McConnell: Obama Has Declared a ‘War on Coal’

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL: In advance of the president's big speech today, I read this morning that one of the White House climate advisors finally admitted something most of us have suspected all along. He said -- quote -- "a war on coal is exactly what's needed. A war on coal is exactly what's needed." That's one of the president's advisors. It’s an astonishing bit of honesty from someone that close to the White House, but it really encapsulates the attitude this administration holds in regard to states like mine where coal is such an important part of the economic well-being of so many middle-class families, and it captures the attitude it holds with regard to middle-class Americans all across the country where affordable energy is critical to the operation of so many companies and small businesses and to those businesses' ability to hire Americans and help build a ladder to the middle class or their families. Declaring a war on coal is tantamount to declaring a war on jobs. It’s tantamount to kicking the ladder out from beneath the feet of many Americans struggling in today's economy, and I will be raising this issue with the president at the White House later today.