POLITICO's Morning Energy
By Josh Voorhees
ENTER CLIFF STEARNS - Fred Upton is widely seen as the odds-on favorite to lead the Energy and Commerce panel next year, but that doesn't mean his competition is going to sit idly by and make way for a coronation. The panel's current ranking member, Joe Barton, has refused to give up the ghost on his long-shot quest to pick up the gavel. And now, Cliff Stearns is hyping his own conservative credentials in a bid to lead the powerful panel. POLITICO's Tony Romm has the details on Stearns.
http://politi.co/dnLnFV
CONSERVATIVE CRED - In an interview, Stearns touted his favorability ratings among such groups as the American Conservative Union and the National Taxpayers Union. "I believe that the leader of the Energy and Commerce Committee should have a proven conservative record on the issues across the board," the Florida Republican said.
Both groups have awarded slightly lower ratings to Upton, whose relatively moderate reputation is a potential stumbling block in his effort to secure the energy chairmanship. The Michigan lawmaker, however, has scrambled in recent weeks to cement his reputation as a small-government conservative.
THE QUIET CAMPAIGN - With the exception of Barton's public push for the waiver he'd need to stay atop the energy panel, the battle for the chairmanship has played out mostly behind the scenes. Upton, for one, maintains that he is not actively angling for the position. Still, both he and Stearns have contributed heavily to the campaigns of their fellow Republicans this election season - with Upton outspending the Florida lawmaker by a nearly 5-to-2 margin ($160K to $66K, according to OpenSecrets).
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'FRESH' AGENDA - Stearns declined to ID any areas where he has found common ground with Democrats on energy. "I don't see anything in the Senate, and I don't think anything in the administration," he said of possible areas of compromise, while hammering House Ds for passing their cap-and-trade bill in 2009. "Republicans in the majority have to start an agenda which is innovative and cost-cautious and safe, but in a sort of new direction. If I had the opportunity, it'd be a fresh new approach."
ENERGY, NOT CLIMATE - "I think all of us realize we've got to control C02 and that we have various ways to do it. ... My position has been anything we can do to control and regulate is good, but do it through the private sector," Stearns said. "The energy policy I'm talking about isn't on global warming; it's making us self sufficient."
Happy Monday and welcome to Morning Energy, where we're hoping your sugar hangover isn't nearly as bad as ours. Send tips, comments and election predictions to Josh Voorhees at
jvoorhees@politico.com
BIG NAMES FLOCK TO THE MOUNTAIN STATE - Bill Clinton returns to West Virginia today to give a last-second push to Senate hopeful Joe Manchin and, to a lesser extent, House Natural Resources Chairman Nick Rahall. "He can whip a crowd into a movement in minutes," Rahall said in a statement. "He's always been a friend we can count on." The campaign event kicks off at 2:45 p.m. in Beckley.
http://bit.ly/aSPMtc
Sarah Palin was in town over the weekend to stump for John Raese, Manchin's GOP opponent. She told an energetic Saturday afternoon crowd that she thought Manchin was a "nice guy," but that he would be "a rubber stamp" for the president and should instead stick to his current gig as the state's governor.
http://politi.co/bY7UVj
NOT ALONE - The former Alaska governor was the latest in a string of GOP heavyweights to lend their voices to Raese's campaign. Mitch McConnell, John McCain and EPW ranking member James Inhofe have all stumped for the Senate hopeful in the past week or so. Up today: Rudy Giuliani. Charleston MetroNews:
http://bit.ly/cK0reW
LATEST NUMBERS - Democrats are growing more confident that Manchin will pull out the victory - and the polls appear to agree with them. All but one gave Manchin the edge over Raese in the last two weeks. The latest: Manchin 49, Raese 46 (Rasmussen Oct. 26)
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READING THE NEVADA TEA LEAVES - The Las Vegas Sun's Jon Ralston weighed in with his prediction Sunday morning on the Reid-Angle race. He admitted there's a palpable "passion gap," but argued that while people aren't excited about Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader has a history of defying the odds. The reason this race is still competitive: "Republicans managed to nominate the one person this year who could lose to Reid."
http://bit.ly/b9W1WM
Latest Poll: Angle 49, Reid 45 (Mason-Dixon/LVRJ Oct. 25-Oct. 27)
WSJ reports this morning on the eleventh-hour push from both sides.
http://bit.ly/bGgeGE
YUCCA MOUNTAIN - POLITICO's Robin Bravender reports that a Reid loss would likely give new life to the project, which would be welcome news to the nuclear industry and pro-nuclear lawmakers who see the lack of a long-term repository as a roadblock for a U.S. nuclear renaissance.
http://politi.co/dtgRrZ
"Nuclear power has become a central tenet of congressional Republican's energy agenda; senators like John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Lamar Alexander say expanding the power source will help to cut dependence on foreign oil and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Democrats and the Obama administration have shown a willingness to compromise on the issue, and nuclear is posed to be a focal point of energy talks next year on Capitol Hill if Republicans make major electoral gains."
