Report: Joe Biden’s Opposition To Fossil Fuels Could Cost Him Pennsylvania

September 20, 2019

Many on the left have argued that former Vice President Joe Biden is best positioned to take on Trump, and that he could flip Pennsylvania back into the liberal column in 2020. After all, they note, Biden’s campaign is headquartered in Pennsylvania. “Middle Class Joe” was born in Scranton, they point out.

This view is more media spin than fiction, thanks to Biden’s recent conversion to eco-extremism.

When asked during a recent CNN debate whether there would be “any place for fossil fuels…in a Biden administration,” Biden responded candidly. “No…we would make sure it’s eliminated,” he said.

It’s an echo of Hillary Clinton’s promise to eliminate coal jobs, and it could mean that Biden has botched any hope of inspiring the energy workers of Pennsylvania.

The Washington Examiner is reporting that the Trump team sees highlighting Biden’s opposition to fossil fuels – especially his perceived opposition to a Pennsylvania pipeline – as the “route to taking down Joe Biden.” In Pennsylvania, more than 300,000 people work directly or indirectly in fracking alone. That’s a lot of voters who don’t like getting their jobs threatened.

The PennEast pipeline is expected to produce a $1.6 billion boon to the local economy, as well as over 12,000 jobs. Biden opponents “believe they can weaponize the issue of fracking and energy to separate him from his blue-collar, union allies after a series of promises to move against fracking.”

As David Urban, a senior advisor to Trump 2016 explained, a similar promise to end jobs hurt Hillary Clinton, and Biden’s promise to end fossil fuels means “he’s in for something” in Pennsylvania.

President Trump is reportedly planning to make this case against Biden, if Biden is the nominee. “Analysts say the Trump strategy is to return to the trade, energy, and immigration messages, which served him well four years ago, in an effort to improve turnout among an energetic base,” reports the Washington Examiner.

The eco-left forgets that real people and thousands of families rely on energy jobs and low energy prices to make a living and get by. Candidates on both sides of the aisle must learn the lesson – you cannot ignore the needs of energy workers and their families.