Detroit's Man in Congress: Wake Up and Smell the CAFE

Among the congressional campers unhappy about the president's SOU proposals is US Representative Joe Knollenberg of Michigan. The object of his wrath: The ever-so-gently ramped-up CAFE requirements in the Bush energy package. In a bylined piece in today's Detroit News, Knollenberg complains that "an arbitrary increase in CAFE would lead to more job cuts and plant closings":

General Motors, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler rely heavily on pickups like the Chevy Silverado, Ford F-150 and Dodge Ram to meet their significant payroll obligations. These trucks represent three out of the top four selling vehicles in the nation and are the lifeblood of the domestic auto industry.

Circling the station wagons against the rampaging savages, Knollenberg goes on to warn that there is a spectre haunting Detroit — the spectre of San Francisco Democrats:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-San Francisco, are gearing up to push for tougher auto regulations. Pelosi has already created a special committee to usurp the power of Congressman John Dingell, D-Dearborn, the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and a strong defender of the auto industry.

Knollenberg's alternative to this "job-destroying increase in federal fuel economy standards": more tax credits for hybrids, more E85 gas stations, more alternative fuel research. Oh, and "we need to get serious about expanding our domestic supplies of energy." Serious, indeed.