Peña Channels the Spectre of 1970s Energy Crisis at Democratic Convention in Denver
Thousands of Democratic delegates and members of the press may have had one of those “ah-ha” moments at the Pepsi Center in Denver on Tuesday night when former mayor, Secretary of Transportation and Secretary of Energy during the Clinton administration, Federico Peña took to the podium at the Democratic National Convention.
For the vast majority of attendees to the event, plane travel was the preferred method of travel. And of those who flew into Denver, virtually all of them had to drive (or were driven) down Peña Boulevard, which connects Denver International Airport to Interstate 70. As mayor of Denver, Peña led the effort to build the airport - and hence led to the ah-ha moment for the visitors many years later.
Despite the fact that Peña held two cabinet positions during the Clinton administration, he was an early supporter of Barack Obama’s bid for the Democratic nomination for president. And he was rewarded accordingly on Tuesday night with a moderately high-visibility billing at the Pepsi Center podium.
Peña took the opportunity to revisit the energy crisis of the late 1970s and early 1980s, and made clear linkages to the energy situation we are in today. But the situation we are in today is a bit different from the previous iteration of it three decades ago. Today, the energy issue has become wrapped up in the issues of climate change and the ‘New Energy Economy,’ Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter speaks so often of.
“America is on a liquid leash, a leash that’s choking our paychecks and the prosperity of our nation,” Peña said.
“We can develop our own energy sources, with Barack Obama as our president, a president who has challenged us to believe in ourselves, we will get the change we need. We will transform our future and power this country for generations to come.”
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Photo: ishrona via flickr under a Creative Commons License
