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Mike Huckabee on Energy & Oil

Former Republican AR Governor; possible draft candidate

 


Become energy exporter to weaken Russia & Iran

HUCKABEE: I don't trust Putin. Do I think that we can hug Putin and have a wonderful relationship with the Russians? No, I don't. We ought to be challenging not only Russia but the Iranians and the Saudis on the point of energy. We ought to be drilling every bit of oil, getting all the coal out. We need to be going after our natural gas and biofuels and become the energy exporter to the world, and take the weaponry out of the hands of the Russians, the Iranians, and the Saudis by taking their money away, and let America become the number one energy exporter to the entire world. That enriches Americans and it destabilizes our enemies overseas. If you take away their ability to fund their weaponry and fund their terrorism, they don't have terrorism.

Sen. GRAHAM: Well, I agree with that. I'd like to stop sending $350 billion overseas to buy oil from people who hate our guts, wouldn't you? Wouldn't you like to export natural gas to cut Putin's legs out from under him?

Source: 2015 CNN/Salem Republican second-tier debate , Dec 15, 2015

Scientific predictions on climate change are inaccurate

On climate change, Huckabee says scientific predictions are inaccurate. In 2013, Huckabee wrote that climate change predictions have proved inaccurate, in a Facebook post that is no longer available online. He has not definitively rung in on whether humans have a role in climate change and questions its priority as an issue, comparing the problem to a sunburn on FOX News. In 2007, Huckabee told a climate change conference in New Hampshire that the nation has a responsibility to cut carbon emissions and that he then supported a "true cap-and-trade" system. In later years when asked about the comment, Huckabee said he supports a "voluntary" cap-and-trade system.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series , May 5, 2015

Oil has not just shaped our foreign policy; it's deformed it

The war on terror is intimately linked to our national energy needs. We can't free others from repressive regimes until we free ourselves from dependence on imported oil. We have dillydallied for over thirty years in toothless talk about "energy independence" and ending our dependence on foreign oil, but have done nothing to actually change our enslavement to the Saudis and other oil producers. Oil has not just shaped our foreign policy, it has deformed it. We ought to treat Saudi Arabia the same way we treat Sweden, and that requires us to be energy independent. These folks have had us over a barrel--literally--for far too long. We should explore, conserve, and pursue all avenues of alternative energy--nuclear, wind, solar, hydrogen, biodiesel, and biomass.
Source: Do The Right Thing, by Mike Huckabee, p. 13 , Nov 18, 2008

Comprehensive plan for energy independence within ten years

For too long, we have been constrained because our dependence on imported oil has forced us to support repressive regimes and conduct our foreign policy with one hand tied behind our back. I will free that hand from its oil-soaked rope and reach out to moderates in the Arab and Muslim worlds with both. I want to treat Saudi Arabia the way we treat Sweden, and that will require the United States to be energy independent. The first thing I will do as president is send Congress my comprehensive plan for achieving energy independence within ten years of my inauguration. We will explore, we will conserve, and we will pursue all types of alternative energy: nuclear, wind, solar, ethanol, hydrogen, clean coal, biomass, and biodiesel.
Source: America’s Priorities in the War on Terror: Foreign Affairs , Jan 1, 2008

Biofuel mandates are not necessary

I am willing for us to make the decisions which will not necessarily create the mandates. One of the biggest energy users in the whole country is the US government. If the government commits to being the primary user of alternative forms of energy, we have a market built in. Therefore, the big argument against having alternative energy is there’s no market for it. Let the government be a marketplace and we’ll create the kind of demand that lowers the price rather than raises the price.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Republican Debate , Dec 12, 2007

Energy independence: let Saudis keep their oil & their sand

Q: What would you do about US dependence on Saudi oil?

A: I would make the United States energy independent within 10 years and tell the Saudis they can keep their oil just like they can keep their sand, that we won’t need either one of them. America has allowed itself to become enslaved to Saudi oil. It’s absurd. It’s embarrassing. Since 1973, we keep talking about project independence. We never have the political will to do it. It is high time that we stop this sense of almost being subordinated by the Saudis as well as the rest of the Middle East, particularly countries who do not like us, who do not have our best interests at heart. We need a self-sustaining, environmentally friendly energy source or energy sources. And that’s no longer a matter of just environmental concern and our economic interest, it is now really a matter of utmost national security.

Source: CNN Late Edition: 2007 presidential series with Wolf Blitzer , Nov 25, 2007

Ethanol & biofuels are part of future energy

Q: The federal government has spent years and billions of dollars promoting ethanol, but the result has been a glut of ethanol and gas prices that are still at record level. Wouldn’t it be better to just let the free market determine whether ethanol makes economic sense or not?

