Selling fracking to a propagandized CA public

March 17, 2013

By Chris Reed

Sunday’s U-T San Diego editorial wraps up a three-part series on fracking with some theories on how Gov. Jerry Brown might sell it to the millions of Californians who are unaware — because of our pathetic state media — that fracking is considered just another manageable heavy industry by the Obama administration:

“First, he needs to counter the anti-fracking disinformation campaign by noting the position of the Obama administration over and over and bringing in credible surrogates like [former Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Ed] Rendell and [current Democratic Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.

“And after that message sinks in, the governor should offer specifics about how billions in new state revenue from our 21st-century oil boom could be used.

“We suspect that rolling back community college, CSU and UC tuition to 1990 levels might excite a lot of young voters and their parents.

“We suspect that guaranteeing a big infusion of new money for the K-12 school system would excite educators, social justice activists and millions of people in disadvantaged communities.

“We suspect that using the oil revenue gusher to shore up a pension system for teachers that is horribly underfunded would excite teachers and their unions – and the worried families of aging teachers.

“We suspect that fixing up our aging roads, freeways, ports and airports would please the business community and anyone who leaves the house.

“And we are 100 percent certain that lower state sales and income taxes would be hugely popular.”

So far, at least, Jerry Brown seems to be resisting the Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council disinformation campaign. The fracking regulations his administration put out in December were relatively straightforward.

Will pathetic media finally notice Obama stand on fracking?

But in coming months, we will see many interesting angles play out:

Will Brown be the pro-jobs pragmatist he claims to be?

Will the pathetic media finally get out of the green tank and admit that fracking is dirty but not extremely so and thus manageable, as the Obama administration believes?

Will California’s leaders and media continue to ignore the brown energy revolution in favor of the increasingly loony idea that our devotion to cleaner-but-costlier fuel is inspiring the world?

It’s going to be fun.

The over-under on honest George Skelton columns on energy issues in 2013 is 0.5.

I’ll take the under.