DENVER — Perhaps it was inevitable. Certainly it was logical. Yet it’s still striking how powerfully the Democratic Party has embraced a new clean energy, good jobs economic development strategy as a top priority in the 2008 presidential campaign. Never has a national political party moved the environment and clean energy, and the job opportunities that both will produce to the very center of its strategic vision and core principles.

That seemingly simple idea — that energy is the economy, and that clean energy represents the best solution to the security, job, financial, and environmental crisis that confronts America — largely reflects a moment of genius shared by the founders of the Apollo Alliance four years ago. That message has been carried into the mainstream by the board and staff members, and the Alliance partners and supporters who also were there at the time, and who followed them.

This, by the way, is no exaggeration. The Apollo Alliance framed the central crises confronting the environment (global warming), national security (9/11), the middle class (7 million manufacturing jobs lost since 1998), and energy (foreign oil) as having the same root source. The Apollo Alliance also viewed the crisis as an economic opportunity that would make America better. Lastly, the Apollo Alliance’s founders, among them Dan Carol (who serves on Barack Obama’s campaign staff), Bracken Hendricks, Bob Borosage, and Joel Rogers saw in the enveloping crisis a magnificent opportunity to shape a new entrepreneurial economy that would generate jobs, wealth, and prosperity in a way that sustained the nation rather than depleting its might and resources. There’s a word for what they accomplished, much overused: brilliant.

The idea of a clean energy economy is not partisan. Prior to the convention here, the Apollo Alliance’s staff and board shared our ideas with leaders in both parties, though it was clear that Democrats were more enthusiastic than Republicans. Now we know why. Despite John McCain’s senatorial support for measures to curb climate change, and his early campaign support for alternative energy and biofuels, GOP strategists have fixed their sights on developing offshore drilling and nuclear energy. The “drill here, drill now” message is a refutation of the clean energy strategy their own candidate once strongly embraced. The GOP believes that America can drill its way out of the energy and economic crisis.

We can’t. So America has a clear choice about the economic strategy it chooses to pursue. Our position at Apollo is clear. Here at the Democratic convention Apollo Alliance board and staff members are running day and night to make the case for The New Apollo Program, our comprehensive economic development strategy that will accelerate and scale up the clean energy economy. We’ve addressed state delegations, spoken at panel discussions including one Tuesday evening in prime time before the entire convention, conducted media interviews, fielded dozens of reporters’ questions, and held an opening night reception, among many other pursuits.

Our message is everywhere, and especially in the speeches given by almost every prime time speaker at the convention. John Sweeney, the head of the AFL-CIO who attended Apollo’s Sunday night reception (in pix left with Chairman Phil Angelides), told the nation he was committed to clean energy to build his union’s ranks. Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan (see pix above), who also attended the reception, similarly expressed her strong support for clean energy and good jobs. Hillary and Bill Clinton expressed their support. Vice presidential candidate Joe Biden did too. We anticipate that Barack Obama will spend a portion of his acceptance speech tonight on clean energy and good jobs.

There is satisfaction and nervousness in all of this, of course. Our responsibility to achieve these goals is enormous. And there is the ever-present reality of the policy realm. Democrats are with us. But one party can not succeed in making this kind of change alone. We need to convince the Republican leadership of the value of this idea.

– Keith Schneider

Tags: clean energy, New Energy for America, Obama energy strategy, renewables

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 28th, 2008 at 8:20 am and is filed under Green-Collar Jobs, National Policy, New Development Strategy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.