GREEN JOBS - An Angle victory may do wonders for the nuclear industry but it appears as though it wouldn't do any favors for the renewable energy sector. The Sun reported yesterday that "in the last days of her campaign, her established disdain appears to have morphed into a call to dismantle the green jobs industry, one of Nevada's few - and probably best - hopes of climbing out of the recession."
http://bit.ly/9pbvu6
PROP 23 TRAILS - The latest Field Poll released yesterday found about half of likely voters (48 percent) against the initiative that would effectively kill California's main global warming law, while 33 percent said they were in favor of it. Big partisan and ideological differences in the survey's results, too. Democrats oppose Prop 23 nearly four to one (61 percent to 17 percent) while Republicans back it 51 percent to 31 percent. People who identified themselves with the tea party movement favored Prop 23 by a 61 to 28 margin.
http://bit.ly/a5dPqp
LEFT FOR DEAD (OR NOT) MILLER PUSHES ON - Joe Miller yesterday brushed aside a report that the Republican establishment was abandoning him in the closing days of Alaska's quirky three-way Senate race. "It really doesn't matter; it's the Alaskan people who are voting. The outside groups that are coming in trying to influence the race, they aren't going to be able to trump the Alaskan spirit and the Alaskan voters. I'm not worried about it even if it is true," Miller told POLITICO's David Catanese.
http://politi.co/aW1IDK
Citing a "high-level" GOP source, ABC News reported earlier in the day that Republican leaders have essentially given up on Miller and are now banking on a write-in victory by ENR ranking member Lisa Murkowski. (Republican leaders quickly denied the report.) Regardless, Miller may not be down and out yet: Public Policy Polling teased its upcoming survey on Twitter last night: "Our polling would suggest rumors of Joe Miller's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Close race, he's definitely still in it."
Latest: Murkowski 37, Miller 27, McAdams 23 (Dittman Research, Oct. 23-Oct. 28)
NYT reports this morning that the wrinkles of a write-in campaign in an Alaskan election could mean it takes weeks before anyone knows whether Murkowski pulled off a 'political miracle.'
http://nyti.ms/duWMeK
PLEADING 'IGNORANT' - Senate hopeful Mark Kirk is taking a, uh, novel approach to defending his 2009 vote for Waxman-Markey. "It's out of ignorance and lack of understanding of how a $14 trillion economy operates," the Illinois Republican said last week. "As I traveled Illinois, I quickly saw the kind of damage that legislation would cause industries that were not heavily present in my congressional district: heavy manufacturing, agriculture, mining. I had to make a choice between higher employment in my state or sticking with the old vote." Chicago Trib:
http://bit.ly/dcqzJD
AROUND THE HORN - POLITICO's Jessica Taylor, Alex Isenstadt and the rest of the 2010 team have the latest updates on a few other big races of interest to ME readers.
CALIFORNIA SENATE: EPW chairwoman Barbara Boxer is continuing to hammer home the message that Carly Fiorina's business skills aren't all she's making them out to be. Her closing ad features "Larry," who was laid off during Fiorina's tenure at Hewlett-Packard. "Carly Fiorina never cared about our jobs. Not then, and not now," says Larry. Latest Poll: Boxer 49, Fiorina 46 (Rasmussen Oct. 27)
WASHINGTON SENATE: Patty Murray was in Vancouver yesterday for a rally while she and Republican Dino Rossi continued their critical get-out-the-vote efforts across the state. This close race looms as one of the contests with the potential to go into overtime. Latest poll: Murray 49, Rossi 48 (McClatchy/Marist Oct. 26-Oct. 28)
VIRGINIA HOUSE (5): Rep. Tom Perriello was the subject of a Sunday love letter from the Washington Post's David Ignatius, who wrote that the freshman lawmaker was hanging on against GOP state Sen. Robert Hurt despite embracing much of the ambitious party agenda (including Waxman-Markey) and called him a "Democrat bucking the Republican wave."
http://wapo.st/9sLeIi
WELL, THIS IS AWKWARD - The Obama administration finds itself in an awkward position heading into the Cancun climate talks later this month. Juliet Eilperin reports in today's Washington Post that the U.S. delegation may find it difficult to continue to push "its enduring commitment to bold climate action" given recent events at home.
http://wapo.st/9yqwmW
AND FINALLY, DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH - EPA is unlikely to issue controversial smog standards prior to the election tomorrow. The agency planned to release the federal ozone limit on or around the end of October, but may be holding off in order to avoid giving Republicans last-minute campaign fodder. EPA spokesman Brendan Gilfillan said the agency is working hard to finalize the standard. "We will announce the final rule as soon as it is ready - this is an important and complex rulemaking and we're working to ensure we get it right," he said.
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Morning Energy.
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