Obama meets with Bill Clinton, discusses crisis management
This one practically writes itself, doesn’t it?
But before the presser, Obama will have lunch with someone who knows something about damage control.
Former President Clinton, whose affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky landed him in trouble with the law, Congress and his wife, might have a thing or two to tell Obama about how to handle a crisis.
Well, if anyone knows about trying to do damage controls over unwanted spills and “plug the damn hole”, it’s Bubba. 
It took them long enough, right? Dodd blames BP oil spill on…you guessed it…Bush!
So to assuage that anticipated criticism, the White House has quickly laid on a Friday presidential trip back down to Louisiana, his second. He didn’t see a drop of oil during the first one. But it looks good on TV. (See Related Items links below the video.)
Chris Dodd has been in the U.S. Senate now for five six-year terms and might have been looking into drilling safety precautions instead of special mortgage deals. So he too is eager to spread blame elsewhere.
You’ll never guess which recent Republican president Dodd tries to finger for last month’s underwater blowout.
You should watch the video at the link, where Imus takes Dodd to task for blaming Bush (around the 1:21 mark). But hey, Dodd’s got his meme, and he ain’t lettin’ go anytime soon.
Obama administration’s response to oil spill was inept, claims right-wing newspaper
And, by right-wing newspaper, I’m obviously referring to…the New York Times? OK, who spiked Sulzberger’s latté?
Geoffrey S. Morrell, deputy assistant secretary of defense, said in a statement that the government would hold BP accountable for the cost of the department’s deployment, which as of Friday night included the Louisiana National Guard to help clean up coastal areas once the oil comes ashore.
BP officials said they did everything possible, and a review of the response suggests it may be too simplistic to place all the blame on the oil company. The federal government also had opportunities to move more quickly, but did not do so while it waited for a resolution to the spreading spill from BP, which was leasing the drilling rig that exploded in flames on April 20 and sank two days later. Eleven workers are missing and presumed dead.
The Department of Homeland Security waited until Thursday to declare that the incident was “a spill of national significance,” and then set up a second command center in Mobile. The actions came only after the estimate of the size of the spill was increased fivefold to 5,000 barrels a day.
You know, this sounds errily similar to another environmental disaster, about five years ago in a large Gulf coast area, whereby the president was roundly criticized by the left and the MSM (pardon the redundancy) for a lackluster response. I look forward to their consistency in criticizing this president with the same zeal they exhibited last time.
Of course, to be fair, the Gulf coast oil spill isn’t the same situation as Hurricane Katrina. It’s much different, and in a way that isn’t flattering for the administration.
See, in the case of Katrina, the state of Louisiana, as well as Mayor Nagin’s Chocolate City, had evacuation and contingency plans at the local level…plans they ignored. Clearly, the onus was on the state to plan for and respond to the hurricane.
But in the case of the oil spill, the incident happened in the Gulf of Mexico and could impact multiple states. Obviously, it would be the responsibility of the federal government to deal with that. Right? Right:
But it is still the government, in this case the Coast Guard, that has the final say. A law passed a year after the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster makes the owner of a rig or vessel responsible for cleaning up a spill. But oversight of the cleanup is designated to the Coast Guard, with advice from other federal agencies.
As much as the big government lovers on the left henpecked Bush for an anemic response by state officials, you would think they would have been better prepared for something like this.
Instead, you get this “Brownie-like” response from Big Sis:
The delay meant that the Homeland Security Department waited until late this week to formally request a more robust response from the Department of Defense, with Ms. Napolitano acknowledging even as late as Thursday afternoon that she did not know if the Defense Department even had equipment that might be helpful.
Heckuva job, Nappy.
Obama: Funding Brazilian energy exploration needs subdizing; American energy exploration? Not so much.
Ed has the scoop here. Long story short:
Obama campaigned in OH last year with promises to subsidize (via a loan guarantee) production of a nuclear power plant. As with his other promises, this one had an expiration date. No funding.
Instead, B.O. has decided to raid the treasury of $2 billion to subsidize Brazilian oil exploration by a Brazilian energy company that, as sheer luck would have it, billionaire moonbat and F.O.B. (Friend of Barack) George Soros has invested in.
I guess it would be intemperate, if not outright racist, to ask why a president who thinks oil usage contributes to the junk science fad called global “warming” would actually encourage oil exploration. It would probably be similarly intemperate/racist to ask why he’s reneged on a campaign promise to OH and to an American zero-emission energy company in order to instead fund a project that could benefit his political billionaire buddy.
