Kennedy Blocking Wind Farm on Cape Cod

Senator Kennedy is being hypocritical in his long time block of a wind mill farm that has been proposed on Cape Cod. Kennedy has been blocking this deal for a long time. I have always suspected that he wants to block it since it would be only 8 miles from the Kennedy compound. He claims that it is not, but there is little doubt that the will of his large Massachusetts contributors who own homes out on the cape, have had a large impact on his dealings.

Cape Cod is a beautiful place, and yes, the wind mills would be an eyesore that would have an effect on the tourism industry, but if we are going to be serious about finding alternative energy sources, it will require sacrifices from all of us (even the rich). Kennedy should stop blocking the deal and start being constructive in helping cure our energy issues.

Kennedy faces fight on Cape Wind
Key lawmakers oppose his bid to block project
By Rick Klein, Globe Staff | April 27, 2006

WASHINGTON -- As record oil prices turn attention to the need for renewable fuels, momentum is building in Congress to buck Senator Edward M. Kennedy's bid to block the proposed Cape Cod wind energy project, potentially reviving efforts to construct the sprawling windmill farm in Nantucket Sound.

The chairman and the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee said yesterday that when the bill Kennedy backs that would effectively halt the wind farm comes up for a vote in the Senate, they will object on procedural grounds. They say they'll argue that a renewable energy project shouldn't be lumped in with a bill governing the Coast Guard.

Meanwhile, a group of rank-and-file House members, worried about the political ramifications of rejecting alternative energy sources while motorists pay $3 a gallon at the gas station, have persuaded House leaders to sidetrack the entire bill for at least several weeks, even though it was slated for action this week. The delay could give supporters of the wind farm time to make their case to members of Congress.

''Are we going to be for developing alternative energy or not?" said Representative Charles Bass, a New Hampshire Republican who helped persuade House leaders to table the bill until at least mid-May. ''The longer you delay it, the longer there is for people to examine the issue, and to determine what's going on here."

The efforts to move the wind farm forward occur amid growing attention to Kennedy's role in the secret, behind-the-scenes maneuvering to stop it. Republican Ted Stevens of Alaska, the senator who inserted the wind-farm provision into the Coast Guard bill, has acknowledged discussing the matter privately with the Massachusetts Democrat.

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