still gets that skewed version of reality from their TV sets and drive time radio, so until our 4th Estate is willing to reclaim it's noble role, we can only watch from the outside as the big lie is perpetuated.
Maybe this election will help turn that tide. We can only hope enough people have come to their senses that the simple truth Tom Vilsak speaks here is not shrouded by their own ignorance and media programming.

[NoSandwiches]

Wow, Vilsack coming out of the woodwork again just before the convention. What does it mean?
And....tha­nks, Tom.

[legoh]

I think it's a great idea to take Mc's slogan and really use it against him.

I'm so sick of this nasty insinuation that he's pro America and Obama isn't. Just because he say it doesn't make it true and it's high time he was called out on it.

[Charmed]

It seems like the Democrats do want to win this election..­.Keep up the good work.

[jeffp26]

Excellent attack. And, also, true.

[MBryant]

the hard reality is that today - oil companies Aramco, Citgo, BP are entertwined deep with governments. Some the governments own the oil companies, some the oil companies own the governments - it can be hard to tell. Oil companies have had a branch office at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. for awhile. They'd like to keep it.

[CeciliaBertrand]

If banks can topple, Oil companies can crumble too. They are Goliaths and we all 'know' Goliaths have short life spans, once a DAVID hits the scene.

[MBryant]

I hope you aren't expecting that Obama is your "David"
He's a decent guy and supportable as President but he ain't no Exxon-Mobil toppler, more likely an enabler.

Another thing about David - remember he had his Bathsheba. Don't expect your Davids to be giant-killers and perfect. Edwards was more likely to take on big oil, but then I guess the mainstream media is less forgiving of Bathshebas than David's God was (well maybe not, David thought God took his son).