Hey, OH, I have a question for you, since you decided to vote for B.O. last year: How does his backside taste now?
Oil speculators are at it again
I’m sure that you have all noticed the cost of gas going up about a quarter in the last couple of weeks. Ever since gas climbed over $4 last year, I’ve been following “petropolitics” to keep my fingers on the pulse of the state of gasoline and oil products in the world. I knew that speculators were to blame for last year’s detached-from-reality spike in prices, and I know that they’re going back to the buffet for seconds right now.
For a primer on my take, refer to last year’s post called “Is this REALLY capitalism?” You’ll get the full version on how speculators artificially inflate prices that have no basis in supply-and-demand economics, all while contributing jack squat to the oil-to-consumer process. Here’s what is going on today:
…But Jim Smith, president and CEO of the Florida Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association Inc., said a global drop in demand has created a glut of crude and refined oil product reserves, precluding normal price increases from the explanation.
“Oil speculators have entered back into the market,” he said. “It’s the only excuse.”
Smith said customers have contacted him expressing worry or anger about the increases, but calls from concerned member retailers have outnumbered them.
“They’re upset,” he said. “It has a signification impact on their business operations.”
That’s because most retailers price close to the wholesale prices on gasoline, depending on profits from other items they sell in convenience stores, to stay competitive, he said.
“We’re price takers, not price makers. We have to buy from oil companies,” he said.
But Smith said he doesn’t blame the oil companies for the increase. He thinks the rise in crude oil prices — from $49.92 a barrel April 28 to $58.50 Monday — signals that speculators are affecting pricing.
“There is not a single, solitary reason to justify increases in crude oil prices,” he said.
The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in Jacksonville hadn’t gone above $2.11 a gallon since late last year, according to jacksonvillegasprices .com.
Smith said he’s concerned that the price of gas can go even higher — despite high supply, low demand and an economic recession — because of a loophole Congress left open.
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., hopes to close that loophole, which would allow certain energy and metal futures traders to manipulate prices via the Internet, through a bill he introduced in January, Nelson spokesman Dan McLaughlin said.
Nelson and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash, as well as J. Stephen Simon, executive vice president of Exxon-Mobil, have said speculators were largely, if not entirely, responsible for gasoline’s spike above $4 a gallon last summer.
Right now, unemployment is sky high. The Dow is in the tank. Our oil storage facilities are busting at the seams with supply. Demand is lower than it has been in nearly a generation. People are pinching their pennies. Therefore, there is absolutely no single reason whatsoever for oil prices to be rising!
This isn’t capitalism, my friends. It’s not Big Oil, nor the treehuggers or the global warming nuts, nor China and India (two countries that speculators and their apologists tried to blame last year) causing this irrational jump in prices. This is extortion by investment firms that are starving for profit, even ill-gotten ones. As much as I hate to say it, I fully support Sens. Nelson and Cantwell in their efforts to rein in the big money speculators who are trying once again to drive oil prices sky high while they line their pockets with money that was earned on deception.
Obama: Yep, I’ll bankrupt coal plants and cause energy prices to skyrocket
The One on how he plans on helping out coal workers in OH, WV, and PA:
So, if somebody wants to build a coal plant, they can — it’s just that it will bankrupt them, because they are going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.
There’s a good way to jumpstart the economy in these already depressed regions, huh?
As Ed notes, coal provides about half of this nation’s energy source for electric plants. The end result? Just ask Uhhh-bama himself:
You know, when I was asked earlier about the issue of coal, uh, you know — Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad. Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it — whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, uh, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.
Recession? Check. Killing coal that provide this country’s electricity? Check. Jacking up your power bills into the stratusphere as a sacrifice to Mother Gaia? Checkity-check-check.
Pelosi: We don’t need to drill for fossil fuels; instead, we need natural gas
Michelle Malkin exposes Pe-loco’s need to enroll in an elementary school-level earth science class:
Nancy Pelosi’s mouth emits a lot of natural gas, but she has no idea about how the other kind is produced.
Conn Carroll at Heritage teaches her a lesson:
The day before the Democratic National Convention Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) went on Meet the Press and told Tom Brokaw:
I’m, I’m, I’m investing in something I believe in. I believe in natural gas as a clean, cheap alternative to fossil fuels. … These investments in wind, in solar and biofuels and focus on natural gas, these are the real alternatives.
