Gasoline magnate Skip Vallee is lashing out once again at Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — this time targeting the senator for opposing a moratorium on industrial wind development.
The Maplefields owner and gasoline distributor has ponied up $10,000 to run a new, 30-second attack ad on WCAX-TV for a week, according to the station. In it, Vallee accuses Sanders of seeking to “industrialize our mountains with giant wind turbines.”
“Once we sacrifice our mountains to big corporate interests, it will change Vermont forever,” the ad’s narrator says. “Tell Bernie Sanders we won’t let him and his corporate cronies spoil our Green Mountains.”
The ad appears to be referring to a press conference Sanders held in January to express his opposition to a proposed three-year moratorium on industrial wind development in Vermont. The state legislature has since mostly abandoned that proposal.
Here’s what Vallee’s ad looks like:
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Clearly, there’s no oil money in the anti-wind movement.
One wonders if Mr. Vallie delivers/sells fuel to ski areas and those who support ski areas. It could be argued that ski areas have had slightly more impact than turbines producing energy from wind.
Spend away Skip! I’ve not watched TV ads since the invention of Tivo which over the years has merged into my current DVR. Hopefully he will also buy radio ads, I don’t hear them either as I’m now playing my ipod at work and in my car I listen to Sirius.
Skip Vallee railing about “corporate interests” ? That’s rich!
I guess the guy who bought an ambassadorship by raising tons of money for George W Bush wants another chance to throw his bucks around in the political system to protect his business interests.
Of course Skip can’t win an elected office on his own, so copying Lenore Broughton’s tactics is his only way of trying to be politically relevant.
My heart bleeds for poor skippy, apparently he cares NOT for his children or their children. I wonder where BIG OIL is meeting this month to set prices? Ever notice how LITTLE real competition there is? The Robber Barons are back and somebody needs to do something about it!!!
I heard the ad, the script is silly and juvenile, although the production values are good. Who would’ve guessed Vermont has our own mini mogul version of Mr. Burns?
The Army Corps of Engineers should build the windmills. That way, any opponents can be accused of not supporting the troops.
Or try the pro-F35 argument, “This means jobs! You’re a traitor!”
I love it that the Bernie mouthpiece touts the fact that Bernie has the support of the very environmental groups that have themselves sold out to industrial wind and gas fracking. The fact is that Bernie has been utterly deaf to the solid arguments of industrial wind opponents and just blusters angrily–as is often his habit–when challenged to rational debate.
Rule no. 1 from Bernie playbook:
When challenged, don’t engage the substance of the challenge. Instead, shout that the challenger is a “millionaire oil advocate,” “right wing extremist,” or other ad hominem. At all costs, grandstand and call names! Do not debate the issues!
Rule no. 2:
Take all challenges as a personal attack on Bernie and fight back as such! No one has any right to challenge Bernie! Bernie’s political career is about Bernie! No one else and nothing else matters!
One of the wonderful things about ridgeline wind is that it allows you to actually still see the ridgelines. If big oil gets its way we wouldn’t even know we had scenic views in Vermont.
Good ad Skip! I am not a fan of George Bush or The Republican Party, but I am with you on the travesty of destroying Vermont ridge lines with inefficient, health damaging industrial scale wind turbines! Those big monsters will be obsolete soon and the the irreversible damage to our ridge lines with their animal habitat and headwaters will remain. Big wind is all about the $$$$$, not the People! Shame on you, Bernie!
And shame on you for your juvenile name calling and bringing in details about your opponent’s life that are irrelevant to this issue!