The New Mexico Independent - Latest Comments in NMI Interview: Pearce sticks to his guns on energy, aims at Udall

Re: NMI Interview: Pearce sticks to his guns on energy, aims at Udall

davidaliregarcia — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:52:08 -0000

kenny, I like the idea of a fact check addendum. I think a story like this one certainly gets the candidate's assertions out in the public sphere. From some of the earlier comments posted, seems like some of the fact checking has already begun!

Re: NMI Interview: Pearce sticks to his guns on energy, aims at Udall

hemingway — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 06:07:24 -0000

Congressman Pearce has even recommended that New Mexico should become the dumping ground for the nation's radioactive waste. It will bring jobs.

Re: NMI Interview: Pearce sticks to his guns on energy, aims at Udall

wantonio — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:04:31 -0000

You know, Udall did some sort of press conference at a gas station last month and he got to spout off about his beliefs and opinions regarding energy. Why not let Pearce speak?

Re: NMI Interview: Pearce sticks to his guns on energy, aims at Udall

kenny — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:25:33 -0000

Perhaps NMI should have published a "fact check" addendum to this article. That would have served the public interest much better than just letting Pearce get away with making untrue claims.

Re: NMI Interview: Pearce sticks to his guns on energy, aims at Udall

thomasjames — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:35:42 -0000

hemingway, while I agree that neither mr. tinsely or mr. pearce are independent of special interest groups, I would venture to say neither areSenator Bingaman, Ben Ray Lujan or Tom Udall. So which true values of the NM people have you chosen for the people. The hypocrisy of yelling "Big this or Big that" is reprehensible by liberals. Big green holds just as much sway over that party. Big Green by the way isn't just about saving the planet by the way they are about making money off the green inquisition.

So lets call a spade a spade, what you think are the true values of the people of New Mexico may in reality just be your values. My view of what people think are true values is a little different. I would say people want to be able to support their families. They want to be able to afford to drive their cars (petro or otherwise) to work and to travel. They don't want to pay exorbitant amounts for food. They want good infrastructure, they want schools and teachers to actually help them educate their children. They don't want to pay exorbitant amounts of taxes on social entitlement programs and they want to be able to spend the money they work for. I would wager and again this is just my view, that people don't want politicians who are beholden to any particular special interests, whether it be Big Oil, Big Insurance, Big Labor, Big Green etc.

In other words while I understand why you rant about Tinsely and Big Restaurant, or Pearce and Big Oil, until I hear a good rant about the special interest controlling our democrat candidates, your rants will ring hollow.

It is time for candidates and elected officialsthat will restore our Constitutional Republic, that will refrain meddling unnecessarily in foreign affairs, taxing its people to death, and trampling our civil liberties.

Neither of our current corrupted major parties care about restoring those values to the people. It is time for the return of Liberty to "We the People" of the United States, it is time for a choice other than Democrat or Republican.

Re: NMI Interview: Pearce sticks to his guns on energy, aims at Udall

hemingway — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 06:25:47 -0000

Someone should have asked Mr. Pearce about how the tobacco lobby controls his voting.

Steve Pearce's recent vote against the Federal Tobacco Regulation bill which was supported by Representatives Wilson and Udall is reprehensible. However, companies like RJ Reynolds, Altria Group and US Smokeless Tobacco have put thousands of dollars in his pocket. This important legislation will allow the Federal Drug Administration to regulate cigarette content, require product disclosure and most importantly ban cigarette marketing to children. A report was issued by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids that describes in detail how tobacco manufacturers take advantage of the lack of government regulation to market products to entice new youth users of tobacco. In New Mexico tobacco use causes $461 million in health care bills each year and kills 2,100 residents; 25.7 percent of New Mexico high school students currently smoke.

Now Congressman Pearce pays back his tobacco campaign contributors. In fact Altria has been recruiting new farmers with financial assistance in New Mexico and other states. "U.S. tobacco is really the backbone of our blends," says Philip Morris USA, a unit of Altria Group Inc. "Our job is to ensure we have a stable supply of U.S. tobacco to meet current and future needs." I am sure Mr. Pearce agrees with the tobacco companies. Mr. Pearce does not represent the true values of the people of New Mexico, who care about the health of their children.

Re: NMI Interview: Pearce sticks to his guns on energy, aims at Udall

hemingway — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 06:18:21 -0000

Representative Pearce opposes the windfall profits tax. The oil and gas lobby control him. In fact he owns oil stock - needs to increase its value. The argument against a windfall profits tax according to the oil and gas industry has always been that it would stifle investment in new equipment and research and development. However, the use, which the most profitable oil and gas companies have made of their massive profits, is to buy back their stock and pay dividends to shareholders, puts the lie to that argument. Chevron is in the process of a buy back of nearly $15 billion worth of their stock. ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips have similar programs. Mr. Pearce supports this stuff.

Now in an age of terrorism, nuclear reactors are inviting targets. Congressman Pearce is foolishly pushing for nuclear reactors even in New Mexico. By the way Mr. Pearce where are we going to put all the nuclear waste and what happens when radioactive elements accidentally leaks into our underground water systems? This guy is very irresponsible and thinks nuclear energy will solve all our problems. In his legislative career he has consistently opposed renewable energy. Look at his poor record. Now he is expressing passive support for it.

Re: NMI Interview: Pearce sticks to his guns on energy, aims at Udall

coffeeman — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 06:00:49 -0000

Rep. Pearce has little faith in the American people. His faith is with the oil companies. Americans understand more and more the failings of people like Mr.Pearce and his refusal to trust the inventivness and industriousness of the general populace. Ideas such as a "Manhattan Project" or on a scale such as the projects of Eisenhower's Interstate system or Roosevelt's WPA or Kennedy's Space Program to develop alternative energy sources are anathema to the narrow views and objectives of people like Mr.Pearce. He gives a little lip service to alternative sources of energy, but votes consistently against such programs, or he votes to provide them with starvation funding just so he can say he supports the programs. The idea that we have enough available drilling rigs and crews, pipelines or refineries to materially change the present production is an outright lie. Mr.Pearce knows fully that all that will be accomplished by giving oil companies more drilling rights is to increase their "land bank" so they can drill when and where they want. If they did not find it worthwhile to produce the 98 MILLION acres of leased rights they already own at $147 a barrel why in the world would anyone believe they will produce with more drilling rights? Does Mr.Pearce believe the public so gulllible as to believe the oil companies would slit their own economic throats by increasing production and lowering the cost of a barrel of oil? He wants us to believe the granting of more oil drilling rights will lower the price at the pump. Nonsense. It may halt the rate of increase some. It would make billions more for the oil companies if they produce it and world demand stayed up. But we have seen the price of oil go down WITHOUT an increase in production. Funny, eh? The answer is not more drilling, it is trusting in Americans to do like they always have done and that is to continue to be inventive, industrious and honest. Something Mr. Pearce has long ago lost sight of.

Re: NMI Interview: Pearce sticks to his guns on energy, aims at Udall

barbwire — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:51:13 -0000

Just for starters, Pearce is entirely incorrect about oil spills and Katrina. He repeats the myth that no spills happened:

"On off-shore drilling, Pearce says it can be done in an environmentally sensitive way