As we pointed out at the time, natural gas is not an alternative to fossil fuels … it is a fossil fuel. And as the “Energy Kids Page” of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) explains, it is a fossil fuel that needs to be drilled for.
One would hope that Pelosi had studied up on the issue since then, but her comments after the House passed a bill codifying the ban on most of the Outer Continental Shelf shows she still does not. Pelosi told The Washington Post: “We’re not trying to give incentives to drill, we’re giving incentives to invest in renewables and natural gas that will take us where we need to go.”
Again, where does Pelosi think natural gas comes from? If the government is “giving incentives” to natural gas, it is giving incentives to drill. That is how we get natural gas.
And to think that Madam Botox is second in line to the presidency!
Pelosi: “Can we drill your brains?”
San Fran Nan, as boorish as she is ditzy. From Politico:
House Democratic leaders and protesters waving McCain signs had a war of words Tuesday at a press event outside an old train station. The demonstrators interrupted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with chants of “Drill here! Drill now!”
Pelosi paused and asked the group, “Right here?”
Seeming to enjoy the back and forth, she followed with another question: “Can we drill your brains?”
She went on to refer to the protesters, who continued to chant sporadically, as “handmaidens of Big Oil.” Arguing that increased offshore drilling would reduce gas prices by only a couple of pennies a decade from now, she referred to the demonstrators as the “2-cents-in-10-years-crowd.”
Cut her a little slack for talking about drilling. She hasn’t been “drilled” since the Nixon administration! No doubt she thinks that the 70% of Americans who support drilling must need lobotomies, too.
Besides, her “2-cents-in-10-years” is another shining example of that Marxist moonbat’s economic ignorance. Only a fool would think that talking about drilling would drop the price of oil over $30 a barrel and nearly 50 cents a gallon (which it has, in just over a month) but actually getting oil would reduce the cost of gas by only two cents in a decade.
Her dog-washer Steny Hoyer weighed in, too:
Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer swiped at the demonstrators, too, saying that “sophomoric chanting” won’t solve the energy crisis and that “all thinking Americans know” — stressing the word “thinking” and looking at the crowd — that America doesn’t have a quarter of the word’s fossil fuels yet uses a quarter of the world’s energy.
I wonder if Hoyer considers the 70% of Americans who support drilling as “thinking Americans”. While “sophomoric chanting won’t solve the energy crisis”, apparently Hoyer thinks that tire gauges and begging the Saudis for more oil will solve it.
Obama’s Exxon hypocrisy
The Obamaliar is running a new ad referring to McCain as “Exxon John”. Cheeky, no? There’s just one small, itty-bitty, teensie-weensie little problem with that line of attack: it’s not McCain that’s received more money from Exxon!
But hey, why let a little thing like facts get in the way of a good attack ad? Obooby has gotten this far in life without the need for facts, decency, honesty, or consistency, so why start now?
Couresy of Jeff Dobbs.
Obama’s oil hyopcrisy
The Obamaliar is at it again. From the AP:
Democratic candidate Barack Obama criticized Republican John McCain on Tuesday for taking a page out of “the Cheney playbook” on energy, overlooking his own support of oil-friendly policies that the unpopular vice president helped to craft.
Vice President Dick Cheney, a former oilman, early in the Bush administration helped draft an energy policy that Obama asserted is biased in favor of tax breaks and favorable treatment for big oil. Obama’s remarks were an attempt to capitalize on Cheney’s unpopularity.
There’s just one problem:
However, Obama himself voted for a 2005 energy bill backed by Bush that included billions in subsidies for oil and natural gas production, a measure Cheney played a major role in developing. McCain opposed the bill on grounds it included billions in unnecessary tax breaks for the oil industry.
The Obama campaign has said the Illinois senator supported the legislation because it included huge investments in renewable energy.
McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds, said, “Barack Obama is opposed to offshore drilling and is also opposed to admitting that he voted for the same corporate giveaways for Big Oil that he’s campaigning against today.”
More:
A new Obama ad says Big Oil filled McCain’s campaign with $2 million in contributions and that he “wants to give them another $4 billion in tax breaks.”
That $4 billion consists mainly of potential revenue from a McCain proposal to lower corporate taxes on ALL American businesses.
The McCain campaign pointed out that the ad doesn’t mention Obama has taken some $400,000 from oil company executives.
