Obama: Energy Prices Will Skyrocket Under My Cap and Trade Plan

 P.J. Gladnick's post regarding the audio of Barack Obama telling the San Francisco Chronicle he will bankrupt the coal industry has already elicited the response of : "unbelievable" from a West Virginia coal official. Governor Palin included the issue in a speech at a rally in Ohio today as well.

During Obama's January 2008 talk with the San Francisco Chronicle, he also mentions how electricity rates would "skyrocket" (H/T to Hot Air's Ed Morrisey for focusing in on this)(my emphasis added:)

The problem is not technical, and the problem is not sufficient mastery of the legislative intricacies of Washington. 

The problem is can you get the American people to say this is really important and force their representatives to do the right thing? That requires mobilizing a citizenry. That requires them understanding what is at stake, and climate change is a great example. 

When I was asked earlier about the issue of coal…under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket…even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad, because I’m capping greenhouse gasses, coal power plants, natural gas…you name it…whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retro-fit their operations.

That will cost money…they will pass that money on to the consumers. You can already see what the arguments are going to be during the general election.  People will say Obama and Al Gore …these folks...they're going to destroy the economy. 

This is going to cost us 8 trillion dollars or whatever their number is.  If you can’t persuade the American people that, yes,  there is going to be  some increase on electricity rates on the front end, but that over the long term, because of combinations of more efficient energy usage and changing light bulbs and more efficient appliances, but also technology improving how we can produce clean energy that the economy will benefit. 

If we can’t make that argument persuasively enough, you can be Lyndon Johnson.  You can be the master of Washington.  You’re not gonna get that done.

Given how long the media buried this story, it is apparent Obama was not confident the American people were willing to buy into higher energy prices for his green agenda.