Clinton, in a coal field, on coal: 'It's gotta be cleaned up and we gotta be at the forefront'

New York Sen. Hillary Clinton said at the major Democratic Party dinner in the Western Kentucky Coal Field tonight that the coal industry's future depends on commercialization of "clean coal" technology.

"I want to keep coal as a major part of our energy creation, but its gotta be cleaned up and we gotta be at the forefront," Clinton said at the annual Ruby Laffoon Dinner in Madisonville. "If we take a new approach with this technology, we can export it across the globe.” Trey Pollard of PolitickerKY.com also reports, "Clinton also generally called for higher safety standards for miners." Western Kentucky, much of which lies in the Illinois Basin coal field, has both surface and underground mines.

Madisonville and the region have been hurt by loss of manufacturing jobs, many of which have been moved overseas, and Clinton referred to an Obama aide's reassuring the Canadian government about the North American Free Trade Agreement. "We will re-negotiate NAFTA," she said. "When I tell the people of Kentucky I am going to fix NAFTA, I mean it. I am not going to tell you people one thing and tell a foreign government something else.” (Read more)

The dinner is named for the first Hopkins County native to be governor, in 1931-35. The second is the current governor, Steve Beshear, who has lived all his adult life outside the county. He spoke at the dinner and said he remained undecided about a candidate for president. Pollard reports:

"For the first time in a long, long time, the Kentucky primary for President of the United States is going to mean something. Perhaps some of you are where I am right now. I haven’t quite made up my mind where I’m going," said Beshear.

Following this statement, shouts from the audience of "Hillary" and "Obama" competed for the Governor's ear, but he continued to acknowledge the candidacy of each contender.

"We have two extremely exciting, qualified candidates for President of the United States, either of whom will be a lot better than that fellow [the Republicans] picked to be in the White House for eight years," Beshear continued. "Senator Hillary Clinton was not only a good first lady, but a great senator from New York. She has run a great campaign, and it is going to be an exciting finish -- kind of like the Kentucky Derby."

The Derby is May 3. Kentucky's primary is May 20. (Read more)