If that ain’t the pot calling the kettle…oh, wait. That would be racist of me to finish the cliché, wouldn’t it?
McCain: Paris Hilton has better energy policy than Obama
After Juanny Mac’s ad last week comparing the undeserved celebrity coverage between Paris Hilton and The One, Ms. Hilton had a playful retort video. Kudos to her for handling the McCain ad in a manner that conveys her sense of humor. (Sidebar: I may possibly never compliment Ms. Hilton again, but I have to call this one like I see it.)
But double kudos for McCain’s handlers to comment on Hilton’s video ad thusly:
In the unkindest cut of all, McCain’s spokesperson Tucker Bounds tells TMZ that on the subject of energy, Paris is deeper than Barack. He says, “Sounds like Paris is taking the ‘All of the Above’ energy approach that John McCain has advocated — both alternatives and drilling. Perhaps the reality is that Paris has a more substantive energy plan than Barack Obama.”
Ouch! No word on whether Ms. Hilton thinks that tire gauges are the key to solving America’s energy crisis.
Obama holds up CA as energy efficiency model?
Dude…seriously?
Finally, I will call on businesses, government, and the American people to meet the goal of reducing our demand for electricity 15% by the end of the next decade. This is by far the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to reduce our energy consumption – and it will save us $130 billion on our energy bills. One report found that right here in Ohio, improvements in energy efficiency can help save homes and businesses $1.5 billion in energy costs by 2020.
The state of California has implemented such a successful efficiency strategy that while electricity consumption grew 60% in this country over the last three decades, it didn’t grow at all in California (If, by “not growing”, you mean “increases by 2% annually“, then yeah…”not growing”. – Ed.). There is no reason we can’t do the same thing all across America.
Why can’t we all be like California and have rolling blackouts that result in governors getting recalled?
Also, check this out:
First, we’ll commit ourselves to getting one million 150 mile-per-gallon plug-in hybrid cars on our roads within six years.
OK, I’ll bite: if we’re supposed to cut back on electricity, exactly what are we supposed to use to juice our plug-in hybrids?
Moron.
Night and Day
Obama on August 1, 2008, in FL:
U.S. Sen. Barack Obama said today he would be willing to open Florida’s coast for more oil drilling if it meant winning approval for broad energy changes.
“My interest is in making sure we’ve got the kind of comprehensive energy policy that can bring down gas prices,” Obama said in an interview with The Palm Beach Post.
Obama on July 30, 2008, in MO:
Now the latest scheme is well, we’re going to drill offshore. Now, I want to be absolutely clear to everybody about this. If I thought that I could provide you some immediate relief on gas prices by drilling off the shores of California and New Jersey, I – I … I understand how desperate folks are. I met a guy who couldn’t go on a job search that lost his job, couldn’t go on a job search because of the high price of gas. Just couldn’t fill up his tank. I met a teacher in South Dakota who loved her job as a teacher on an Indian reservation, she had to quit because the drive was too far, it was taking up too much of her paycheck. I know how bad people are hurting. So If I thought that by drilling offshore, we could solve our problem, I’d do it.
Checking the polls causes a “change in mind we can believe in”, doesn’t it? That whole “judgment” thingy, I guess, drastically changes in a whopping two day window!.
Dictator “Pelosi’s politburo”
And the left has the unmitigated gall to call Bush a dictator? Check out what Madame Speaker is doing (presumably to save the planet):
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the Democrats adjourned the House and turned off the lights and killed the microphones, but Republicans are still on the floor talking gas prices.
Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other GOP leaders opposed the motion to adjourn the House, arguing that Pelosi’s refusal to schedule a vote allowing offshore drilling is hurting the American economy. They have refused to leave the floor after the adjournment motion passed at 11:23 a.m. and are busy bashing Pelosi and her fellow Democrats for leaving town for the August recess.
At one point, the lights went off in the House and the microphones were turned off in the chamber, meaning Republicans were talking in the dark. But as Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz..) was speaking, the lights went back on, and the microphones were turned on shortly afterward.
…
“This is the people’s House,” Rep, Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) said. “This is not Pelosi’s politiburo.”
But the Democraps weren’t done yet:
Democratic aides were furious at the GOP stunt, and reporters were kicked out of the Speaker’s Lobby, the space next to the House floor where they normally interview lawmakers. …
Update – The Capitol Police are now trying to kick reporters out of the press gallery above the floor, meaning we can’t watch the Republicans anymore. But Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) is now in the gallery talking to reporters, so the cops have held off for a minute. Clearly, Democrats don’t want Republicans getting any press for this episode. GOP leaders are trying to find other Republicans to rotate in for Blunt so reporters aren’t kicked out.
