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Republican Paul Stark accused U.S. Rep. Ron Kind on Wednesday of “pulling a fast one” on energy policy.
At recent listening sessions in Eau Claire and Sparta, Kind has been touting a “Buy Green to Save Green” program, encouraging people to spend their rebate checks on energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs. “That way you’ll be getting a return of that initial investment and saving money into the future for years to come, not to mention in your own way addressing the energy crisis that we’re having,” Kind, D-La Crosse, said Monday in Sparta.
Stark, a home builder from Eau Claire, did not attend either session but read a newspaper account of Friday’s session in Eau Claire.
Stark issued a statement Wednesday: “It is unbelievable that a sitting member of Congress should try and tell us that we need to buy energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs to reduce the high costs of gasoline and other fuels. We could turn off all our appliances, and we would still have high gasoline prices.”
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“For me, it’s a big lie. And to me they’re pulling a fast one over the eyes of the good people of America, western Wisconsin,” Stark said in a follow-up interview.
“Touting ‘green’ policies will not give us the energy independence our growing nation requires,” Stark said. “Global warming, if it exists, is the de jour cause of many politicians like Mr. Kind and extreme environmentalists who don’t care how their cause affects our economy and the good people of Western Wisconsin.”
Kind’s spokeswoman, Anne Lupardus, said Wednesday: “It’s nonsensical that Mr. Stark draw would that conclusion. We all have a role to play in our energy future, and Rep. Kind’s ‘Buy Green Save Green’ initiative simply reminds families of the long-term benefits of investing in energy-efficient technology to lower their electric bills.”
One thing Kind and Stark do agree on is the federal government should stop buying oil for the strategic petroleum reserves.
“While I wish the Bush Administration would have done this months ago when I brought it to their attention, I am pleased Congress is taking action to fight gas prices that are now at or near $4 a gallon,” Kind said in a statement Tuesday.
“I think it makes a lot of sense right now. I agree with him,” Stark said.
While in Sparta, Kind gave qualified support for nuclear energy, saying it “has to be part of the mix” as long as “we can deal with the safety and waste issues.” He also blamed the stalled wind energy project in Monroe County on “the old ‘Nimby’ problem, not in our backyard. ... This, quite frankly, is really the rub of our energy policy right now. How are we going to produce the energy that’s acceptable to all people?”
Reid Magney can be reached at (608) 791-8211 or rmagney@lacrossetribune.com.
