Hillary Clinton is struggling to roll back her Sunday comment that she will put coal miners out of work if elected president, after getting slammed by industry and GOP lawmakers all day Monday.
Her campaign put out a statement Monday night in an attempt to soften her words from the previous day’s town hall meeting in Columbus, Ohio, where she said she was going “to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.”
Her backpedaling statement attempted to apply nuance after her bluntness had gotten her rebukes from members of Congress, mining and coal industry advocates. Republican Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said her comments were “callous.”
Her remarks were also poorly timed, as Clinton faces a tough fight in Ohio, where coal has been the predominant fuel for generating electricity for the state’s large industrial base that includes steel, auto and truck manufacturing, as well as defense and related industries.
Her campaign says critics of the Democratic front-runner’s Sunday night remarks were twisting her words. Clinton clarified Monday that “coal will remain a part of the energy mix for years to come.”
“We have a shared responsibility to ensure that coal communities receive the benefits they have earned, and can build the future they deserve,” she said.
Coal industry groups said they were disturbed that a prominent presidential candidate would make a key part of her campaign putting people out of work.
But some groups aren’t buying Clinton’s clarification. Pro-coal groups are continuing to push Clinton’s comments from Sunday as reason enough for voters to oppose Clinton.
“Secretary Clinton’s promise to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business shows a lack of empathy and common sense, while marking a new level of rhetoric from the Democratic front-runner’s camp,” said Laura Sheehan, spokeswoman for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, on Tuesday. “Millions of voters should consider the consequences of what amounts to a second act for President Obama’s questionably legal and costly” climate regulations that are damaging to the fossil fuel industry, she said.
“Millions of Americans throughout the Midwest and Appalachia rely on coal, whether it pays their salary or cuts their electricity bill, yet Secretary Clinton’s fundamental misunderstanding of this reality proves she’s out of touch,” Sheehan said.
Her group pointed out that five of the states holding primary elections Tuesday night rely on coal to keep the lights on and industry humming. Ohio relies on coal for 69 percent of its energy; Florida 21 percent; Missouri 83 percent; Illinois 43 percent; and North Carolina 26 percent.