How’s this for a little fun, though?
Update 6 - Rep Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) just pretended to be a Democrat. He stood on the other side of the chaber and listed all of the GOP bills that the Dems killed.
He then said “I am a Democrat and here is my energy plan” and he held up a picture of an old VW Bug with a sail attached to it. He paraded around he house floor with the sign while the crowd cheered.
Pardon the pun, but that’s very “bush league” of Pelosi. So much for her promises in 2006 to promote civility, respect, and integrity. If the GOP has a hair on their collective nutsacks, they will run with this incident, far and wide. As Michelle Malkin puts it (in Obamock mode), “This is the change we’ve been waiting for, Beltway GOP.”
Obama: Big Oil will pay for stimulus checks
No, dumb#ss, they won’t. This is another example of the stunning economic illiteracy that the left has. Corporations do not technically “pay” taxes…they collect them. They collect them from employees, shareholders, consumers, etc. The cost of everything you buy has embedded taxes, which simply means that you are paying the taxes and the businesses are sending in the dollars to the government.
But get this:
Obama announced his plan for a windfall profits tax on oil companies on June 9 in Raleigh, N.C., as he launched a two-week economic tour after clinching the Democratic nomination.
Friday’s proposal says Obama “is proposing to offset the cost of his emergency energy rebates over the next five years by enacting a windfall profits tax on big oil companies.”
“Obama simply asks that big oil companies contribute a reasonable share of the windfall profits they receive from high oil prices over the next five years to pay for emergency assistance for families right now,” the campaign says.
Apparently, Barry O missed this:
Exxon Mobile, for example, reported a record profit of $11.68 billion this quarter.
While this is a lot of money, it’s nothing compared to what Exxon pays in taxes, more than $30 billion this quarter.
“This profit represents about 9 cents out of every dollar of sales. But the company pays 17 or 18 cents in taxes for every dollar it sells.”
“Big Oil” is sending in tax payments that are about 200% higher than profits, but in the eyes of the leftards, that’s not nearly a “reasonable share” enough. How much longer do you leftards think you can tell the oil producers to “self-fornicate” before they up and leave the country for more business-friendly climes like the Middle East?
Carter tried that “windfall profits tax” thingy in 1980. It failed miserably, much like his entire presidency. When McCain says that his empty suit opponent is a Carter throwback, he’s 100% right.
Dem Senator: I don’t care if gas hits $10 a gallon!
And yet Americans are seriously considering adding more of these #sshats to the ranks of Congress? From Ed Morrissey:
How high will Democrats let the price of gas get before considering the option of drilling for more oil? Ken Salazar (D-CO) has set the bar in today’s action in the Senate. Gas can hit $10 per gallon and the Democrats still won’t act:
[Video clip here]
…
Republicans should use a very simple message. We have enough oil to satisfy American needs for at least the next 100 years, but Democrats won’t let you have it. They’d rather you pay $10 per gallon at the pump and watch food prices increase 250% rather than agree to drilling. If you don’t want $10 per gallon gas, vote Republican.
If the RNC had any brains and stones (which I seriously doubt), the RNC will run commercials like these until the cows come home. By the way, Ken Salazar ran in 2004 as a “moderate” Dem…my, how his true leftist colors shine through!
Obama’s “wear a sweater” moment
Barry O decided to borrow a page from Jimmah Carter’s energy expertise in the 1970′s. Carter felt the best way to overcome the energy crisis was to wear a sweater. The Obamessiah’s take? See for yourself:
Proper Tire Inflation? Great. How About the Other Two out of Every Three Drivers?
The RNC is chuckling over Obama calling for voters to make “sure your tires are properly inflated” because “we could save all the oil that they’re talking about getting off drilling if everybody was just inflating their tires.”
RNC spokesman Alex Conant responds, “Obama’s solution to America’s energy crisis is inflating tires?! Maybe he’s been out of the country too long.”
I’ll give Obama a smidgen of credit, in that yes, having properly inflated tires can get you a few more miles per gallon.
“Running a tire 20 percent underinflated – only 5 to 7 pounds per square inch (psi) – can increase fuel consumption by 10 percent. That can easily cost motorists two or three miles per gallon. Not only that, but running underinflated also reduces the tire’s tread life,” said Bob Toth, Goodyear’s general manager, auto tires.
