Getting the rural vote

Part of the reason that the Repubs have done so well over the last 40 years is that they have had the rural vote in the bag. The last Democrat that did something for rural folks was FDR with the Rural Electrification Act. As soon as rural folks got to taking electricity for granted, they also forgot who brought it to them and began voting Republican. The Repubs promise to keep taxes low and government out of sight, and rural folks buy into it hook, line and sinker. For Obama to win in the fall, he's going to have to make some inroads into the rural vote and offer them something. I would like to throw out a modest proposal and get some comments from all you DUers as to whether this would be a good campaign strategy.

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Rural Energy Independence Initiative

America does best when it has a goal to shoot for (like the moon landing) and the goal of this initiative would be to make every rural county in America a net energy exporter. The government would provide financial and technical assistance to every rural county so that they could develop whatever their local energy attribute would be:

Mineral County, NV (pop. 4,910 voted 57% Bush in 2004) could get technical help to map their geothermal resources and financial help to set up geothermal steam turbines.

Hobbs County, NM (pop. 56,719 voted 79% Bush in 2004) could get assistance to install solar panels on all the rooftops, both commercial and residential to take advantage of the abundant sunshine.

Custer County, NE (pop. 11,400 voted 81% Bush in 2004) could get funds and technical assistance from the USDA to grow switchgrass, for conversion to ethanol.

Stutsman County, ND (pop. 20,835 voted 64% Bush in 2004) could get assistance to expand the wind turbine capacity in the county.

Lamar County, GA (pop. 16,378 voted 62% Bush in 2004) could get a biomass to energy plant and convert all their kudzu to electricity.

The examples above are just that -- possibilities. What the REII would have to do first is to assess the possibilities in each county (wind, solar, geothermal, etc.) and offer the rural population a way to capitalize on it. Instead of the Republican way of giving a tax credit to a corporate entity to entice them to set up a facility someplace, this would be a direct government to community way to stimulate rural economies.

Done right, this could build on the successes of the New Deal. Rural electrical co-ops, which were first started by the REA in the Depression, could be given a new boost as they were encouraged to put up a wind turbine or invest in a turbine for biogas.

This REII would take and build on the rural idea of independence. Everyone in the county could take pride in their local energy project, even if they didn't work directly on it. They would know that their county was not dependent on Mideast crude oil for their lifestyle.
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So how about it DUers? Does it sound like a positive plan to solve a problem? I've done a lot of reading in the area of alternative energy, and it always impressed me that it was a bunch of demonstration projects languishing for lack of funding. And of course, that funding will never come from people with the mindset that the public should buy their energy at market rates from the Exxon refinery. If Obama can make energy independence a national project like the Manhattan Project or the Apollo program, then he may be able to sweep into office with all the rural counties behind him.

when I met him at a town hall. I am from a smaller town surrounded by a rural area. Yes, this is a good idea. We just have to get Obama the message. I also believe small towns and rural areas need to revive mass transit of some sorts whether it be the old interurbans & light rail, biking trails, or even a bus system. Add that to your proposals, please!

I would like to keep the production side separate from the consumption side. Like the Department of Energy is separate from the Department of Transportation. Conservation and managing consumption are important, but require a different mindset than production and generation.

There is a lot of overlap in government agencies and joint collaborations that could be done. My underlying reason for pitching it like this is that after peak oil, when pulling energy out of the ground becomes impractical, energy is going to have to come from the surface of the earth and the wide open spaces, i.e., rural areas.

It isn't just gas prices, it's fuel prices across the board that are hurting people. Winter oil for home heating. Summer electricity for a/c. It would benefit a candidate greatly to put forward a detailed and coherent plan for putting America to work on building/installing clean, renewable energy sources. For example, even with state subsidies solar is still out of reach for many homeowners, but is perfectly viable. Wind power adds to the mix and should be nationalized. Screw those who think the turbines are ugly. Ugly is what will happen if someone looking to lead this country doesn't get on the stick and force this country to reform.