Minnesota environmentalists will taunt and jeer from a block away when President Bush unveils his national energy strategy in St. Paul. A coalition of green groups is expected to purchase TV time to attack the administration manifesto in key markets. Congressional Democrats temporarily commandeered a Capitol Hill gas station to plug their competing energy initiative.
People are very disappointed.
They didn't expect this out of Bush. What they are assembling is an all-out attack on environmental protections. Opponents of the administration's energy policies say they are preparing to wage a ferocious battle with the energy industry and its congressional allies to prevent what they fear could be the potential reversal of decades of hard-won gains. The energy policy showdown is shaping up as a critical test of the political muscle and marketing savvy of environmental lobbyists. House and Senate Democrats have already produced alternate energy plans that place more emphasis on protecting the environment and promoting energy efficiency.