However, this doesn’t mean everybody can inflate their tires and get more mpg tomorrow. Survey information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that about one in every three cars has a significantly under inflated tire. …
Ooooooooooookay then.
Barry thinks this man was an underappreciated pioneer in thoughtful energy policy
Madame Speaker Superwoman
You peons want lower gas prices because you’re feeling the pinch in your pocketbooks? San Fran Nan will have none of that kind of selfishness! From Politico:
With fewer than 20 legislative days before the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1, the entire appropriations process has largely ground to a halt because of the ham-handed fighting that followed Republican attempts to lift the moratorium on offshore oil and gas exploration. And after promising fairness and open debate, Pelosi has resorted to hard-nosed parliamentary devices that effectively bar any chance for Republicans to offer policy alternatives.
“I’m trying to save the planet; I’m trying to save the planet,” she says impatiently when questioned. “I will not have this debate trivialized by their excuse for their failed policy.” (Because Pe-loco’s policy, which doubled the cost of gas, has been a smashing success, right? – Ed.)
She could have just stopped at “I will not have this debate.” It would have been more honest.
Save the planet from what, exactly? The Bay Area Botox Batty Bimbo doesn’t tell us. But presumably, whatever it is that you want them to do in order to alleviate our dependence on foreign oil must be bad for the planet…so get used to $4+ gas.
Senate GOP: Drill, or we’ll block everything else
Where were these nads when they ruled the chamber? From The Hill:
Senate Republicans have threatened to block nearly all other bills pending before the August recess if Democrats refuse to vote with them on expanding offshore drilling.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said bills that do not pertain to energy can wait until after the August recess, with gas prices now surpassing $4 per gallon. McConnell and top Republicans indicated Wednesday they would oppose any procedural votes to take up other legislation, which require 60 votes to succeed.
“We think there is nothing more important that we can do right now than to deal with the Number One issue of the country,” McConnell said. “This is the biggest issue since terrorism right after 9/11. People are pounding on their desks, saying, Why don’t these people get together and do something about this problem?”
The hardball tactics reflect Republican confidence that they can pull off a major election-year victory with gas prices at record highs, after they have been battered at the polls and have lost on several recent high-profile legislative battles. …
Good luck with that.
Dems want to raise gas tax
Just to make sure I understand this correctly:
Since Democrats took over Congress and promised us cheaper gas, gas prices have nearly doubled. As a result, American families and businesses are feeling the pinch in their pocketbooks. To help Americans deal with this reduction in household and business income, the Dems are proposing…to increase the federal gas tax?
They don’t want us to drill for more oil. They don’t want us to make more refineries or nuclear power plants. They don’t want us to recover oil from the large oil shale deposits out west. They oppose wind farms because some birds might get hurt. And to top it off, they want to increase our taxes, make energy more expensive, and take an even bigger bite out of our paychecks.
I have said it before, and I will say it again: a liberal will always, without fail, expect YOU to do more with less, but will NEVER demand the same of themselves and their beloved bloated imperial federal government.
Reporter asks Bush to parrot Jimmah
The president had a news conference the other day to talk about oil, the economy, etc. Moron reporter Mark Smith from the AP asks the following genius question:
Why have you not called on Americans to drive less and turn down their thermostats?
Bush’s response:
People are smart enough to figure out whether they should drive less…it’s presumptuous to do so…they can decide. Of course they should conserve…let them decide.
True enough. But my response would have been one or more of the following:
- Americans ARE driving less, you dolt. And in case you haven’t noticed, Einstein, it’s SUMMER! Ergo, people HAVE turned DOWN their thermostats so they won’t FRY! Who else has a genius question?
- You aren’t, by chance, related to Jimmy Carter, are you?
- Good point, Mark. I mean, my approval ratings are in the crapper, which makes you MSM guys giddier than Michelle Obama at a Whole Foods store during a “buy one arugula, get one free” sale. Yet you think Americans are going to listen to such a massively unpopular guy telling them the LAST thing they want to hear? Friggin’ brilliant, man.
- Maybe you can take this opportunity to tell America, Mark, why it is that you liberals are all about bringing DOWN our standards of living instead of raising them? You want EVERYONE to be equally depressed? “Misery loves company”, I guess.
- You were an abused child…weren’t you, Mark?
