Potential 2016 GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush blasted Gov. Cuomo Tuesday night for failing to approve fracking to boost New York’s upstate economy.
Bush, a featured speaker at the state Conservative Party’s annual fund-raising dinner at the Sheraton , called hydraulic fracking of natural gas one of America’s great energy innovations.
“We should be celebrating this phenomenal achievement – and we do, in North Dakota, in Pennsylvania, in south and west Texas. Some states, like here in New York, are choosing not to grow. They won’t approve fracking,” the former Florida governor said.
“Meanwhile, in parts of New York where huge opportunities exist for the restoration of economic activity, people languish.”
He said fracking can be done safely and “create economic activity for all sorts of people who don’t live in Manhattan.”
The frack attack drew thunderous applause.
Cuomo, considered a Democratic contender for the presidency, has delayed issuing a ruling on fracking, insisting that more scientific study is needed to determine whether such drilling is safe.
Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long told Jeb Bush that history could be repeating itself. He noted that his father, George H.W. Bush and his older brother, George W. Bush, both were elected president after speaking to the Conservative Party.
Bush’s 38 minute speech also focused on the need for j immigration reform, an overhaul of education standards, and restoring family values.
For his part, Cuomo held his own fund-raising bash at the Plaza Hotel, where he was joined by music legend Paul Simon.