(no subject)
Dear Friend,
Last night on CBS's 60 Minutes, Bob Woodward, senior editor at the Washington Post, said Saudi Arabian Prince Bandar pledged to increase Saudi oil production and thereby lower gas prices before the 2004 election. This pledge has cost U.S. consumers literally billions of dollars in higher gas prices.
In a 2000 debate, Bush said, "What I think the President ought to do is he ought to get on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say we expect you to open your spigots." He continued: "The President of the United States must jawbone OPEC members to lower the price."
Tell President Bush it's time to reject the Saudi's Election Day favor and to pick up the phone and start jawboning. Send him a message here:
http://www.johnkerry.com/petition/jawbone.php
George Bush must immediately tell his Saudi friends to stop trying to influence the presidential election with oil.
We've included some facts below relating to this emerging story today. Help us get this information out by forwarding this email to your friends.
Thank you,
Josh Ross and the Internet Team
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John Kerry's Statement:
LAKE WORTH, FL -- During a town hall meeting in Florida, John Kerry made the following statement in response to reports that Saudi Prince Bandar pledged to wait to boost oil production and lower gas prices until before the November election:
Right now there are people all over this country who are literally going through their purses and their pocketbooks -- looking behind the sofa, under the cushions -- to find the pennies and the extra money to be able to pay the additional costs of gasoline. They are giving up choices for their kids, giving up choices for their families to pay the extra $30-$50 a week in order to be able to pay for gas. Those aren't Exxon gas prices we see ladies and gentleman, those are Halliburton prices and we deserve a break in this country.
Unlike George Bush and his friends at the Big Oil Companies, I'm going to work for a real energy policy for this country that decreases America's dependence on foreign oil and helps lower the costs to American families.
THE FACTS:
Consumers Paying at the Pump Now. According to Bob Woodward, Saudi Prince Bandar pledged to boost oil production and lower gas prices before the election. Instead of pushing the Saudis now to boost production, this secret deal has cost US consumers literally billions of dollars in higher gas prices. [Reuters, 60 Minutes 4/18/04]
Bush's Refusal to Take On the Saudis Has Cost Americans $24 Billion This Year Alone.
Economist David Rosenberg told CNN's Lou Dobbs that "pain at the pump has wiped out more than $20 billion of the coming $40 billion in tax refund checks." How? On January 5, consumers paid $1.51 for an average gallon of gas. As of today -- less than three months later they're paying $1.75 per gallon, a 24 cent increase since January. According to the Wall Street Journal, "every penny increase in a gallon of gas costs consumers $1 billion a year." That's a $24 billion gas tax hike this year alone.
But that's not all: nationwide gas prices have risen 12% since 2000, and are expected to skyrocket upward to $1.83 a gallon this summer -- a 17% increase since Bush took office.
Guy Caruso, the administrator of the Energy Information Administration told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that an average family will spend about $1,700 for gas in 2004. At today's gas prices, this means that an average family will spend over $300 more for gas than they would have if prices were at the level they were the week Bush took office.
[Sources: David Rosenberg, CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight, 3/22/04; Energy Information Association; AAA; Wall Street Journal, 3/24/04; Reuters, 3/9/04, via CNN Money; Energy Information Administration; Guy Caruso, Testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, 3/4/04; Energy Information Administration data]
In a December 2003 Speech, Kerry Said He Had "Specific Concerns" With Saudi Arabia; Called for a New Energy Policy. In his speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, Kerry said in regards to Saudi Arabia, "we have deep, and for the moment inescapable ties -- corporate and energy dependence -- that complicates our relationship with significantly. And that is why we must adopt a new energy policy for America and create a real partnership against terror which is in the best long-term Saudi interests as well." Click here to read more.
The Kerry Plan for Energy Independence. Kerry has outlined a comprehensive energy plan that will tap America's initiative and ingenuity to strengthen our national security, grow our economy, and protect our environment. Kerry's plan will increase and enhance domestic energy sources and provide incentives to help Americans use energy more cleanly and efficiently. When sixty-five percent of the world's oil reserves lie beneath the Persian Gulf states and only 3 percent lie beneath America, we cannot drill our way to independence. We can, however, develop and deploy clean energy technologies that will make us more efficient and allow us to capitalize on domestic and renewable sources of energy. John Kerry's plan for a renewable energy trust fund to invest in the development of renewable energy will reduce our oil dependence by more than 2 million barrels of oil a day -- about the same amount we import from the Persian Gulf. Kerry's plan will also create 500,000 new jobs over the next decade and work toward producing 20 percent of US energy from renewable fuels by 2020.
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[Source: Reuters 4/19]
[Source: The New York Times, 9/29/00; George Bush, Republican Primary Debate, Manchester, NH, 1/26/00; Reuters, 2/27/04 and 3/23/04]
[Source: Oil prices rise to 13-year high, threaten economy, Washington Times, March 18, 2004]
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Dear Friend,
The last seven days have been absolutely incredible. Here's what you, our online activists, accomplished:
1,087 of you wrote letters to the editor about George Bush's middle class squeeze.
101,345 of you signed a petition that showed the media that Americans are infuriated with George Bush's use of tax dollars to subsidize his campaign.
Thousands of you donated $2.5 million in our fundraising drive -- allowing us to continue to go toe-to-toe with the Bush advertising onslaught.
Hundreds of you have volunteered to sign up new Kerry supporters at Earth Day events across the country this weekend -- click here to get involved.
By writing that many letters to the editor and making our petition a success, you have helped deliver John Kerry's message. You've become an integral part of our communications team. In addition, the $2.5 million you raised is enabling us to build up our operations in key states and hit back against George Bush's negative attacks on television and radio.
Our online community is more than 500,000 strong. But we still need to grow. Help us build our campaign by forwarding this email to a few friends. Ask them to join our campaign by clicking here:
http://www.johnkerry.com/signup/bumpers.php
Each new person who signs up for our list this week will receive two John Kerry for President bumper stickers.
We now have a little more than six months until Election Day. Your action and amazing pace of fundraising have allowed us to put George Bush on the defensive. We cannot slow down now. John Kerry can win this election but he needs your help.
Thank you for all the hard work,
Mary Beth Cahill,
and the entire John Kerry for President staff
P.S. Help us keep up our record breaking fundraising so we can continue to get our message out to the voters in key states. Make a secure contribution today by visiting:
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