The Lockport Union-Sun & Journal has an interesting story about how Jon Powers and Jack Davis have been attacking each other for having stocks in a highly profitably industry. While commonsense suggests that it makes for people interested in money to invest in companies and industries that are profitable, apparently to Democrats, investing in oil is morally equivalent to raping a child.

The Jon Powers camp lobbed a second grenade at opponent Jack Davis over his oil stock holdings in late July.

The first volley, a June 26 press release seizing on Davis’ disclosure that he owns oil and energy stocks valued at about $35 million, asserted a link between Davis, “Big Oil” and Average Joe’s pain at the gas pumps.

How, the release asked, can voters trust Davis to know their pain when he made up to $288,000 on those energy stocks in 2007?

Despite the release’s pairing of a Big Oil diatribe with Powers’ version of best U.S. energy policy — replete with favors for alternative energy and tough love for oil — the missive wasn’t widely repeated by press in the region.

Powers went after Davis again July 31, when his camp issued a statement blasting Exxon’s record-breaking second quarter profits — and linking Davis with the presumable evil.

“The fact that Jack Davis is bankrolling his campaign with money he made from Exxon shows how out of touch he is with everyday Western New Yorkers,” Powers’ campaign manager, John Gerken, said.

After the second attack from Jon Powers, the Jack Davis campaign decided to strike back, throwing out the fact that Jon Powers too has benefitted financially because of holdings in Big Oil.

Powers’ second lob got a bigger rise out of its target. Last week, the Davis camp released an “analysis” of Powers’ self-reported financials showing the mutual funds he’s invested in also are linked with Big Oil — and posing pointed questions about Powers’ honesty.

Powers is invested in the Schwab 1000 Index Fund, two of whose Top Five holdings Davis says are Exxon Mobil and Chevron; the William Blair International Growth Fund that backs oil, gas and coal mining; the William Blair Small Cap Growth Fund that manages shares in the same; and Fidelity Capital & Income Fund, whose holdings include dozens of oil and gas companies. Powers has IRA holdings in Global Industries LLC, which is invested in offshore oil and gas drilling.

“Mr. Powers deliberately exaggerates Mr. Davis’ oil holdings, conceals his own and also fails to disclose that he has accepted campaign contributions from oil and energy lobbyists,” Davis’ campaing manager Luke Vaughn said. “To attack (Davis’ oil returns) is simply childish and flies in the face of reality.”

When push comes to shove, who really cares? It’s this kind of childish bickering that turns people off from politics. Quite frankly, I’m tired of Jon Powers (and his supporters) criminalizing success. Jack Davis and Alice Kryzan may both be wealthy, but wealth shouldn’t be a badge of dishonor. Jon Powers may not be wealthy, but he made an unusually large salary (putting him roughly in the top 15-20% of income earners) for running a rather unsuccessful non-profit group, so where does he get off claiming the moral high ground over the source of one’s wealth?  With regards to Powers mutual fund stock, the talking point (sure to be repeated by the Jon Powers Echo Chamber) is that any profits Powers made from those stocks were modest, while Davis had #35 million invested in oil and energy stocks and made roughly $288,000 off those stocks last year.

Of the Davis camp’s observation that Powers also profits personally from Big Oil, Powers’ spokeswoman, Victoria Dillon, professes astonishment that the two should be compared.

Within Powers’ mutual fund holdings there “might be some oil tucked into the Top 100,” she says, “but I truly don’t think it’s the same thing. The scale (of profit) is so, so drastically different. For them to nitpick this one little thing … it’s silly.”

The “scale of profit.”

I guess investing in Big Oil is one thing, but the bigger the profit, the more evil the investor? If Jon Powers hates success and prosperity so much, why would anyone want him in Congress? How can he fight for the people of the 26th district when he can’t even defend himself:

What’s the moral difference between a little profit off oil and a lot?

Despite repeated requests, Dillon declined to put Powers on the phone this week to speak for himself.

Is Jon Powers going to hide behind press releases and spokespersons throughout his campaign?

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The Democratic majority left for their 5-week summer vacation without doing anything to address the ongoing energy crisis. Today, Chris Lee called on Congress to get back to work and solve the problem:

Today, 26th Congressional District candidate Chris Lee called on Congress to get back to work to solve our energy crisis.  Late last week, Congress went on a five-week vacation while Western New Yorkers are canceling vacations because of high gas prices.  Chris also is gathering signatures for a letter from all Western New Yorkers to Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  The letter will outline Western New Yorkers demands to get Congress back to work to achieve a comprehensive solution to lower the cost of gas and break our dependence on foreign oil. 
 
