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posted February 13, 2010 at 4:31 pm EST
Obama "beginning not to be believable to me," says Rockefeller
By Jimmy Orr
West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller is starting to wonder if President Obama is a friend to the coal industry.
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You think maybe Joe Biden was right after all?
Back during the 2008 presidential run, Biden told one potential voter that he and Obama "were not supporting clean coal." The entertaining video was called "Senator Biden's bizarre anti-coal rant" by one congressman.
It turned out that Biden supported clean coal all along. Or at least that's what the campaign said. Biden's remarks -- although he said them -- were somehow "just another false attack from a dishonorable campaign," said one of Obama's spokesmen about Team McCain.
Deja vu
Regardless, the topic has come up again. This time Biden's not at odds with the president's policies but another Democrat is.
West Virginia's junior Senator Jay Rockefeller isn't happy with the president's budget. It would do away with $2.3 billion in tax breaks for the coal industry and that would lead to a reduction in coal production he says.
Tell the truth
So the senator is asking the president to tell the truth on his feelings toward the coal industry. Not in the Joe Wilson way. But, he had some pretty potent comments for Obama while speaking to Obama's budget director.
"We met with [Obama] yesterday and he said he was for clean coal and he says it in his speeches, but he doesn't say it in here," Rockefeller said, referring to the budget proposal. "He doesn't say it in the actions of [EPA Administrator] Lisa Jackson. And he doesn't say it in the minds of my own people. And he's beginning to not be believable to me."
You can see the video below.
What'd ya expect?
Although there 's no clear sign that any progress has been made between Rockefeller and Obama since the senator made those comments a little over a week ago, there are plenty of people saying, "I told you so."
Charleston's Daily Mail blogger Don Surber writes, "The Won is no longer The One to our septuagenarian senator."
"I knew Rockefeller eventually would break with Obama," he adds. "I thought it would be over health care, as it was with President Clinton."
Limbaugh too
Rockefeller's remarks received plenty of national play too. Rush Limbaugh chimed in on the issue yesterday.
"Obama does not like clean coal and will do everything he can to get rid of it," Limbaugh said. "We tried to tell your voters this in the campaign of '08. Senator Rockefeller, look around you, sir. He's destroying every institution that has made this the greatest country on earth. He has launched an assault on every one."
"Do you think any kind of coal fits his green energy agenda, Senator? Clean coal? There's no such thing, compare it to his mythical green energy sector. This is worse than a menace but we're still going to have to deal with it," he added.
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