Cramer: Nat Gas Needs Lobbying Lessons
cnbc.com
Friday, 26 Jun 2009
Posted By:Tom Brennan
Companies:Chesapeake Energy Corp | XTO Energy Inc | Anadarko Petroleum Corp | Apache Corp | Southwestern Energy Company
Which is worse: Congress failing to recognize natural gas as a much-needed bridge fuel until renewable energy is more viable, or the industry’s inability to lobby for its own interests?
Cramer called the commodity’s treatment in Washington, and natural-gas companies’ failure to make their case, a “total travesty.” President Obama has done the country a huge disservice, the Mad Money host said, by promoting a cap-and-trade plan that discourages the use of natural gas. It will be decades before wind and solar power can replace oil, and we need nat gas to bridge the gap.
Certainly coal can’t do the job. Natural gas is cheap, clean, plentiful, and cars can run on it. Apparently, Washington is more concerned with lithium-ion batteries. But that’s no excuse for the way Southwestern [SWN 38.94 -0.73 (-1.84%) ], Apache [APA 72.22 -0.99 (-1.35%) ], Anadarko Petroleum [APC 46.07 0.57 (+1.25%) ], XTO Energy [XTO 38.15 -0.05 (-0.13%) ] and Chesapeake [CHK 19.64 0.03 (+0.15%) ] allowed themselves to be run over by other lobbies like the farmers and ethanol.
Cramer’s suggestion to these firms: “Take your profits, go get some decent lobbyists,” and start giving “gigantic contributions” to senators and congressmen. It’s the only way you’ll have a fighting chance on Capitol Hill. |
