Conservatives Call for More Electric Cars

The conservative right and the electric car are not obvious partners, but a group of influential conservatives is calling for Congress to spur development of more battery-powered vehicles. The group is pushing an $11 billion bill that would fund infrastructure to enable wider deployment of the electric car.

The bill also aims to put 700,000 electric vehicles on the road within six years. "Our nation's dependence on oil represents an ongoing threat to our national security," write former presidential candidate and Campaign for Working Families' Gary Bauer, Concerned Women for America CEO Penny Nance, the Southern Baptist Convention's Richard Land, and the Hope Christian Church's Bishop Harry Jackson, in a letter to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Electric cars, they say, are the "most feasible way of displacing oil." Still, there is good news for supporters of electric cars. New York City opened its first charging station for the vehicles this week, and both Nissan and GM will begin selling electric hybrid cars in the fall.

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