On Day 3 of the RNC, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin took center stage -- along with domestic oil drilling.
The drill-here, drill-now message poured out all over the convention to the roars of a pumped-up Republican crowd, who spontaneously took up the chant: "Drill, Baby, Drill!" Astonishing.
On Day 3 of the RNC, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin took center stage -- along with domestic oil drilling.
The drill-here, drill-now message poured out all over the convention to the roars of a pumped-up Republican crowd, who spontaneously took up the chant: "Drill, Baby, Drill!" Astonishing.
The phrase was coined by Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele, who said during his remarks:
So, do you want to put your country first? Then let's reduce our dependency on foreign sources of oil and promote oil and gas production at home.
In other words, drill baby drill! And drill now!
It stuck. Here’s Rudy Giuliani, drawing it in his speech:
And [McCain] will lead us to energy independence so we can be free of foreign oil.
(APPLAUSE)
And -- and he'll do it with an all-of-the-above approach, including nuclear power, and, yes, off-shore oil drilling.
(APPLAUSE)
Drill, baby, drill?
(APPLAUSE)
Drill, baby, drill.
Mitt Romney (transcript) chimed in, calling for
the immediate drilling for more oil off of our shores!
Palin’s acceptance speech was likewise full of drilling-related applause lines:
...we Americans need to produce more of our own oil and gas. And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska: we've got lots of both.
Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems — as if we all didn't know that already.
But the fact that drilling won't solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.
She rips Obama on that point:
What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet?
...America needs more energy ... our opponent is against producing it.
Additionally, the VP hopeful pledged that a McCain-Palin presidency would mean more
- pipelines,
- nuclear plants,
- clean coal, and
- solar, wind, geothermal and other alternative sources.
Joe Romm calls that package of promises a big energy lie.
In sum, it was quite a night for big oil -- a point not lost on the punditocracy and the MSM.
Matt Cooper:
Even more than tax cuts, drilling is now the central organizing issue in the Republican coalition.
David Roberts, Gristmill:
As strange as the populism has become, nowhere is it more bizarre than on the subject of energy. Somehow drilling -- offering historically profitable oil companies access to protected American ecosystems so that they can make more money by selling our oil on the world market -- has become a crie du coeur for the Little Guy.
Andrew Sullivan:
Drill, baby, drill! I may be just revealing that I'm out of touch, but I don't see why laying pipelines is now a core rallying cry of American conservatism.
McClatchy Newspapers:
You might be forgiven for concluding the mantra of the Republican party is "Let's drill!''
Interestingly, Hill Heat reports that House Democrats are responding to the GOP with an actual "all-of-the-above," energy bill that will include expanded offshore oil exploration plus a renewable energy mandate, efficiency standards for buildings and oil industry tax provisions.
The AP explores why "environmentalists can't corral Palin."
Reporting from the RNC, Open Left's Matt Stoller humorously divulges the secret of how dirty coal comes clean -- apparently it starts with the free T-shirt.
Tonight, McCain delivers the final rallying cry of the convention. The AP reports on what to expect. Also on the bill are Kansas Senator Sam Brownback, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and Florida Senator Mel Martinez, among others.
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DAY 3 SPEECHES
Governor Sarah Palin:
http://www.youtube.com/...
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani:
http://www.youtube.com/...
Former Governor Mitt Romney:
http://www.youtube.com/...
Former Governor Mike Huckabee:
http://www.youtube.com/...