The private Hillary.
Hillary Clinton is a supporter of the fossil fuel industry and a defender of fracking, and told a private meeting last year that extreme environmental activists need to “get a life,” according to new illegally obtained emails posted by WikiLeaks.
“[M]y view is I want to defend natural gas,” Clinton said in a transcript of a private meeting with a trade union last September that was sent to her campaign. The emails are from the hacked accounts of Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta.
“I want to defend repairing and building the pipelines we need to fuel our economy. I want to defend fracking under the right circumstances,” she said. “I want to defend this stuff.”
The popular notion of Clinton is that she is a political opportunist, and will say anything to get elected, comes across in her comments. But the emails also confirm what many, including GOP strategists, have known for a while: Clinton is far more of a moderate on environmental issues than some think when compared to her former rival Bernie Sanders.
On Friday, an industry campaign called Fracking for President responded to the email transcript. The campaign pretends that fracking, the method of drilling that injects sand and water underground to produce oil and natural gas, is a presidential candidate. The practice has made the U.S. the largest oil and gas producer in the world.
“I am honored to have Hillary Clinton’s endorsement at this crucial stage in our campaign,” said the imaginary presidential candidate Fracking in a statement issued by the pro-fracking campaign. “From the very beginning, we have focused on a positive vision for America: jobs, energy security, and cleaner air. Hillary Clinton is clearly committed to the same goals, which is why she said she wants to ‘defend Fracking,’ and that environmental critics of our work should ‘get a life.’ I wholeheartedly agree.”
According to the leaked transcript, Clinton told union members that her former rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, represents the most radical environmentalists and their positions on fossil fuels and Climate Change, which she rejects.
“So you know Bernie Sanders is getting lots of support from the most radical environmentalists because he’s out there every day bashing the Keystone pipeline,” Clinton said. “And, you know, I’m not into it for that.”