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Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, (R-Ark.), on Administration policies that could end the building of any new coal plants.
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Backdoor regulation years in the making congress rejected the president's plan to implement cap and trade back in 2010.
Now the EPA in -- its own global warming rules new limits on CO2 emissions effectively blocking the building of any new coal plants.
Setting the stage for shutting down.
The entire coal industry joining me now former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee a host of Huckabee welcome governor it's great to have you again thank you Jerry you to be back -- right well yeah.
Nearly half of all the power plants in this country are fueled by coal and yet the president now saying that's a bad thing it shouldn't happen that way seems crazy to me.
Well -- -- crazy because -- is an important part of the total energy mix that we have we don't have any way to replace immediately the number of coal plants that we have.
The country is is still not really opening up any nuclear capacity.
We haven't built a new nuclear reactor in over thirty something right now yeah that is gonna take years before its online.
In the meantime we have an increased demand for power.
And almost a static if not declining capacity to produce it it's a recipe for disaster we need coal.
And the call methods today both -- and extracting them as well as using them much cleaner than they've ever been much safer than they've ever been.
It's still a dangerous line of work but it is a lot of work -- thousands and thousands of Americans.
136000.
And have few years ago two of them are my two grandfathers my nothing here to about it.
The President Obama doesn't like -- here's what he had to say back in a way.
We would put a Cap and Trade System in place it was more live news as aggressive if not more aggressive than anybody's else's out there so if somebody wants to build -- -- -- they can.
It's just put it will bankrupt them because they're gonna be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being admitted.
So we have this idea for a long long time and you know when he says all of the above strategy for energy we have 235.
Years worth the coal in the ground.
This is what he wants to do.
She -- -- he keeps talking about Green energy that's wonderful but until we can fly Air Force One -- algae which we can't.
You know we'd better find the sources that we've got which -- coal natural gas.
Oil those are all sources we have when this is a great option when we develop the capacity to make it efficient.
There are lots of things we'd all love to see but I think what the president said we want to bankrupt them you know he's gonna bankrupt he's gonna bankrupt.
Families moms and dads and two kid households he's gonna bankrupt single moms he's gonna bankrupt college students because when energy.
-- is increasingly expensive is not just the price of heating your home.
It's the price of reaching for a loaf of bread or gallon of milk has its gonna cost more to get it to your house and cost more to take care of your house.
That's why don't think this president understands.
He champions himself is that.
Have -- you know the guy that loves the little guy he's killing the little guy these policies.
We know it's funny because -- -- -- -- Mitt Romney as not human right he's an atomic time but the president here.
No empathy for the American people struggling to put food on the table trying to make it get by navigate this difficult jobs market and say.
Well you know -- -- goes up to ten dollars a gallon it's okay by us.
Well it is for him because he doesn't put his hand on the pump and squeezed the trigger and -- his credit card out and see that -- Phillips at the hundred bucks these days.
That's why you know he's driving in the car I think it's probably -- to miles to a gallon I don't begrudge him that we want and traveling safety.
But when it cost 200000 dollars an hour to fly Air Force One I'd like -- to be just a little bit more concerned about the cost of energy.
Interestingly the EPA chief Lisa Jackson said that.
Even if we reduce our coal emissions it doesn't matter because what's going on in the rest of the planet.
China always developing nations they're the ones that are producing analysts CO2 not -- so if she admits it why are we going down this path.
Well that's a great point Jerry -- is one that I I think a lot of people recognize we can make all the strides that we want to which we should make all the strides that we can.
But we're not the primary polluters on the planet we're not the ones who are creating the worst kinds of problems.
In fact our clean water clean air -- have made a significant difference.
In in the clean air in the clean water in the country which we all want but we're not holding China to any standard and there a big problem.
Yeah did they get away with whatever they get didn't they can do anything they want because their lending us money.
You know I look at the parts of the country they're really gonna be hurt.
By this and it tends to be a lot of parts of the country the -- don't have a very loud voice in Washington.
I'm from North Carolina West Virginia see a lot of us names that are active in the coal industry big in the coal industry -- gonna get hurt here.
Who can't do anything about this what do you say.
I think as they say that's a very real problem but ultimately it will hurt the new York and California and Illinois and Texas and Florida markets.
Simply a cost.
Energy is something that eventually everybody pays far and the higher the cost the more everything else is going to be priced in order to cover it.
This president doesn't seem to understand that.
Doesn't understand it is just just another example of the president running the country by fiat back door we're not gonna -- congress approved this I have proved dead why EPA director approved it you guys do you always say.
Always said in a governor would have been a much easier job if I didn't have a legislature.
You know headed -- with a 135 people who had a mind of their own was very frustrating.
Democracy is cumbersome sure this 535.
Other people -- the government other than him.
Nine Supreme Court justices but the founders designed it so that no one person would have too much power.
I'm not sure if he fully understood that their intention was that it would be messy it would be slow and cumbersome.
Intentionally.
To keep someone including him from being able to just do what he wanted to do without regard.
To the voices of other people in this nation.
Governor Huckabee it's always a pleasure having you on thanks for thank you Gerri great to be here.
And be sure to tune -- to Huckabee on the Fox News Channel Saturdays at 8 PM don't miss that.
