(The following opinion column does not constitute an endorsement of any political party, or candidate, on the part of Newsmax.)
OPINION
The Democratic Convention kicked off recently with a clear ambition: project steady and enthusiastic support for their new nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.
Conveying and demonstrating stability is much needed as the 2024 presidential election campaign season has been marked by chaos, uncertainty, and even violence.
Just over a month ago, Joe Biden was still at the helm of the Democratic presidential race for the White House.
Then, a harrowing assassination attempt left our nation fearful of how polarization can spur horrendous acts of violence.
President Biden caved to pressure to abandon his run for a second term.
On top of this, artificial intelligence (AI) is further blurring the line between reality and manipulated content.
Meanwhile, the media continues to push one-sided narratives that sew tremendously significant divisiveness among voters.
Amidst this chaos, it’s easy to lose sight of candidates’ stances on the issues.
And yet, the truth remains that the policies of our next president will greatly impact Americans’ daily lives.
And while there is much to distract voters from the policy platforms of Harris and Trump, nothing is more important when deciding where to cast our votes in November.
What voters should remember is that that the Biden-Harris administration has failed when it comes to policy. Period.
In many instances, consumers have yet to feel the long-term impacts of Biden’s barrage of regulations and compelling incentives, but they will.
Biden has established stifling traditional energy production as a top priority and a principal component of the Democrats’ platform.
From emboldening the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to enacting the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), to stalling liquefied natural gas (LNG) export licenses for months, Team Biden has been an ally to climate extremists who would deny Americans access to reliable, affordable energy.
Now that Biden is no longer vying for re-election, the Democratic Party has officially anointed Vice President Kamala Harris to revitalize the party.
However, a Harris administration may be the one thing worse for American energy dominance than President Biden.
In fact, Harris is so extreme that she had to walk back promises she made as California’s senator, such as banning fracking and halting new oil leases on federal lands and waters --- when she was selected as Biden’s running mate four years ago.
Once she was tapped as the Democratic vice presidential running mate, she was quick to switch up and carefully bury her views to appeal to a national voting base far less extreme on energy policy than those of Californians.
As the new Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala has redoubled attempts to distance herself from her past policy positions, but the truth remains that Harris’s approach to energy, as well as her rhetoric, is aggressive, drastic, and narrow.
If anything, Harris’s record exposes her as a fringe leftist activist, endorsing California’s extremist views and ideas for our energy future.
As California’s attorney general, Harris targeted oil and natural gas as her number one nemesis. She viciously went after producers in a slew of lawsuits and even carried out a suit against the Obama-Biden administration for permitting fracking off the Pacific coast.
As a senator, Harris was an original cosponsor of the infamous Green New Deal. During her presidential campaign in 2019, Harris was vocal about abolishing the Senate filibuster to further advance anti-oil and gas legislation, despite calls from members of her own party saying this move would ruin the foundation of the U.S. Senate.
She also proposed pollution fees or carbon taxes to force companies to pay the government for emissions — a cost that would be passed down to consumers.
Harris’s extreme views on energy are not surprising, given she grew up in the liberal meccas of Canada and California and then went on to represent the Golden State with the worst energy policies nationally.
California has recently passed a series of disastrous energy legislation and orders, and progressive states like Minnesota have been quick to follow suit.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., instituted a plan that all new vehicles sold in the state must be electric by 2035 at a time when California had (and still has) the highest supplemental poverty rate out of any other state.
Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., (and now Democratic vice presidential running mate), has been quick to embrace these policies, joining a coalition of 17 states to tie their vehicle emissions standards to California’s rules.
Californians already pay for one of the highest gas prices in the country, as well as the highest gas state tax.
Energy affordability is never a priority, even for a struggling population.
We should not export California’s self-sabotaging energy policies to the rest of the country.
Yet Harris has relentlessly targeted the crucial basis of the American energy grid — oil and natural gas — while only promoting renewables with unwavering tunnel vision. Kamala Harris would seek even less energy balance than Joe Biden.
The commotion and uncertainty of this election season have been more than enough to alarm the American people. But one thing is clear, Vice President Harris would be the most extreme anti-U.S. energy president in our nation’s history.
Craig Stevens, Spokesman for the GAIN Coalition and former senior advisor to U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman.
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