Any others?
Bush lifts executive ban on offshore oil exploration; Congress’ turn
Attention San Fran Nan: the ball is in your court. You wanna ignore America’s prevailing sentiment?
NH newspaper: Dems are economic illiterates
Heck, I’ve been making that point for years. Nice to see a fishwrap noticing the same thing. From NH:
MAYBE THE quickest way to lower oil and gas prices would be this: Immediately enroll every Democratic member of Congress in an entry-level economics class.
The lack of even a basic grasp of economic concepts has led Democrats to oppose sensible policies that would begin to lower oil and gas prices. Instead, they push hair-brained ideas that make no sense.
And what of the left’s assertion that “drilling today won’t drop the price of gas anytime soon”? Not entirely true:
Any step Congress takes to produce a large increase in future supply — opening the outer continental shelf to drilling, for example — will reduce current prices. If there will be a lot more oil 10 years from now, a barrel of oil today loses some of its investment value, and its price falls.
As Harvard economics professor Martin Feldstein wrote in The Wall Street Journal on July 1, “Increasing the expected future supply of oil would also reduce today’s price. That fall in the current price would induce an immediate rise in oil consumption that would be matched by an increase in supply from the OPEC producers and others with some current excess capacity or available inventories.”
This is pretty basic stuff. And yet Democrats are oblivious. They adamantly oppose more domestic drilling, claiming that it won’t affect prices for decades. Clearly, they have yet to grasp the basic concepts of supply and demand.
Yet I have no doubt that Americans will vote more of these fiscal morons into office in November because our ADHD “American Idol” society can’t see the forest for the trees.
Pelosi: Congress is responsible for high gas prices…only if GOP controls Congress
Michelle Malkin has a great post reminding people of San Fran Nan’s words when campaigning against the then-GOP controlled Congress:
With skyrocketing gas prices, it is clear that the American people can no longer afford the Republican Rubber Stamp Congress and its failure to stand up to Republican big oil and gas company cronies. Americans this week are paying $2.91 a gallon on average for regular gasoline – 33 cents higher than last month, and double the price than when President Bush first came to office.
“With record gas prices, record CEO pay packages, and record oil company profits, Speaker Hastert and the Majority Congress continue to give the American people empty rhetoric rather than join Democrats who are working to lower gas prices now.
How’s that working out for us?
Michelle also has a chart up that shows the fluctuation of gas prices since 2005, broken down by a Republican Congress and the current Democrat Congress. If you don’t feel like looking at the chart, here’s the condensed version:
Gas prices when Bush took office under a GOP-controlled Congress in January 2001: $1.49
Gas prices when Dems took control of Congress in January 2007: $2.10
Percent increase from Jan. 2001 to Jan. 2007: 41%
Gas prices today (July 2008): $4.11
Percent increase from Jan. 2007 to today (July 2008): 95%
In other words, it’s taken the Dems only 18 months to do what Bush and the GOP couldn’t do in six years: nearly double the price of gas! But in Fantasy World, the 41% gas price increase under Bush and Friends counts, but the 95% gas price increase under the Dems doesn’t count. Got that?
Look, I’m not blaming Pe-loco for the high gas prices…because in essence, whether she knows it or not, she’s blaming herself! But what I am saying is that if she’s going to blame Congressional Republicans for the high prices under their watch, then she is going to have to take ownership of the high prices under her watch.
Quote of the day
From Harry Reid (D-NV), on why America shouldn’t be energy independent:
“Coal Makes Us Sick, Oil Makes Us Sick.”
Reid makes us all sick. Idiot.
Obama and his party lying about “nonproducing” oil leases
Anytime you hear some dimwit regurgitate DNC talking points about the oil companies refusing to drill on lands they already lease, debunk that lie with this. Read the whole thing, but savor the excerpt:
Oil companies take leases not because they know there’s oil on the land (or under the sea), but because they think there might be oil and need the lease in order to explore that possibility and to secure the legal right to pump it if they do find it. It’s simply ridiculous to assume, as the Democrats’ talking points do, that each and every lease actually contains a huge amount of recoverable oil, and the oil companies are simply refusing to drill there. Instead, the claim goes, the oil companies are clamoring for the right to grab up additional leases… which then, of course, they will also leave untouched.
Why are oil companies securing leases for oil they know is there but have no intention of drilling? If their goal is to not drill, why bother with the expense of a lease at all? They’re all in on it together, in this conspiracy theory, so they can all just agree to not drill at all. They hardly need to pay the government money for the right not to drill.
