In his op-ed in The Times Leader, Pat Toomey criticizes Joe Sestak for failing to understand “common sense” points of fact on energy policy:
Common sense says that if you impose a massive tax on a product, that product will be more expensive. And if that product is essential to a particular sector of our economy, then we will witness job losses in that sector. In fact, if I told you that taxing a particular industry would create jobs in that industry, you would probably laugh out loud.
But that is exactly the argument my opponent, Congressman Joe Sestak, tried to make recently in a commentary on these pages.
Last spring, Congressman Sestak co-sponsored and voted for a cap-and-trade bill that would impose a massive tax on energy. If you put a massive tax on energy, all forms of energy — from electricity, to gasoline, to natural gas — become more expensive. That means families have higher electricity bills, it costs more to fill up at the pump, and businesses, especially energy intensive industries, will have to deal with skyrocketing costs. The inevitable result will be fewer jobs, and the industrial base in Northeastern Pennsylvania would be especially hard hit.
This is a non-controversial concept. And a host of independent studies and bipartisan elected officials across Pennsylvania understand it – but not Congressman Sestak.
Bruising.