President Obama suggested this evening that the Republican governing agenda will lead to "poisoning our kids" with pollution.
"I believe that it is part of our solemn responsibility to future generations that we look after this planet; that we make sure our air is clean and our water is clean; that we’re not poisoning our kids," Obama said at a campaign fundraiser tonight. That credo came as he explained that "the contrast between visions in this election could not be more stark, because I believe that America is stronger when we’re looking for one another."The part about "contrast between visions... could not be more stark" was a nice touch too.
 |
| Los Angeles area in 1973 EPA photo |
President Carter's people tried to sell Americans on the idea Ronald Reagan would choke us on pollution, and that Reagan was too "erratic" to understand issues like clean air.
You can hear the 1980 Carter campaign ad with these claims by clicking here.
Despite Democrats saying he would be a disaster for the environment, Reagan went on to win the presidency. And in the 1980s, air quality in LA would see improvements over the previous decade.
Earlier this year, an article by Los Angeles public TV station KCET credited the 1970 Clean Air Act as being the most influential law that turned the tide in that city's war with air pollution (with the act getting an update in 1977).
So, in 1980, which candidate was the alarmist? And which knew legislation was already in place that would trigger improvement in the decades to come? Voters saw through the Carter campaign's alarmist tone in 1980. Just like they'll likely see through Mr. Obama's attempt to use the same tired tactic.
Post updated 4/7/2012 7:40 am EDT
No comments:
Post a Comment