Don't Buy the Republican Oil and Gas Scare Tactics
The Republican Party has decided that the way to win over disenchanted voters this campaign season is to stir up anger on gasoline prices. The GOP answer: Drill like hell on the outer continental shelf and in the wild reserve of Alaska.
Sen. John McCain and President Bush are pinning the blame for those running numbers we see on gas pumps on Democrats in Congress. It is a charade.
Almost in a postscript whisper, the Republicans admit it will be years before new drilling would bring any relief. (Even by conservative estimates, it could be nearly 10 years.)
But never mind. Since the GOP is wallowing in low poll numbers, scandals in the Senate, and a lame-duck president who seems to be reeling in inconsistency, the gasoline issue is the No. 1 public enemy.
In truth, the failure to reach a comprehensive energy policy in the United States belongs to both parties. It has been a part of the unwillingness to reach some sort of reasonable compromise between the drillers and the environmentalists.
Even T. Boone Pickens, the legendary megamillionaire oilman from West Texas and a right-wing Republican to the core, has had an epiphany. In case you've missed it, Pickens has paid for an expensive ad campaign to promote wind as a alternative. He admits that drilling is not the total answer to our growing problem of reliance on costly oil imports, including from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Pickens was one of the sponsors of the Swift Boat smear against John Kerry's Vietnam War record in 2004. The voters swallowed it for a ticket headed by a safe Air National Guardsman (Bush) and a five-time deferment student who escaped the war (Cheney). Maybe Pickens is trying to atone a little for that cruel tactic.
For their part, Democrats in Congress say there is ample acreage available for drilling already and have issued a renewed appeal for a release of oil in the strategic reserve supply. Alternate sources like wind, sun, and geothermal are other avenues.
When you drive up to the gas pump today, Republicans want you to take out your anger on those whirling numbers by remembering to vote their way in November. They should remember the picture of a startled President Bush when he was told at a news conference that gas could reach $4 a gallon or more.
Yet, an out-of-touch president and his would-be successor want you to believe it is all the fault of Sen. Barack Obama and the Democrats. What a sad commentary on leadership!
Tags: presidential election 2008 | Republicans | gas prices | oil | campaigns
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Reader Comments
Truth
I know that I've heard that phrase before i.e., scare tactics. Oh yes, now I remember a popular use of the phrase of scare tactics. It was really popular when Congress denounced Bush almost EVERY TIME after President Bush and others (like McCain) warned yet again of Fannie and Freddie troubles coming in the future. Why is it that Democrats always seem to say that its scare tactics when they don't want to discuss what is being talked about?
I’m no big fan of President Bush but Democrats seem even WORSE than President Bush (is that why the Democrats in Congress have a lower approval rating than President Bush does?). And this time President Bush and John McCain did it right and the Democrat controlled Congress did it wrong. Democrats have cost America TRILLIONS of $$$ thus far with this, and may end up costing everyone their entire future before it’s over.
So why doesn’t any Democrat want to investigate firms like Fannie and Freddie further in detail (and why does Franks REFUSE – not just won’t do it but REFUSES – to investigate these firms instead of the “show” that we see now)? Is that because of the large corporate donations from places like Fannie and Freddie to Democrats? I am sure that if that amount of $$$ went to Republicans, there would already have been a grand jury convened by Congress and there would already be a grand jury convened. And yes, the donation amounts are public record FACT where I’ve seen Democrats investigating Republicans based on much less, like simply upon rumors.
Pickens' Corruption
If you know T Boone Pickens then you know that in the past he's been one of the most corrupt businessmen ever to walk the face of the earth. Why do you think he doesn't want more drilling? Because he's already got oil fields in west Texas and he's making a KILLING. The guy's a fraud. All his claims that alternative energy is the way to are based soley on his own profits because he knows alternative energy can never compete in a big way and the best way to keep oil prices high is to limit the supply. What a scam.
The ten year time frame
Oh my goodness. You and the green deadheads , say the drilling will have no effect for ten yrs. Ok. I'll take a page from Glenn Beck and reply that the electric plugin cars and cellulostic ethonal will not have any effect in a ten year time frame. So following Your and the greenheads logic.....those options are not worth doing either. Your as shallow as Obama and his crew. Oh, but you are a part of his crew.
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John W. Mashek covered politics in Washington for four decades with U.S. News & World Report, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Boston Globe. His primary beats were Congress, the White House, and national politics. He covered every presidential election from 1960 to 1996. He was a panelist in three televised presidential debates in 1984, 1988, and 1992.