What the hell is wrong with Republicans? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi echos Obama's position on offshore drilling (i.e. limited drilling might be prudent if it is coupled with a comprehensive look at our energy situation) and Congressional Repugs act like they won. Nevermind that her caveats were so strong that if the bill were presented Republican Reps would never vote on it, the fact that their demands were met by Mrs. Pelosi with a resounding "maybe, if..." was cause for much chest puffing on the part of the know-nothing Republican leadership.
Speaker Pelosi was on Larry King last night and there was a series of questions on bringing congress back into session to vote on offshore drilling. The link I provided contains a transcript of the dialogue between King and Pelosi but for the sake of efficiency, here it is (cribbed, obviously, from CNN.com):
Larry King: OK, Madam Speaker, author of "Know Your Power," why don't you bring [Congress] back?
Speaker Nancy Pelosi: Well, it's interesting to hear Sen. [John] McCain talk about bringing Congress back. He wasn't even in Congress this last session when we really had two very important bills on energy -- one to give tax credit for wind, solar and other renewable resources, and another about hybrid cars and the rest. So he wasn't in to vote when were in session and now he's saying call it back in.
And then one of the others said to the president, call Congress back in. And the president said no. The president said no. But the point is this: The American people are suffering. We have to do what is best for them.
How do we bring down the prices at the pump? We have said to the president, the fastest way to do this if in 10 days the price can come down if you will free our oil. Over 700 million barrels of oil the president is sitting on of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
No. 1, free our oil.
No. 2, they want to drill. If they want to drill, we have 68 million acres in the Lower 48 that they can drill in that are permitted and all the rest.
Three, stop the speculation.
Four, renew -- invest in renewable energy resources, which will bring a faster return than drilling offshore, which will take 10 years and produce 2 cents' reduction in 10 years off the price at the pump.
And then use natural gas. Natural gas is so plentiful. It's better for the environment, and it is cheaper.
So there are things that Congress can do, and we have voted on this over and over again. But the Republicans and the president have resisted. Instead, they have this thing that says drill offshore in the protected areas. Well, we can do that. We can have a vote on that. But it has to be part of something that says we want to bring immediate relief to the public and not just a hoax on them.
King: Would you vote yes on a package that includes drilling?
Pelosi: I would not. It depends how the drilling is put forth. But I don't -- that is not excluded, let me say it that way. It depends how that is proposed, if the safeguards are there. Now, mind you, 68 million acres -- 10 million more acres in Alaska where they can drill.
But if there's -- if we can get some great things, in terms of renewable energy resources: a renewable electricity standard, wind, solar, biofuels and the rest in that context, because if you make a decision only to go with the offshore drilling, you are increasing our dependence on fossil fuels, and you will never free yourself of that addiction unless you invest in the renewable energy resources that are good for the environment, cheaper for the consumer and will reverse global warming.
And the consumer is our first responsibility. The American taxpayer owns this oil offshore, by the way. Let me make this one final point. This oil is owned by the American taxpayers. The oil companies drill. We give them money to drill there. But we get very little in return.
So I think as we have this debate, which is a very healthy one to have and I welcome it; we have to review and realign the relationship between our oil, Big Oil's profits and what it means to the consumer and the taxpayer.
King: Do you expect -- do you suspect the oil companies of having a lot of clout here, influence over the Republicans?
Pelosi: Of course. Yes, they rule. And that's what we'll find out.
King: They rule?
Pelosi: When we have this vote, when we really define it and where the choice is clear to the American people -- I mean, do you know what -- Exxon Mobil, their last quarter, their profits were historic. Last year, they were historic. They outdid themselves this year already in this second quarter. And they insist that we pay them to drill. They need an incentive to drill in order to make over $11 billion in one quarter. And it just doesn't make sense. We should be using that money to invest in renewable resources, tax credit for wind and solar, etc. and invest in the technologies that will develop the battery and the rest, instead of giving Big Oil more profits.
King: Do you expect to get a big enough majority in the Senate and House for the Democrats to overcome anything and get through your proposals?
Pelosi: Well, I hope we can do some of it before we even leave this session. I think we can -- hopefully, we can do something before December. I will not subscribe to a hoax on the American people that if you drill offshore, you're going to bring down the price at the pump. Even the president says that's not true.
Ten years, two cents -- we're saying 10 days, bring down the price, if the president would free our oil from the Strategic Petroleum [Reserve] -- from our stockpile -- owned by the taxpayers, purchased by the taxpayers.
In the next election, I know that we will strengthen our majorities, increase their numbers, and we will have a Democratic president in the White House, and we will be able to address more fully really what I think is the challenge to our generation -- energy security and global warming.
So here we have Speaker Pelosi taking a reasonable approach to the whole issue. Saying, essentially, "Yes, drilling offshore in protected areas may happen, but not unless we look at other options first. Oh and by the way, the real reason the Republicans are causing this circus is because they're so deep in the pocket of Big Oil that they feed exclusively on balls of lint."
The Republicans in Congress today held a press conference basically took credit for forcing Pelosi into a sea-change on her position through their shenanigans. From Rep. Lee Terry (R - Nebraska):
Last night when I heard that the speaker said she was at least open to bringing some drilling bill, my first [impression] ... was one of lack of sincerity. I don't know if I can trust that we're going to have that happen. But I'll take her at her word. We need a bill, why wait?
Nice one there L.T. (and not the cool, Hall-of-Fame NFL linebacker L.T., the idiot Republican who looks like Mr. Incredible's boss in the Pixar film The Incredibles L.T.), your clowning around and barking in the dark (literally) got you what you want, and why not take a shot at the Speaker of the House while you're at it. So I ask again, what the hell is wrong with Republicans? They think they have their "wedge issue" in this election. Uh-huh, you're going to prevent Democratic supermajorities in both houses with a political gimmick that you won't even try to get passed if you get the chance.
Now I personally feel that eventually we will end up drilling in these protected areas of our coast, but at the same time that's not the final solution to our problem. The answer to our energy future has to be a combination of everything we can come up with. Solar, wind, biofuels, plug-in hybrids and purely electric vehicles. The problem is not that we get our oil form overseas (although that is a serious problem) it's that we need to stop burning things in the first place, not find new sources to feed our destructive addiction. But just like every other position conservatives espouse, they latch on to the one that sounds best on TV and allows for the highest level of self-aggrandizing.
Fact is that Republicans aren't going to give up on this. So it's up to us, the foot soldiers of the progressive movement, to hit the streets and fight this idiocy with facts, reason and our greatest strength: our numbers and organization. This is their issue in the 2008 election, don't let it get off the ground.
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