I recognize the purpose of this ad campaign — centered around the sort of blue-collar cult figures that cable programmers and marketing teams believe are an "authentic" depiction of plain speaking, traditional values — even if I don't get the logic of their argument. The Environmental Defense Action Fund wants to promote carbon taxes in order to achieve their environmental agenda, but they recognize that carbon taxes will punish manufacturing industries, and very likely will lead to more job losses.

So, they have recruted "the Harvard-educated, tattooed, 'take no prisoners' mayor of Braddock, PA," to explain that cities and towns like his need the carbon tax in place, so that market demand will build for steel to build wind-power plants.

"Towns like Braddock need Congress to cap carbon so we can get to work," Mayor John Fetterman says. "It takes 250 tons of steel to make a wind turbine, and we're ready to make as many as we can. We've lost 250,000 jobs in Monongahela Valley, and I want to bring them back for the next big business built on steel."

"This campaign conveys the power of a pollution cap to create real jobs," said Steve Cochran, Director of the National Climate Campaign at Environmental Defense Action Fund. "Real steelworkers and a passionate Mayor Fetterman make the connection between a drive for clean energy and good jobs crystal clear."

I'm as optimistic as anyone about the potential demand for raw materials, including castings, to supply wind power projects. But I don't think the effort to stimulate that demand is being held back by the fact that there is no carbon tax, and I don't see any thing in this story that explains why builders of wind mills and turbines are waiting until after the carbon tax is enforced to place their orders with domestic manufacturers.

Would it be cynical to suspect that the backers of this ad campaign, the Environmental Defense Action Fund, are exchanging a favor with United Steelworkers union ("… steelworkers who were laid off from mills in the Monongahela Valley were cast in the television, print and on-line executions …"), in order to defuse some of the obvious criticism of their agenda? Sure it would, but it's also pretty clear something like that is going on.

They may be aiming for authenticity, but there's something less than straightforward about this message.

There is a big economic opportunity in the carbon tax proposals, but it's the sort of opportunity usually found first and exploited by traders and speculators.  If this ever gets out, those blue-collar types will have even more to be disgruntled all over again.