Talent promotes ethanol, biodiesel during visit to Cape Girardeau

Sen. Jim Talent, R-Mo., spoke before about 25 people Friday on the subjects of clean energy, the "death tax" and the war on terror. On each subject he drew distinctions between his stance and that of his opponent, Democratic State Auditor Claire McCaskill.

Talent was visiting Cape Girardeau City Hall as part of his "Missouri Values Tour."

"It's not a question of personalities, it's a question of who in this campaign represents the common-sense conservative values for the state of Missouri," he said.

On the subject of clean energy, Talent highlighted his sponsorship of the Renewable Fuels Standard in 2005. The bill requires oil companies to purchase 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol and biodiesel by 2012.

"The result is that we're heading quickly toward a renewable age. We're getting to it and everybody is going to know it soon," he said.

He said he already sees pumps of E85 blended gasoline at stations around Missouri and envisions a day when they will be the rule rather than the exception. That, he said, will wean profits away from big oil and redirect them to Missouri farmers.

"It is going to be a market for our farmers, our producers and towns like Cape Girardeau that support them," he said.

McCaskill, Talent charged, shares the philosophy of northeastern senators who don't support ethanol but still complain about the cost of gasoline. McCaskill has countered that she believes the 2005 Energy Bill contained too many concessions to Big Oil and not enough insistence that profits go to farmer-owned co-ops.

On the subject of the "death tax," or estate tax, Talent said it wrongly encourages family farmers and others to spend their net worth instead of passing it on to future generations. "It's not selfish to blow everything you earn, the tax code favors that, but if you want to build up the farm, build up the small business, that's selfish according to this group of people," he said.

Opponents of reforming the inheritance tax point out that the first $2 million of inheritance is untaxed under the current system. That high threshold precludes many small farms and businesses.

On the subject of the war on terror, Talent said, "we are engaged in a conflict against a transnational army of people, they have no national base, which makes them more difficult to survey ... they want to dominate everybody else. Their vision of the future is a boot in everybody else's face," he said.

Talent challenged the seriousness with which McCaskill and other Democrats perceive this threat.

The Missouri Senate race is one of the most hotly contested in the country. Most polls have the two candidates running neck and neck, and national observers are calling it a litmus test for the mood of the country.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

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