“With record gas prices forcing Western New Yorkers to cancel their vacations, we have a simple message to Congress: End Your Vacation, Get Back to Work, and Solve the Crisis,” said Lee.  “We need American solutions to create American energy and American jobs to secure our economic future and lower gas prices.  We can achieve energy independence through exploration, conservation, and the development of American-made alternative energy sources.”
 
In addition, Lee wrote Speaker Nancy Pelosi a letter requesting she bring Congress back in session to hold a vote on ending our addiction to foreign oil by removing the ban on exploring for oil in the United States:
 
“Today, in New York 26th Congressional District taxpayers are paying on average $4.13 for a gallon of gas.  Western New Yorkers need help - with gas prices severely impacting family budgets many Western New Yorkers are unable to afford to go on vacation while Congress is enjoying a five-week vacation.  My fellow Western New Yorkers and I respectfully request that you bring Congress back to Washington and get to work for the American people.  Congress needs to stop the bickering and work on a bipartisan solution to end our addiction to foreign oil by removing the ban on exploring for oil in the United States.”
 
Lee also pointed to Governor David Paterson’s recent decision to call back New York State lawmakers for an emergency economic special session starting August 19th where hopefully lawmakers will work together for some real solutions – Congress must do the same.
 
“As a local businessman, if I ran my company like Congress has been running America’s energy policy we would have been out of business a long time ago,” concluded Lee.  “It is time Congress gets to work, and uses the American people’s ingenuity and expertise to help solve our energy problems.  More spending and more taxes is not the answer.”

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File this under “Stupid ideas”….

With the price of gasoline at $4.196 on average in Western New York,  several town highway departments have switched to a four-day, ten-hour schedule to control costs, while business and government  nationwide have begun to consider the alternative schedule as a way to beat pain at the pump.

The Elma and Wales highway departments are already operating on longer day schedules, saving set up time and driving one day a week. The town of Aurora will begin  a similar program next month. Statewide several towns are looking at the alternative as a way to cut gasoline costs.

The sad thing is that some people actually think the idea can work:

Removing one day from the workweek may not result in large personal savings for families, but could trigger a drop in demand that might drive prices down, according to Peter Beutel, an oil industry analyst with Cameron Hanover Inc.

“A four day work week could actually put the price of gasoline beneath three and possibly even below two dollars given time,”  Beutel tells WBEN

I’m sorry, but it won’t. In fact, it may encourage greater consumption of gasoline by lengthening the weekend, and putting more cars on the road.

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From a campaign presser sent out yesterday:

“Talk is cheap, but gas is not,” said Lee. “It’s time for Washington to get out of the blame game business, and start to get in the solutions business.  We need American solutions to create American energy and American jobs to secure our economic future and lower gas prices.  We can achieve energy independence through exploration, conservation, and the development of American-made alternative energy sources.”

Lee’s plan for energy highlights the need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil by exploring for oil domestically which will secure our nation and ultimately drive down the price of gas for consumers in Western New York.  Additionally, Lee also called for tax incentives for businesses and families that purchase more fuel efficient vehicles and improve their energy efficiency.  Finally, Lee wants to expand research and development of American made alternative energies.  Lee cited alternative energy production,  research and development being done right here, in Western New York such as the hydrogen fuel cell research at Honeoye Falls and the ethanol plant in Orleans.  

“The inability of Congress to deal with this energy crisis is hurting the hard working families of Western New York,” concluded Lee.  “We can’t afford to let Congress sit back and do nothing to address our energy needs.  It is time we get to work, it is time we bring to bear all the great things Western New Yorkers and all Americans can do to make our country energy independent.” 

Now this is a reasonable energy policy, especially in comparison to the No Drilling and Blame Big Oil policy of Jon Powers. Chris Lee clearly understands that energy independence and alternative energy sources won’t just happen overnight. Too much of our economy relies on oil, and Jon Powers and the writers of his talking points don’t understand that. Tax incentives work better than the often unrealistic regulations supported by Powers and the Do-Nothing Democrats in Congress.

As Douglas Turner of the Buffalo News wrote the other day, “Nearly all of the Democrats representing Western New York [...] share in the blame” for the current energy crisis. Jon Powers would simply become part of the problem. 

I’m glad there is a candidate with a realistic energy policy… and I’m sure the voters of NY-26 will be glad too.

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