This morning's San Francisco Chronicle has an article entitled "Oil Drilling Question Looms as Election Issue" with predictable GOP talking points:
"Between now and election day, you're going to see Republicans on Capitol Hill pushing Democrats to have votes in the House and Senate on having more American-made energy," House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said last week. "Let's let the American people see who's for more American-made energy and who isn't."
Reading this, I smugly thought to myself: "Ha! A Democratic Congress will never pass drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in an election year."
And then I remembered FISA.
In a year when Republicans flat out have nothing of merit to run on, you get stuff like this:
"Energy is actually a huge opportunity for Republicans," said Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., who chairs the Senate Republicans' re-election campaign. "Energy has the opportunity to change the climate if it's done right."
The GOP sees drilling as its highest and best hope of recapturing some measure of relevancy in this election year.
And, in a year when Democrats have everything going for them, the progressive reaction to the idea of the GOP passing drilling legislation would normally be "Can I have some of what he's smoking?" My representative Nancy Pelosi and her charges would never let this happen. Or would they? I was confident that my leaders would hold steady on FISA amendments and not, among other things, grant retroactive immunity to some of the country's largest corporations and do harm to the 4th Amendment. But that is not what happened.
Right now, for me, the trust is broken. I am no longer confident that Democrats will protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the California Coast or any other pristine land or sea scape that happens to be situated over oil. And what about the Endangered Species Act? The Clean Air and Clean Water Acts? As an environmentalist, I worry about these precious statutes and work very hard to get Democratic candidates elected to protect, and even strengthen, these laws.
Frankly, I am angry that I have to worry that Congress will pass legislation opening up the Arctic and our coasts to drilling when we worked so hard to gain a majority. I am angry that I now worry that Nancy's and Harry's strategy for growing the House and Senate majorities further is to pass such a horrific energy policy.
But, I am really angry that I have lost all trust, and most of my respect for the Democratic leadership.