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| 2012 Chevy Volt |
The Chevy Volt was developed as a technological achievement that
was designed and produced through American ingenuity and scientific
advancement. Many of my fellow
conservatives scoff at the Chevy Volt. The Volt is viewed as a big government project that was subsidized by the Obama administration. The Volt is thought of as a crony capitalist kick back to the UAW to keep their tax payer bailed out factories at Government Motors producing green cars for Obama's liberal fantasy land. Thoughts of the Yugo and other substandard
vehicles produced in communist bloc nations during the 1980s spring to mind at
the mere mention of the Chevy Volt.
Images of Hollywood liberals driving around in their $40,000 toy cars preaching a “holier than thou” green agenda enter our minds. It is disgusting to think of the Chevy Volt being used as a tool of the wealth elites as it carries them from
their fifteen thousand square foot mansions to their private jets. Yes there are many reasons to oppose the story of the Volt, but let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Politicians will not let us drill our way to energy independence
None of these perceptions should force anyone in America to
oppose the concept behind the Chevy Volt.
The Volt may not be the American marvel that GM and the Obama
administration claim that it is, but it is a technology that needs to be
pursued for the good of our country. Not
for the elimination of green house gases or global warming, but for America’s
independence from foreign oil. Let’s
face the facts; we cannot get either party to drill for oil. Don’t fool yourselves about the Republican
Party either. They have held the
presidency for 20 of the last 32 years and oil prices were at their lowest point
during the Clinton years. They may be
the lesser of two evils, but they sure haven’t done us many favors on the issue
of energy independence.
Neither party has shown any support towards the idea of
America become self sufficient when it comes to energy production. George W. Bush had a Republican congress and
all that they managed to do was to send the price of oil to record highs. Both parties also support free trade
agreements that have benefited the growth of China and forced America to
compete with Communist slave labor.
These trade policies; along with government regulations on American business
and high corporate taxes have forced America into this global economy. The same economy that has increased demand
for oil in China which in turn has led to increased energy prices in America.
Oil is a global commodity, and it seems that our government
has decided that American petroleum companies can sell American oil to foreign
countries without lowering the price for American citizens. That is the free market right? The oil companies drill the oil and they get
to sell the oil on the world market. If
the price of gasoline is low in America, then these global energy giants will ship
American oil to the highest bidder until the price of gasoline in America is raised
up to the global level. That isn’t the
biggest problem with the oil market. Fear
mongering is great for the petroleum industry on the global oil market. It seems that all that the Arab world has to
do is threaten Israel and price of oil sky rockets due to speculation.
OPEC is not going to let America lower the price of Oil
If all of that isn't bad enough, we have Russia and the OPEC
nations producing a lot of the world’s oil.
If America does decide to try to drill itself out of high gas prices,
then all that these less than friendly nations have to do is cut their production and American oil
will be flowing away from U.S. consumers to the rest of the world.
This might be good for American oil companies, but it is not the best
case scenario for American energy consumers.
As long as Saudi Arabia and the other OPEC nations have their hands on
the oil spigot, we will always be at their mercy when it comes to the cost of
oil.
Hate the Chevy Volt, but love the concept
This is why all Americans should support technology like the
Chevy Volt. We need to encourage
industry to produce vehicles that benefit America’s economic security and
national security. The government is
going to waste money. That is what it
does. How many times do you heard about
a military jet or tank program that was canceled? That is wasted money as far as those projects
go, but the R&D involved with those platforms can lead to new development
in other programs. Likewise, any money
that has been wasted by the government on the Chevy Volt may still result in a
technological breakthrough down the line.
We are still investing money in cancer research and no one complains
that people are still dying of cancer, what is the difference? I don’t think
that anyone opposes cancer research other than Dr. No and his loyal band of
followers. It costs billions of dollars to send a man to
the moon, and Newt Gingrich wants to put a colony on the moon. I think that it would be much more beneficial
for our money to stay on the earth and focus our national attention on energy
independence for the good of America.
The Chevy Volt is not the final answer to our energy
independence, but it is a leap forward. Maybe electric vehicles will never become a
practical form of transportation for Americans.
That is definitely a possibility.
But putting our focus on energy independence is not a bad thing. Rather than thinking of the Chevy Volt as a
pay back to big labor unions, conservatives should view the Chevy Volt as a
focus on energy independence. I don’t
remember hearing conservatives attack President Bush for giving government
money to research hydrogen
fuel cell vehicles, so why are so many people hostile toward the Chevy
Volt? I will never buy a Chevy Volt
(here is why), and you may never buy a Chevy Volt, but if someone wants to buy
a Chevy Volt I will applaud their contribution toward American Energy
Independence. Even if that person is a
liberal that is more concerned about the environment than America’s Energy
independence. That person will still be doing their part to take us off of foreign oil.
Good read. Thanks
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