John McCain lies about energy policy

Have you seen the McCain TV ad where he levels a smear against Barack Obama and then shifts to promising "energy independence" with wind generators spinning in the background?

Well guess what. It's misleading, or what some of us in mid-America call a lie.

John McCain opposed tax breaks to the wind power industry and alternative fuel additives like ethanol, even has he proposes billions in new tax breaks for Big Oil.

According to a post at TPM Election Central, "McCain recently opposed the big $300 billion farm bill, which itself is extremely popular throughout the upper midwest, describing the bill as 'a $300 billion, bloated, pork-barrel-laden bill' because of subsidies for industries like ethanol."

Michigan has developed several new initiatives to attract farmers to biofuel production. McCain's true record suggests that he wouldn't support such an initiative.

Even further, the post adds, "the bill also contained a measure extending a tax break for developing wind power, which McCain specifically opposed."

Oh, and guess what else, Obama supported the wind energy measure.

Wind power is a growing industry that already employs 50,000 people and creates electricity that does not rely on greenhouse emitting fossil fuels that cause global warming. With serious investment, we could see new job growth and a reliable source of clean energy. This is Obama's plan.

McCain's record is opposition to wind energy and more tax breaks for Big Oil.

Another post at CarpetBaggerReport, shows that another bi-partisan bill currently making its way through the Senate would provide some resources for clean energy alternatives like wind power, r&d for new alternatives, tax breaks for production of hybrid vehicles, and even some new offshore drilling. (Some might call this the Paris Hilton compromise.)

McCain opposes it. According to the post, McCain doesn't like this compromise measure solely because it removes tax breaks for Big Oil. (Recall that big McCain donor, ExxonMobil, raked in close to $12 billion in the last quarter alone in profits.)

So let's boil this down. McCain is on the record opposing wind power, but runs commercials talking about energy independence with wind generators in the background.

He opposes a compromise measure that brings together new oil drilling and more investments in alternatives because it won't give big fat tax breaks to Big Oil.

John McCain. Big Oil First.