DANIEL TURNER: Red State’s Looming Elections Are The First Line Of Defense Against Biden’s Energy Insanity

DANIEL TURNER: Red State’s Looming Elections Are The First Line Of Defense Against Biden’s Energy Insanity

Daniel Turner on July 25, 2023

Since the midterms, President Joe Biden has been in a mad rush to complete his war on American energy. Just in recent months, the Biden administration announced new mandates that will shut down most traditional energy power plants, pushed regulations moving us one step closer to fully banning gas cars, and proposed a rule that would ban most gas stoves.

Taken together, these policies amount to an unprecedented and radical effort to transform the American economy with the consequences most devastating in energy producing states.

However, even with the Biden administration running amok, voters will ultimately have the final say. And with their statewide elections scheduled for this Fall, Louisianans have the opportunity to be the first line of defense against these attacks on their way of life. If they elect pro-energy leaders up and down the ballot, it will send a message that voters will reject President Biden’s energy policies.

Louisiana’s energy workers play an essential role in powering our nation’s economy, accounting for 9% of U.S. total marketed natural gas production and nearly one-fifth of the nation’s refining capacity. With Russia weaponizing its natural gas supply to squeeze the United States and our allies, Louisiana is vital for making up the gap, shipping 52% of our nation’s liquefied natural gas exports and about 13% of its coal exports.

That’s exactly why extreme eco-left groups have aimed their sites on the state. Across Louisiana, well-funded activists are working to undermine the will of energy workers. Organizations like Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, Sierra Club and Healthy Gulf file frivolous lawsuits designed to delay vital projects. Meanwhile, deep-pocketed donors pour funding in the “nonprofit newsroom” Floodlight, which churns out radical green propaganda attacking the oil & gas industry.

The state’s congressional delegation — led by Majority Leader Steve Scalise — punches above their weight in fighting for Louisiana’s energy workers at the federal level. However, for nearly eight years, Louisiana’s Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards has failed to take meaningful action to protect his state from the radical far-left.

Early in his term, Gov. Edwards even threatened several parishes unless they sued oil and gas companies. His hand-picked successor, former Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson, would be even worse, supporting more lawsuits against the oil & gas industry and raising gas taxes.

Fortunately, Gov. Edward’s most likely successor — Attorney General Jeff Landry — would be a stark reversal, providing welcome relief for Louisiana’s energy workers. Having grown up in the heart of Louisiana’s oil patch, he understands its importance to the state. During his time in office, Attorney General Landry has consistently stood up to the Biden administration’s radical green agenda. Just one example: in 2021, a federal judge blocked the Biden administration’s suspension of new oil and gas leases on federal land and water thanks to a legal challenge from Attorney General Landry.

Next month, our group Power the Future will be traveling to Louisiana to meet statewide officials, including Attorney General Landry, and thank energy workers for the invaluable work they do every single day.

While the Biden administration officials like John Kerry plot their latest assaults on energy workers with other global elites in Paris and travel to Beijing to praise China’s climate policies, we will join Louisiana’s pro-energy leaders in listening to the men and women who have been forgotten in Washington.

And come next Fall, their voices will be heard loud and clear across the country.

Daniel Turner is the founder and executive director of Power The Future, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for American energy jobs. Twitter: @DanielTurnerPTF

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.