Boehner: Dems in bed with treehuggers
Finally, a Republican with the stones to call it like it is. From Politico:
The war of words over skyrocketing gas prices intensified Tuesday on Capitol Hill, as House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) accused Democrats of “worshiping at the altar of radical environmentalism” in their drive to block access to domestic oil drilling.
In a sign of just how politically charged the issue has become, Democrats immediately fired back, directing Boehner to a “use it or lose it” energy bill set to be taken up on the House floor this week, that would require oil and gas companies to drill on the millions of acres of leases they already hold. (Oh, you mean the less-than-3% of the available acres the feds will let them explore? – Ed.)
House Republicans continued their drive to get their energy proposals released from committees on Tuesday, as Rep. Randy Kuhl (R-N.Y.) said he would file a discharge petition to release a bill that would repeal a federal ban on acquiring alternative fuels for government vehicles.
“Republicans want to put everything on the table,” said Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), the bill’s sponsor. “The Democrats somehow believe that you can either beg your way, sue your way, tax your way or castigate your way into lower energy prices.” …
Alas, I don’t see Americans waking up to that reality anytime soon. They still labor under the misconception that Dems know a thing or two about economics, and that’s just pure lunacy.
Quote of the day
From Ed Morrissey, regarding the left’s and right’s approach to energy:
…What we have is two different approaches in economic policy. The Democrats, and especially Barack Obama, believe in constricted supply and so want to regulate demand. Conservatives believe in boosting supply through open markets and deregulation rather than leaving resources in the ground, while encouraging the innovation that will bring the next era in energy production. The Right also wants to use nuclear power, which even Europe’s Left has managed to survive without getting a case of the vapors.
But it’s the difference between the politics of scarcity and the politics of abundance that most defines the two parties. It’s why the Democrats have been such pessimists about, well, everything, and why Republicans like Ronald Reagan have optimism about America’s economic future. It didn’t hurt that Reagan turned out to be correct as well as Right.
The left is all about the equal distribution of misery, bringing everyone down instead of bringing everyone up.
Dems’ proposals for gas prices?
What little we’ve heard about how the Democrats plan on doing about the gas price problem has been laughable…except it’s not funny.
The most common comeback they have to normal America’s calls to get more oil (such as offshore drilling, drilling in ANWR, oil shale, building more refineries, etc.) is that “drilling won’t bring the cost of gas down today.” Had we begun drilling in ANWR (which was land set aside for the express purpose of oil exploration) in 1995 when Clinton vetoed the bill that would have allowed it, the oil would have been flowing to us by now. Thanks, Bubba.
Anywho, let’s look at some of their proposals, shall we?
- Development of alternative energy sources. Will that lower energy prices today?
- Increased CAFE standards on automobile mileage. Will that lower energy prices today?
- A “windfall profits tax” on oil companies. Will that lower energy prices today?
- A Venezuelan-style takeover of the oil companies and/or refineries. Will that lower energy prices today?
- Cutting back on our energy usage…”conservation”, if you will. We’ve been doing that for the last 12+ months, and has that lowered our energy prices today?
Yes, we need to develop alternative energy sources. When it comes to cars, many automakers are moving in that direction (the Chevy Volt, for example). Nuclear energy is the most powerful and one of the cleanest form of energy production out there, but treehuggers get their Birkenstocks in a puddle over that suggestion. Why, if I didn’t know any better, I’d swear the environuts and their surrogates in Congress don’t want progress on the energy front…especially if it means someone’s going to make a buck off of it!
The left’s solution is clear: suffer, lower your lifestyle standards, and get by with much less. In essence, “wear a sweater.” Well, with all due respect, I offer a diplomatic “Screw you” to the environuts getting in the way of normal America’s progress.
Dems want to Chavez-ize oil refineries in America
You thought it was just Maxine Waters (D-CA) who wanted to embark upon a socialist takeover of oil companies? Think again.
House Democrats responded to President’s Bush’s call for Congress to lift the moratorium on offshore drilling. This was at an on-camera press conference fed back live.
Among other things, the Democrats called for the government to own refineries so it could better control the flow of the oil supply.
…
Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), member of the House Appropriations Committee and one of the most-ardent opponents of off-shore drillingWe (the government) should own the refineries. Then we can control how much gets out into the market.
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