Fitzgerald gets there oily

Posted at 8:33 AM on August 9, 2006 by Mike Mulcahy

We here in the MSM have been getting a few complaints that we aren't paying enough attention to the IP endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate Robert Fitzgerald. He's having an event today and here's the release:

Independence Party endorsed U.S. Senate candidate Robert Fitzgerald will pay Minnesota excise tax due on the vegetable oil fuel that the Fitzgerald campaign uses in their campaign bus at a press conference at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 9th.

St. Paul, Minnesota, August 7, 2006 -- Robert Fitzgerald of Rothsay, MN, Independence Party endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate, converted his campaign bus to run on 100% pure vegetable oil last year. Waste restaurant fryer oil has been the main source of vegetable oil fuel. The waste vegetable oil is collected, filtered, and then added to a second tank in the campaign bus.

Restaurant owners have had to pay for the removal of their waste fryer oil in the past. Fitzgerald has been able to collect the oil at no cost, thereby dramatically reducing the campaigns fuel costs. Instead of paying over three dollars a gallon for diesel, the campaign's fuel cost are well under a dollar a gallon (including excise taxes). This is one of the creative, cost-effective solutions the campaign is implementing to compete in a race where the other major party candidates will be spending tens of millions of dollars.

Since vegetable oil is thicker than diesel fuel, a heated tank fuel pickup and fuel line heat exchanger has been added to the vehicle in order to thin the vegetable oil. The bus is equipped with a fuel switch so it can run on diesel, bio-diesel, or vegetable oil.

Fitzgerald said that he doesn't expect Minnesotans to go "dumpster diving and hump grease in back alleys." At the same time, he said, "I don't expect Minnesotans to pay over three dollars a gallon for fuel!"

Fitzgerald supports energy independence and believes the United States is fully capable of meeting its energy consumption needs.

Now, as an aside, Fitzgerald's campaign also put this out:

Speaking of vegetable oil: If you know of someone who owns or manages a restaurant that uses vegetable oil in their fryers, please make contact with them, and see if they would be willing to save their oil for us. They get their oil in 35 pound cubes (plastic containers with a cardboard outside shell). You can ask them to place the used oil back in these cubes, and then pick it up for us. We can then come and collect it from you. Contact johnvinje@votefitzgerald.org for more information or to pass on leads.

This will allow us to continue to operate Gus the BIG Red Bus for less than a dollar a gallon as we travel around the state on the campaign trail.

It's all about supply and demand.

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