McCaskill's energy stance

Sen. Claire McCaskill brought her so-called "Energy Tour" to Cape Girardeau recently where she again tried to airbrush away the inconvenient blemishes on her record, most notably her long-running support for the Obama administration's cap-and-trade initiative. "I am supportive of a cap-and-trade system to help address the world's climate change problems " she said in a 2008 interview with the St. Joseph News-Press. She was for cap-and-trade until she was against it.

The senator claims that she wants "practical, accessible and affordable" energy. So why does she stand firm with the White House on destructive new EPA regulations that will drive up the cost of electricity for working families and businesses in coal-dependent Missouri? Why is the senator backing President Obama and his campaign to raise billions in new taxes on U.S. gas and oil producers? The senator would have us believe that raising taxes on domestic energy producers will strengthen the long-term energy security of America. Energy is one of the few booming sectors we have now in a struggling economy.

Senator McCaskill marches in lock-step with an Obama administration energy agenda that, if allowed to go forward, will not only drive up the cost of energy but will kill jobs and choke off economic growth. Instead of wasting our time with more disingenuous "Energy Tours," the senator should get back to Washington and work for policies that truly do provide abundant and affordable domestic energy.

DRU C. REEVES, Cape Girardeau