PrintThe president prefers Pocahontas
In seeking to undermine Joe Biden by exposing his Ukrainian corruption, President Trump has revealed his preferred opponent in 2020. It's Elizabeth Warren, for a host of reasons.
Two weeks ago, she promised to ban fracking "everywhere" on her first day in office. This will cost her, at a minimum, the battleground states of Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and Colorado. Over 100,000 Pennsylvanians have good paying jobs in the fracking industry, and in 2015, it contributed over $44 billion to the state's economy.
New Mexico is one of the leading producers of oil and gas in the country. Only because of fracking. Without it, there wouldn't be any significant oil and gas production.
Colorado contains a large portion of the Permian shale deposit, and fracking is an important and growing part of the economy. And it's popular. In November of 2018, 56% of Colorado voters rejected a ban on fracking.
President Obama was no tool of the oil and gas industry. But he was smart enough to realize that fracking was important to this country in a variety of ways. Indeed, the fracking revolution blossomed during his presidency. Warren is way out of line on this one, even among Democrats.
On abortion, Warren is a shrill extremist. She opposes any and every limit to it, even those supported by a majority of women. This will soon become a hot topic on the campaign trail, since the Supreme Court is poised to take up state restrictions on abortion in the coming term. Roe v. Wade will not be reversed, but reasonable limits imposed by the states will likely be upheld. Warren's radical rejection of any restriction will be exposed and highlighted.
Her recent call for the impeachment of Justice Kavanaugh will be skillfully exploited by the Trump campaign. At the appropriate time, this issue will resurface, and every woman who loves a father, son, brother, or husband will realize what a man-hating fanatic she is.
Is she a gun-grabber, like Beto O'Rourke? Of course, and the NRA is strong in places like Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and Colorado.
Say what you want about doddering Joe Biden — he's no Elizabeth Warren. She's far more extreme than Hillary Clinton, and just as repellent, in her own way.
Bring her on.
Fritz Pettyjohn was chair of Reagan for President, Alaska.
