The fight over energy between President Obama and GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney has intensified in recent days, with the Obama campaign on Friday accusing Romney of flip-flopping on his support for the coal industry to score political points.
“The fact is, before Romney was for coal, he was vehemently against it,” former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) said in a media call. “Mitt Romney is no friend of coal.”
Romney, meanwhile, criticized Obama for slamming the coal industry in his 2008 campaign. Speaking in Abingdon, Va., on Friday, Romney blasted Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules that Republicans say target the coal industry.
“When the president was running for office, he said that if you built a new coal-fired power plant, why, you’d go bankrupt,” Romney said. “Well, I don’t believe in putting our coal under the ground forever. I believe we should take advantage of it, put American workers back to work so we can use a resource that’s abundant, and cheap and can be burned in a clean way.”
Romney and Republicans have said EPA rules rolled out during Obama’s term explain the coal industry’s recent struggles. They say those rules show the president is not serious about including coal in his energy policy.
Read more on The Hill's E2 Wire.
