Friday, April 23, 2010 1:05 PM
GOP Pollster Sees Backing For Cantwell-Collins Bill
By Ashlie Rodriguez, NationalJournal.com
Many moderate and conservative voters say they support reducing carbon emissions and investing in renewable energy sources, according to polling conducted by Public Opinion Strategies (R).
Pollsters asked 800 likely voters nationwide and 1,000 likely voters in five politically moderate to conservative states -- Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Idaho and Virginia -- about their views on climate legislation. In particular, they hoped to test the policies laid out in the Carbon Limits and Energy for American Renewal Act put forth by Sens. Maria Cantwell, D- Wash., and Susan Collins, R-Maine.
"The CLEAR Act from Cantwell and Collins has the best chance of getting more votes over party lines because people like the concept of less government involvement [and a] tax-cuts-style refund back to the people," said Glen Bolger, a co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies.
Fifty-seven percent of Republican respondents in the five states said they think America's energy policy needs "either a complete overhaul or major reform," and even bigger majorities of Democrats and independents agreed. And three-quarters of respondents favored policies that reduce emissions and increased the use of renewable energy sources.
When read a (glowing) description of the clean energy refund, a measure proposed by the CLEAR Act that would charge companies for emissions and then refund most of the money to taxpayers, 74 percent of those in the national survey approved of the idea. Only 11 percent strongly disapproved of the refund as described in the poll. Bolger concluded that people were most receptive to messaging that emphasized the measure's fairness and the fact that it would "reduce our dependence on foreign oil."
Advertisement
Advertisement
Columnists
Energy Experts Blog
Our panel of insiders discusses key issues
- Boom and Bust: Renewable Energy's Future?
- The Nexus Between Biofuels, Energy, and Agriculture
- What More Can Be Done to Ensure Safe Offshore Drilling?
Resources
Guide to researching the energy & climate change debate
- 07/15/10--CBO: Using Biofuel Tax Credits to Achieve Energy and Environmental Policy Goals | related story
- 07/07/10--Letter to Energy Secretary Chu to stop moving forward on shuttering the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository site | see related story
- 07/06/10--Proposed EPA emissions "transport rule"
- 06/24/10--Rahall draft plan (PDF) | related story
- 06/10/10--Lugar Proposal
Energy Promise Audit
Tracking Obama's progress on campaign promises
- Increase Number Of Plug-In Hybrid Cars
Updated: August 09, 2010 - End American Dependence On Foreign Oil In Ten Years
Updated: August 09, 2010 - Double Fuel Economy Standards
Updated: May 24, 2010
Copenhagen Insider
Visit Copenhagen Insider for National Journal's coverage of the recent U.N. summit including reporting from Darren Goode and analysis from stakeholders in the climate change discussion.
