Yesterday, we posted highlights of Michele Bachmann's abysmal record on energy independence and climate change. Unlike Rep. Bachmann, El Tinklenberg doesn't hide from the tough realities of the long-term challenges facing our country.

Here's what El has to say:

The evidence is in and speaks overwhelmingly – global climate change is real. It's the biggest long-term challenge our nation and world face. Those who continue to deny its reality gamble with our children's and grandchildren's futures. We need to reduce America's dependence on the coal and petroleum products that are the primary causes of global warming. Alternatives can be made available in bio-derived, nuclear, solar, and wind energy.

This is not just an environmental issue. We need to get away from petroleum-based fuels in order to escape the natural security threat of being held captive to hostile or unstable regimes that control our primary sources of energy. Our economy also demands that we minimize dependence upon foreign sources of energy, for the largest single contributor to our current imbalance of trade is the massive wealth we squander on oil. What's more, the bill for gas to fuel the family car is one of the biggest problems for American families' rising cost of living.

These problems are long-range and complex. No immediate or simple remedies are available that will correct the current situation, but prompt action by our nation is essential. I will work hard to see that the following steps are put into law:

• Use of incentives in the tax code to encourage and reward conservation of energy for transportation, heating, lighting, and manufacturing.

• Implementation of a revenue neutral “carbon” tax, conjoined with tax credits and rebates, to discourage dependency upon our present carbon-based energy infrastructure and to encourage development of alternative and sustainable fuels.

• Sensible, progressive increases in CAFE fleet standards for fuel usage of automobiles and trucks. Henry Ford's Model-T got better gas mileage than most cars on the road today. America can do better!

• Substantial increases in funding for mass transit and highway improvements to enhance transportation efficiency and reduce gridlock on our streets and highways.

• I propose that, under the auspices of the Department of Energy, we put the ingenuity of our scientists to work to improve upon existing alternative fuel technologies and other energy technologies we have yet to imagine. We need a Manhattan Project for Energy Independence. This can easily be funded by means of a windfall tax upon excess earnings of Big Oil. America is ready once again to be challenged to greatness in meeting a great need.

The 6th District needs representation that will demonstrate leadership in the face of adversity. Throughout his career -- as a Methodist Minister, Mayor of Blaine, or Minnesota Transportation Commissioner -- El Tinklenberg has shown that he can bring people together to tackle tough challenges.

Help send his forward-thinking vision on energy independence and climate change to Washington: