Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum had it right Monday when he accused President Barack Obama of putting politics against the public good regarding energy. The question is whether voters will reward Obama for that in November.
A gathering of several hundred people in Steubenville heard Santorum accuse the president of promoting a radical environmental agenda based not on science but "political science."
Coal, natural gas and oil will be needed to satisfy America's energy needs for decades to come. But the president is trying to frighten people about the health and environmental effects of using those fuels, Santorum said.
It goes beyond that with coal, of course. The White House, using the Environmental Protection Agency as its hammer, is attempting to smash the coal industry into oblivion and force the country to use much more expensive energy. The implications for our economy are obvious when you realize nearly half the households in our country rely on electricity generated by coal. So do businesses that employ tens of millions of Americans.
President Obama has made his strong bias against fossil fuels obvious. Just a few weeks ago, in a blatant bid for the votes of radical environmentalists, he rejected plans for the Keystone XL pipeline to carry oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast.
Santorum, who grew up in a Pittsburgh suburb, is well aware of the enormous strides made by U.S. industries to clean up the air, water and soil. He understands that no matter how much progress is made, it will not be enough for Obama and the radicals he is counting on to keep him in the White House.
The question is whether Barack Obama can use what amounts to a scorched earth policy on energy to win over enough gullible voters to keep him in the White House.
Perhaps if electricity prices continue rising because of the president's policies - and candidates such as Santorum point that out to voters - President Obama's ultra-cynical policy can be defeated.