Perspective: GOP Hits Ohio To Bash Climate Bill

COLUMBUS, Ohio - With the nation fixated on the debate on how to overhaul the health care system, the other major policy issue of the year - an effort to address climate change - has largely been overshadowed.

Recent polling numbers also show that public support for President Barack Obama's energy policies has held firm, even while support for the health care overhaul has dipped.

Republicans are hoping they can change that. Six House Republicans, including Minority Leader John Boehner of southwest Ohio and Mike Pence of Indiana, held a GOP energy summit at Ohio State University on Wednesday. It was part of a national tour whose main objective is to get Republican concerns about the cost of the Democrats' climate change legislation on the public's radar. The bill passed the House earlier this summer and is expected to come up in the Senate this fall.

Holding a summit in Ohio is strategic. The state is heavily dependent on big industry that uses a lot of electricity, already has a downtrodden economy and gets nearly 90 percent of its electricity from burning coal.

Under a plan to cap carbon dioxide emissions - which the vast majority of scientists believe is contributing to the warming of the planet - coal would be among the biggest losers because it produces a high amount of carbon emissions when burned.

Under the Democrats' so-called "cap-and-trade" legislation, industry will be given permits to release a certain amount of greenhouse gas emissions. If they exceed that amount, they will have to purchase additional permits from other companies that have excess permits.

Republicans say capping greenhouse emissions will inevitably raise the price of gas and everything produced with energy. They've dubbed the Democrats' plan "cap and tax" and a job killer and say it will have a particularly negative impact on the Midwest.

"The Democrats' climate change bill is nothing more than an economic declaration of war on the Midwest by liberals in Washington, D.C., and must be opposed," Pence said after the summit.

A recent poll on President Barack Obama's handling of energy policy suggests Republicans have some work to do to convince the public of their view on energy.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll from late August says that 55 percent of Americans approve of the way Obama is handling energy issues while 30 percent disapprove. By a somewhat narrower majority - 52 percent to 43 percent - Americans back the cap-and-trade system.

Obama has said Republicans have been peddling disinformation that there's a contradiction between clean energy and job growth. Obama has called the House Democratic legislation "a jobs bill" that will lead to the creation of new industries and "finally make clean energy a profitable kind of energy."

Democrats believe that clean energy, such as wind and solar, will only become economically competitive after the marketplace reflects the "true cost" of burning fossil fuels, which would include its environmental consequences. Republicans, however, say a cap-and-trade plan will drastically raise prices because clean energy sources are more expensive than coal.

To drill home their point, Republicans - traditionally more supportive of free trade agreements than Democrats - are framing the debate over climate change legislation through the lens of job loss and economic competitiveness. Ohioans have shown skepticism for trade agreements, blaming them for the loss of tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs to developing countries.

"America alone cannot solve this problem," Boehner said. "Punishing Americans in order to favor developing countries like India and China is not in our best interest. If we're serious with carbon dioxide there has to be a worldwide commitment to doing that or we're just kidding ourselves."

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