Eric Massa, Democratic candidate for Congress in NY-29 opposing Rep. Randy Kuhl (R-Hammondsport), held a press conference today on the price of gasoline and how that stems from paying for the war in Iraq, our country’s dependence on Saudi Arabia, and how this affects our economy and the well-being of rural Americans.  Here, excerpts:

Massa began with today’s front page editorial in USA Today (article excerpted here):

Soaring gas prices are a double-whammy for many rural residents: They often pay more than people who live in cities and suburbs because of the expense of hauling fuel to their communities, and they must drive greater distances for life’s necessities: work, groceries, medical care and, of course, gas.

Meanwhile, incomes typically are lower in rural areas, making increasingly high gas prices an especially urgent concern. Rural households also are more likely to have older, less fuel-efficient vehicles such as pickups, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) says. The average age of a vehicle in a rural household: 8.7 years, compared with 7.9 years for an urban vehicle.

Rural residents do more driving, too — an average of 3,100 miles a year more than urban dwellers, the FHWA says.

Massa said “We are the canaries in the coal mine,” presumably referring to the notion that if rural America fails then so does the rest of the country because of farmers and other blue collar workers that support the economy’s infrastructure.  Massa went on to say (bold mine):

There is no mass transit alternative really of any significant kind.  In rural America where we live there aren’t many alternatives.

Yesterday King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia told us to get used to high gas prices.  This morning the Saudi government through their Ministry of Oil said clearly they’re not going to increase production any higher, they’ve already increased production.  This is not a supply and demand problem.

The fact that the price of gas that is threatening to shut down rural towns is a direct result of the Bush administration’s devaluation of the dollar; they’re doing it to pay for the war in Iraq.  It’s time for us to declare ourselves independent of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.  We’re not going to do this via 3rd grade promises:  [Kuhl says] if we drill in ANWR the price of gas will drop to less than $3/gal.

Kuhl said very clearly if the Democrats have their way the price of gas will be $3.93/gallon and if Republicans have their way it would be $2.47/gallon.  It’s political pablum and nonsense.

[Kuhl may call me] a socialist because I care about the well-being of rural Americans more than the oil company profits.

[For example,] the CEO of [Exxon Mobil] retired with a $400 million bonus.  It’s time to do what President Richard Nixon did in the 1970s, which is to freeze the price of gas at the pump for 120 days.

Massa makes very good points.  I just returned from a trip to rural America and I met many people who said they are trading in their trucks that they need for work hauling equipment and supplies, which threatens their jobs.  Many people have quit jobs that require a long commute and still others have lost income due to the cost of gas being more than the profits of the job itself.  This may be hard for more suburban and city dwellers to understand but, for many rural Americans, living paycheck to paycheck is a lifelong reality and gas prices cut into their income significantly.  An increase in $50 a week in costs can make the difference between buying groceries or a doctor’s visit, all of which negatively impacts the health of rural Americans.  It is a domino effect in essence.

When asked about Kuhl’s trip to Brazil on energy alternatives, Massa said:

Whatever Kuhl learned in Brazil didn’t help any.

When asked about this winter and heating costs, Massa asserted:

The most practical commitment I can make as a candidate is to ensure home heating assistance, but that won’t happen until January and I think it will be too late by then.

New technologies create jobs.  Instead of offering tax incentives for SUVs, we should be offering tax incentives for new hybrids.  It would explode production and make them much more cost affordable.  If we’d done that at the beginning of the Bush administration we wouldn’t have so many sitting on lots waiting to be sold. If you keep on wanting to do more of the same, you know, small pork barrel handouts here and there, and the economy is spiraling down for the past 20 years, the same time Kuhl has been in office, then nothing will change.

When asked about refineries, Massa stated:

No one’s keeping oil companies from increasing refineries.  It’s not true that Democrats are keeping oil companies from increasing refineries.  It’s already happening.

Massa is correct.  In fact, the Sioux City Journal reported on June 4th of this year that Union County, South Dakota approved the zoning for an ordinance to land the nation’s first all-new refinery in 32 years.  However, this issue also hits rural Americans harder because the refinery, with its health implications, is literally in their backyard.  The votes were close but in the end concern for jobs and profits won.

Here is a list of oil refineries for your perusal.  If you want to read about oil refinery reform, go to RefineryReform.org.  Here is a list of Operable Capacity of U.S. Oil Refineries from the Energy Information Administration, which lists the U. S. refinery output as of January 1, 2007 at 17,443,492 barrels a day.  This supports Massa’s claim that this is not a supply and demand issue.

As a military member, what does Massa think of the debate between McCain, Wes Clark and Jim Webb:

I issued a whole essay on this.  No one that I’ve ever talked to has ever questoned McCain’s heroism or his military service.  The argument is not about John McCain of the U.S. Navy.  Veterans venerate him, as I do and always have.  I ate dinner with him and Clark in Panama.  Clark had a real friendsip and admiration for the man and I suspect he still does.  The issue is about his judgment to be Commander in Chief.  But how can a man like John McCain vote against the G.I. Bill?  That [raises] serious questions about his decision making.  How can a man like McCain question direct negotiations with our enemies?  It was direct negotiations that issued his release from Hanoi.  How can a man that was brutally tortured flip flop his votes on such a basic issue as torturing prisoners in Guantanamo?  These are issues of judgment.

I’m not running because I spent 24 years in the military.  I [do] have experience from those years though.

Why is it that people like Kuhl join him [McCain] and then turn around and say they support veterans?

One thing I have to say about Eric Massa is that he is well-informed.  Attending a press conference with Massa requires you to be alert and typing constantly because he is so well-versed in the issues and he has an opinion on seemingly all of them.  He’s a hard worker and a smart candidate who gets deeply the impact the Republican policies have had on our state and the nation, and Massa wants to do something, lots of things in fact, about them.