Amid criticism from UAW, McCain to stop at GM plant
By Don Shilling
U.S. Sen. John McCain rolls into the General Motors Lordstown plant today after announcing his plan to move the country out of the control of foreign oil suppliers.
The Republican presidential candidate is stopping at the assembly plant for the Chevrolet Cobalt because the plant shows GM’s commitment to fuel-efficient vehicles, said Paul Lindsay, a McCain spokesman.
“The Lordstown facility is an investment in jobs for the Mahoning Valley, so it’s a great setting for Sen. McCain to discuss his plans to reduce prices at the pump and get our economy back on track,” Lindsay said.
GM is adding a third shift in August to increase production and intends to launch a new small car with higher fuel economy in 2010.
McCain will speak to plant workers, but the event is not open to the public. He also will attend a private fundraiser at a home in Howland Township before heading to Cleveland for another fundraiser.
The United Auto Workers, which typically supports Democratic candidates, launched a news release Thursday in advance of McCain’s visit to the car plant.
“McCain is out of touch with working people and their hardships,” said Dave Green, president of UAW Local 1714 in Lordstown.
The UAW criticized McCain for supporting the North American Free Trade Agreement and voting against raising the minimum wage.
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, McCain’s top economic adviser, said in a telephone interview Thursday that McCain will talk about his energy plan during the stop at Lordstown. The intent of the plan is to move the country away from reliance on foreign oil, and GM’s upcoming electric car — the Chevrolet Volt — shows that the effort is achievable, Holtz-Eakin said.
GM is proposing to begin producing the Volt in 2010 at a plant in Michigan. It is designed to travel 40 miles at a time without using gas, but a gasoline-powered generator would allow additional travel at high fuel efficiency.
Holtz-Eakin said plants such as Lordstown should have a future as the nation moves to forms of transportation that are less reliant on gasoline.
“People are going to have to have transportation. It may be fueled by something else, but there is no reason why these vehicles can’t be built by the people of this nation and Ohio in particular,” he said.
On Wednesday in Las Vegas, McCain gave a name to his energy proposal — the Lexington Project. The name was chosen because of its ties to the American Revolution. McCain said he wants the nation to achieve “strategic independence” from foreign oil by 2025.
His campaign defined strategic independence as when oil is no longer the primary fuel for transportation and when an oil cartel no longer has the power to undermine the nation’s economy.
The plan includes allowing more offshore oil exploration, building 45 new nuclear plants by 2030, cracking down on speculation in the oil market, putting $2 billion a year into clean coal research, funding a $300 million prize for the first company to create a zero-emissions automobile battery, and a $5,000 tax credit for consumers who buy zero-emissions vehicles.
Holtz-Eakin said another issue that’s important to manufacturers is the rising cost of natural gas. Unlike oil, the vast majority of natural gas consumed in the nation is produced domestically. Holtz-Eakin said costs can be brought down by opening up more areas for drilling and decreasing the time needed to secure governmental permits. Businesses also are developing new technologies that allow gas to be extracted from shale deposits, he noted.
shilling@vindy.com