A Tactical Shift, Not Surrender
I never thought that Nancy Pelosi’s admission that she’d allow a vote on drilling during last night’s interview with Larry King was a genuine offer. Tonight, I’m proven right in my suspicion. According to this article, Pelosi and the Democrat majority plan on throwing one poison pill into the bill after another. Here’s what the Hill is reporting:
A leadership aide said many of the energy proposals that were put forward by Democrats in July would wind up in the package. Many of them won majority House support but failed because of a parliamentary maneuver used to block GOP amendments.
In the CNN interview, she indicated that drilling, which she’s opposed for years, could be accompanied by “great things” like expansion of wind power, solar energy and biofuels. She hinted that the package could include the Democratic leadership’s “use it or lose it” plan to force drillers to produce their existing federal leases, more regulation of greenhouse gases, and that the federal government should get more money for the oil.
It’s time we started playing hardball.
Republicans must insist on doing the CR first. A CR is inevitable because Democrats haven’t started working on the appropriations bills.
Republicans must insist that the CR be stripped of any language that keeps any of the moratoria intact. That’s the critical first step because it says that Democrats are acting on a good faith basis. If they aren’t willing to take that first step, then Republicans should start a nationwide advertising campaign asking why Democrats won’t lift the drilling moratoria.
Next, Republicans must insist that the bill must include reforms that streamline the leasing process, thereby speeding up drilling in ANWR, the OCS and the Green River Formation’s shale oil. The bill must also contain language that limits the litigation phase and imposes a hefty fine on environmental groups who bring frivolous lawsuits.
I’m betting that Democrats are planning on stopping the House drilling bill in the Senate. I’d bet the proverbial ranch that that’s what they’re trying to do. That’s why insisting on the CR is vital. If Pelosi’s and Reid’s Democrats aren’t willing to pass the CR first, I’d accuse Democrats as being insincere about drilling.
Further, I’d use high profile advertising to highlight every representative or senator who opposes dropping the moratoria. I’d say something along the lines of “Senator X voted against lifting the ban on offshore drilling. Can we afford to send Senator X back to Washington this November?”
Adding a windfall profits tax to the bill is a nonstarter, too, as is releasing oil from the SPR. With Russia potentially controlling the flow of oil from the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, now isn’t the time to be taking oil from the SPR.
According to this article, “BP has shut down indefinitely an oil pipeline running through Georgia as a precautionary measure following Russian bombing raids in the region.”
Now is definitely not the time to be tinkering with the SPR.
It’s also time to show the nation that Republicans are the leaders in this congress and that Democrats are simply the majority party. Let’s admit two things right here:
1) Democrats have been dragged kicking and screaming to this point. They didn’t make America’s truck drivers’ or farmers’ best interests their highest priority. they put K Street ahead of Main Street.
2) Democrats are desperate right now. This isn’t the time to lapse into ‘blind dipartisan mode’. It’s the time to put the pedal to the metal.
Isn’t it time to realize that Democrats were forced by the Republicans and the public to come grudgingly, slowly to the bargaining table. As much as they’d like to punt this until after the election, Democrats know that that isn’t possible. Democrats know that if they choose that strategy, they’d be in the fast lane to the minority.
Republicans should tell Democrats that they’ll start working on the comprehensive energy bill the minute the CR is passed sans the moratoria and signed by President Bush. If Democrats sign onto that, then Republicans should sit down with Democrats and iron out the details on a comprehensive energy bill that includes provisions for nuclear power and tax incentives for developing viable energy alternatives and tax credits for people who purchase solar panels or energy-efficient appliances.
Following this blueprint is the best way for Republicans to win this debate while still winning this fall’s elections. Following this blueprint will show America that Democrats talked a New Direction and that it took Republican leadership to deliver on that New Direction.
Technorati Tags: Gas Crisis, Continuing Resolution, Moratoria, OCS, ANWR, Nuclear Power, Tax Credits, Solar Panels, Energy Bill, K Street, Environmentalists, Main Street, Conservation, Alternatives, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, President Bush, Shale Oil, Election 2008
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
August 14th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Sounds like a good plan. But the “gang of ten” in the senate may have doomed the “Rebel Republicans” in the house with their bill. I hope they can stop that from going thru. The Republicans need to keep fighting and quit compromising with the Dems!
August 14th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
There’s an X factor in all this. His name is President Bush. If President Bush says that he won’t sign anything with a windfall profits tax provision or a cap and trade provision in it, then those provisions, which are reputedly in the Gang of 10 disaster, are DOA. It changes the direction of the debate.