Part of the Republican Party's platform for the upcoming presidential election will involve energy policy. And when the platform was addressed during the GOP convention last week in Tampa, Fla., it included strong support for both the coal and natural gas industries.
Some so-called ''moderate'' Republicans balked at that, but it is critical to the nation's future for the platform to stress an energy policy that makes full use of the two fuels - coal and gas - the United States has in abundance.
President Barack Obama's administration has mounted a war on reasonably priced energy which, if successful, will force electricity bills up for tens of millions of Americans. It also will make it impossible for some energy-intensive industries to remain competitive.
Unless the GOP makes it a priority to reverse the liberal strategy of abandoning coal, the U.S. economy will spiral downward into a new recession - and the nation will become even more dependent on foreign sources of energy.
Realistic Republicans, who emerged at the convention last week in Tampa, should continue insisting on strong pro-coal and pro-gas planks in the platform.