Posted by
Bert Chapman on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 11:45:34 AM
Despite the misery of continually rising oil and gas prices, the 2008 election poses energy policy opportunities for Republicans if they will demonstrate the political courage to exploit them. A key factor behind the U.S.' dependence on foreign oil has been the abysmal failure of Democratic and Republican presidential administrations and congressional leadership of from both parties, to make optimum use of our domestic petroleum reserves. This has been manifested in the failure to create new refineries for the past three decades and the failure to encourage or mandate exploration of reserves in locations such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Rocky Mountains, California and Florida coasts, and the newly announced Bakken reserves in western North Dakota and Montana. You can read U.S. Geological Survey assessments of these domestic oil reserves at
http://energy.usgs.gov/
While development of these reserves will take time and not end our dependence on foreign oil, it will make it possible to decrease our dependence on unstable oil suppliers. John McCain and other Republican congressional candidates should beat the Democrats over the head on this issue and educate voters on how this refusal to exploit our domestic petroleum assets has played a major role in our current difficulties. McCain and compatriots will need to stand up to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenagger who have been seduced by the no drilling mantras of environmentalist extortionists. Contrary to what Al Gore, Ralph Nader, and their luddite apostles might tell you, it is possible to drill for oil in environmentally sensitive ways and oil companies are committed to enhancing environmental quality. Republicans should also encourage support of legislation like H.R. 6001 Main Street USA Energy Independence Security Act introduced by Indiana Rep. Steve Buyer
http://stevebuyer.house.gov/ which provides incentives for greater domestic petroleum exploration.
For to long, our country has let our energy policy be hijacked by infantile Democrats and their environmental extortionist allies on the left whose instinctive response to our dependence on foreign petroleum has been to blame purportedly excessive oil company profits and impose windfall profits taxes which, has our experience in the late 70s demonstrates, resulted in failure and higher prices and less consumer choice for Americans. This year, it's time for Americans to get energy policy right and increase our ability to extract greater domestic petroleum resources while also working on improving fuel economy mileages and developing reliable, affordable, and dependable alternative energy resources.