On “CNN News Central” on Thursday, CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Paul Begala said Vice President Kamala Harris, a 2024 Democratic presidential candidate, has changed her position on banning fracking since she last ran for president because, “You represent the Bay Area, and there isn't a lot of fracking going on in the Bay Area, but then you get to know Texas, Oklahoma, eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania,” he said.
Co-host John Berman asked, “Paul, I just had Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) here, and I asked him about, for example, the change in the vice president's position on fracking, and he said he feels his position has changed because he's just learned more about fracking and he thinks it's safe now. And I think Harris would probably say the same. How useful do you think a response like that is?”
Begala responded, “I think it's very helpful. I think it's something that's actually happening. You represent the Bay Area, and there isn't a lot of fracking going on in the Bay Area. But when you start to learn about Texas, Oklahoma, eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, you start to see what's going on. So again, I'll go back to Vice President Henny Youngman. Here's some free advice, something you should do. Compared to what? Well, I support fracking, but compared to Donald Trump, he offered to shut down all environmental protections if big oil companies donated $1 billion in campaign contributions. So this is not Jeopardy tonight, Vice President. Compared to what?”
to follow Ian Hanchett's Twitter Ian Hanchett
