” … although Trump was not a libertarian, was his philosophy in energy, environment, and regulation reasonably free market? Were the President’s motivations laudatory? Consumer-, entrepreneur-, and taxpayer-driven? I believe they were, outside of foreign trade policy with certain countries.”

I recently had this exchange with a ideological and personal friend, Richard Ebeling, BB&T Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Free Enterprise Leadership at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, about the civil war within the libertarian movement in regard to the Donald Trump presidency. Always there, the divide boiled over last week with Trump’s last stand. I was part of it.

After reviewing our exchange, I revisited many Trump-related posts here at MasterResource regarding energy, climate, and the environment. (Wednesday’s post will list approximately 30.) The question is: although Trump was not a libertarian, was his philosophy in this area reasonably free market, outside of foreign trade policy with certain countries?…

“In his 36-year Senate career, Biden was an enlightened voice on nearly every issue, despite well-known mistakes…. Sure, he isn’t perfect. Which of us is?” (Letter below from 170 environmental activists)

Joe Biden is pro-fracking on private land. Joe Biden is against the Green New Deal. Joe Biden is not for “transitioning away from fossil fuels.”

Is Big Green on board with all this? Evidently so! And it is a stunning victory for the oil, gas, and coal industries.

And even worse, Big Green–DC Green–wants its power so much that it is rejecting its purest backers, the Green Party, “the birthplace of the Green New Deal.”

Over 170 Environmental Leaders Urge Supporters Not to Vote for Green Party says it all:

More than 170 of the world’s most esteemed environmental activists signed on to an open letter on Monday urging their supporters to vote for Joe Biden rather than vote for the Green Party or sit out the election, The Daily Beast reports.…

“No fracking, no fracking, no fracking. All of a sudden [Biden] gets a nomination, he says, ‘There’s got to be fracking.’ For Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Texas, North Dakota … your energy jobs are gone if they get in. Just remember I said it.”

– Donald Trump, “Donald Trump White House Rally Speech Transcript October 10: First Event Since COVID Diagnosis.”

Consistency applies to Donald Trump and his energy positions unlike his rival. As such, the American Energy Alliance, the advocacy arm of the Institute for Energy Research, has endorsed Trump for reelection.

But there are disappointments and room for improvement with Trump energy policy. Ethanol’s continuing grip on the transportation market continues under his watch. Protectionism that reaches the energy industry (steel pipe for pipelines, for example), should be relaxed.…

“[Joe] Biden has promised to abolish the production of American oil, coal, shale and natural gas, laying waste to the economies of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Colorado and New Mexico….”

A full transcript of President Trump’s August 28, 2020, acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, nearly 6,000 words, is available here. His energy-related excerpts follow:

Days after taking office, we shocked the Washington establishment and withdrew from the last administration’s job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership. I then immediately approved the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, ended the unfair and very costly Paris climate accord and secured, for the first time, American energy independence.

Biden has promised to abolish the production of American oil, coal, shale and natural gas, laying waste to the economies of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Colorado and New Mexico — destroying those states, absolutely destroying those states, and others.…