The group ranges from extreme environmentalists, a former head of the CIA, republicans, democrats and leaders of religious movements. The value that they all share is prying America from its dependency on foreign oil, no matter what their underlying reason is. Viewpoints ranging from Gary Bauer, President of American Values, stating that “…we’re all aware that there are evil people feverishly working on ways to kill us. We are dependent on our energy resources from people who worship death and have drawn a bull’s-eye on our back,” to Deron Lovaas of the Natural Resources Defense Council stating that, “…we face immediate threats in terms of security in the environment. We need to do something now. The deficiency in alternatives to oil is no longer a luxury; it’s a necessity to make this shift.”
The formed together to develop legislation that will reduce our dependence on oil and encourage fuel-efficient vehicles. And, based on their message, it’d be nearly impossible to find a politician that wouldn’t support it. Anne Korin, Chairman of Set America Free, states that, “…every major national security issue has roots in oil.” The wars and battles Iran and Pakistan are waging, within their own countries and against our own, are all funded by oil. As she points out we are at war with an ideology, radical Islam, and we cannot win the war as long as we are funding the other side.
They take the stance that investing in alternative fuel sources is good for the environment, economy, democracy and national security. I dare you to find a single American that won’t get behind improvement in at least one of those areas.
The Set America Free Coalition could have easily tailored their messaging to appeal to just tree-huggers or to appeal to the makers of Hybrid cars, but they understood that in order to be successful, they needed to appeal to a broader audience. And they do, as the former Director of the CIA, R. James Woolsey, says it is, “…a coalition of tree huggers, do-gooders, sodbusters, cheap hawks, and evangelicals.”
And for that, they get an A.
No comments:
Post a Comment