Kenneth: The GOP's Ethanol Problem

By now, it is well known that the production of ethanol for use as an automotive fuel is a disaster.  With nearly half of America's corn crop devoted to ethanol and large portions of former wheat fields converted to growing corn, the prices of these agricultural staples have skyrocketed, pinching the purses of American families and causing widespread hunger in the Third World. 

The production and transportation of ethanol uses more energy than ethanol yields.   State and Federal ethanol subsidies cost American taxpayers billions, while increasing the price of fuel at the pump and lowering the mileage of consumers' vehicles.

The folly of ethanol is so obvious that prominent environmentalists - including Al Gore - have now turned against it. 

Ironically, ethanol's most vocal proponents are now Republican politicians. 

Mitch Daniels is a forthright defender; since he became Governor of Indiana, the number of ethanol plants in his state have risen from one to thirteen and he set a goal of producing 1 billion gallons of the stuff.

Yesterday, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty defended the ethanol industry, saying, "We can't just pull the rug out from under the industry.  There are going to have to be some changes, but we have to be fair-minded about it."  Pawlenty previously signed legislation mandating that all automotive fuel in Minnesota must contain a minimum of 20% ethanol by 2013.

And Newt Gingrich has recently reiterated his support for ethanol, drawing withering criticism from the Wall Street Journal, which sneered, "This doesn't bode well for his judgment as a president. Even Al Gore now admits that the only reason he supported ethanol in 2000 was to goose his presidential prospects, and the only difference now between Al and Newt is that Al admits he was wrong."

Daniels and Pawlenty, of course, have been looking after the narrow interest of their farming and ethanol-producing constituents.  But every Republican candidate shrinks from telling the truth about ethanol, for fear of the agrarian caucus-goers of the great state of Iowa. 

With even conservative stalwarts afraid to challenge the monumental folly of ethanol, how can we ever drive a stake in the heart of this beast?