A: I think ethanol and all biofuels are going to be an important part of the future energy needs of the country, but the accelerated pace at which we get there is critical for national security as well as for our own economic interest. We’ve got to come to the place where everything is on the table--nuclear, biofuels, ethanol, wind, solar--any and everything this country can produce. We once had a president who said, “Let’s go to the moon in 10 years,” and we were there in eight. And we did that when we started with a technology of bottle rockets when we got the thing launched. And we all saw that we can do it.

Source: 2007 Republican debate in Dearborn, Michigan , Oct 9, 2007

Kyoto was a mistake, but “Earth in the Balance” is not

You do not have to hug a tree to appreciate one. It would have been a mistake to sign the Kyoto Treaty since it would have given foreign nations the power to impose standards on us. But Al Gore was not entirely wrong when he spoke of earth “in the balance.” Balance is exactly what we need more of in this discussion. All of us need to have a healthy respect for our resources, a responsible level of use of those resources, and a comprehensive plan for either preserving or renewing those resources.
Source: From Hope to Higher Ground, by Mike Huckabee, p. 70 , Jan 4, 2007

Shouldn’t limit oil production while increasing consumption

It is time for us to stop our continued reliance on oil produced beyond our borders and by nations who are not our best friends. Even those who do act more cordially toward us are not producing oil with a benevolent spirit but are driven by their own interests. From Dec. 2003 through 2005, OPEC nations spent more than $13 million lobbying the federal government. We should all be somewhat discomforted by the amount of money that are policymakers are having tossed their way to keep the addiction alive.

Even as we increase our consumption of energy, we dramatically limit our production, making us even more vulnerable to outside sources to fuel our cars and economy. We have not build a new refinery in 30 years. Politics has kept us from developing potential exploration in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge, or along the Outer Continental Shelf, and the lack of leadership toward alternative forms of energy has left us with little more than higher prices and a growing anxiety.

Source: From Hope to Higher Ground, by Mike Huckabee, p. 78 , Jan 4, 2007

Explore ways to harness nuclear power

Alternative energy sources such as solar or wind have great potential in that they occur naturally, are therefore environmentally friendly, and have an inexhaustible source. There are certainly limitations, particularly to sources such as wind energy because of the intermittent nature of wind power.

While many Americans still fear nuclear power, we would be wise to explore ways to harness it for purposes more peaceful and productive than the building of bombs. The growing anxiety over the impact of suddenly spiking gasoline, nature gas, and electricity costs have created near panic in the homes of many Americans. Many small business owners are threatened out of existence because of the escalating costs from uncontrollable energy expenses. People who are impoverished and on the brink of financial disaster can be pushed over the edge when they simply do not have the money to pay their electric bill and cannot afford to pay for transportation to work.

Source: From Hope to Higher Ground, by Mike Huckabee, p. 79-80 , Jan 4, 2007

Promote alternative fuel technology

Source: 2002 AR Gubernatorial National Political Awareness Test , Nov 1, 2002

Voluntary partnerships reduce greenhouse gases economically.

Huckabee adopted the National Governors Association policy:

Source: NGA policy NR-11, Global Climate Change Domestic Policy 00-NGA3 on Aug 15, 2000

Kyoto Treaty must include reductions by all countries.

Huckabee adopted the National Governors Association policy:

If appropriate international commitments are established and are ratified by the US, the Governors believe implementation should be allowed to be achieved through cost-effective market-based activities, which account for scientifically verifiable and accountable reductions in greenhouse gas levels regardless of where the reductions are achieved. Any multinational emissions trading program must provide a flexible and workable framework that takes full advantage of market forces and maximizes international participation.
Source: NGA policy NR-11, Climate Change International Policy 00-NGA4 on Aug 15, 2000

More funding to develop domestic energy supplies.

Huckabee signed the Southern Governors' Association resolution:

Source: Resolution of Southern Governor's Assn. on Energy Policy 01-SGA11 on Sep 9, 2001

Use federal funds for nuclear cleanup, with state input.

Huckabee signed the Southern Governors' Association resolution:

Source: Resolution of Southern Governor's Assn. on Energy Policy 01-SGA13 on Sep 9, 2001

Share offshore oil development revenue with states.

Huckabee signed the Southern Governors' Association resolution:

Source: Resolution of Southern Governor's Association on OCS 01-SGA2 on Sep 9, 2001

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Page last updated: Jun 15, 2016