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John McCain and Sarah Palin have gone to great lengths to hide the true details of their economic and energy plans. Recently, however, their damaging vision was exposed for the world to see - and on national television.
During a recent appearance on 'Hardball with Chris Matthews', New Mexico Congresswoman and McCain spokeswoman Heather Wilson (R-NM) was asked directly what McCain would do to take the United States' floundering economy and accompanying 6.1% (and growing) unemployment rate out of recession. Wilson, dodging and weaving in a manner that would make Walt Frazier proud, refused to answer the direct question the first few times when asked by Matthews. When pressed for an answer, she admitted that John McCain's plan consisted of making the Bush tax cuts permanent (and thus continuing to add to a $10 trillion national debt, up $6 trillion from the end of the Clinton presidency) and increasing offshore drilling.
Matthews then brought up a salient point regarding the 'drill here, drill now' mantra of the conservative wing of the Republican party: Once we approve all this offshore drilling, how will we keep the rest of the world from outbidding U.S. oil buyers and distributors and cornering the market on crude oil?
Wilson's response? We live in a WORLD economy.
Think Wilson is alone in her promulgation of this dishonest policy? Think again...
Sean Hannity, when pressed on his radio talk show several weeks back regarding potential offshore drilling reaping oil to be bought and held hostage by nations unfriendly to the U.S., quipped the same 'world economy' tell-tale nonsense - then quickly (I counted 1.5 seconds) cut to break.
These telling reminders by McCain-Palin supporters highlight precisely where these people stand on economic recovery in America. The truth is, 'drill here, drill now' isn't REALLY about lessening our dependence on foreign oil. It is and always has been about padding the pockets of oil companies - including those buying and selling from foreign countries.
If the Democratic Party ever needed a hammer to nail home the differences in interests regarding the working class and our economy (as if Republican support of NAFTA wasn't enough), this one is gift-wrapped in solid gold. The Republican party and its surrogates have openly admitted that the world market, including Iran and Russia, will have carte blanche to bid on and control the fruits of any offshore drilling plan. That reality not only has economic ramifications, but national security consequences as well. Can you imagine how strong Russia and Iran will become if they control significant areas of our federal offshore drilling lands?
The rest of the McCain-Palin two-tiered plan to rescue THEIR failed economy is to make permanent the same Bush policies that have led to this recession. The Bush war in Iraq and tax cuts for affluent wage earners has sunk this country deep into debt. Unemployment is at a five-year high. Energy prices and goods are at historic levels. With these two components to the McCain-Palin economic plan, the Democratic Party should have no trouble convincing the American voting public who has its best interests at heart.
As we have pointed out in past articles, this area of focus is the election express for the Democratic Party. The question is, will the Obama campaign drill McCain and Palin day-after-day-after-day until the November election so that the Republican party is unable to escape its abysmal record on the economy?
As Carville and Begala demonstrated during the Clinton presidency, the economy is the key issue to capture the hearts, minds, and votes of the working class. This Bush economy is strangling working Americans and the families they support. Here's hoping that the Obama campaign follows the Clinton lead and reclaims the presidency in November not just for the sake of its campaign, but for the sake of those of us who can no longer tolerate four more years of failed Bush public policies.