Highlighting the Democrats’ Tired Arguments
This article does a great job of highlighting the Democrats’ tired arguments. Check out these arguments from Rep. Gwen Moore, (D-Milwaukee):
Wisconsin’s Democrats, however, say Republicans have repeatedly blocked energy proposals that could lower the price of gas. They also say offshore drilling would not do enough to bring gas prices down, while risking the environment and the tourism and fishing industries that rely on the ocean.
“There’s absolutely nothing we’re going to discuss in August that will bring prices down tomorrow except what we’ve already done,” said Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee).
Moore notes the House has passed a number of energy bills over Republican objections, including one to increase fuel-efficiency standards in vehicles and another to temporarily suspend filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an attempt to lower gas prices.
“What is it they want to vote on?” she asks, ticking off a series of Democratic proposals that have met GOP opposition.
Those include rolling back tax breaks for Big Oil, requiring oil companies to drill on lands they have already leased from the federal government and cracking down on price gouging. The recent Republican campaign in the House is nothing but “high drama,” Moore said.
“This is just hype,” she said. “They don’t have the silver bullet.”
I’d first like to ask Rep. Moore why Democrats won’t consider Republican amendments to the Democrats’ bills. Is Rep. Moore certain that the Republicans’ amendments are without merit? If she does, why does she think that?
More important, look at the boogeyman list of ‘cures’ to our oil woes Rep. Moore listed:
Tax increases on Big Oil, telling Big Oil how to conduct their business and finally, bringing up the ever-lurking price gouging capitalist pigs.
Good grief, Charlie Brown. Rep. Moore just laid out the Democrats’ tired energy plan. Lo and behold, there isn’t a thing in it that will produce a drop of new oil (or much-needed natural gas, for that matter) or increase energy efficiency or suggest new conservation measures. The Democrats bills don’t say anything about nuclear power, either.
That’s the Democrats energy plan?
One of the best lines from the 2004 presidential debate was President Bush responding to Sen. Kerry. Sen. Kerry was asked how he’d fix Iraq. Instead of answering, he listed a litany of criticisms of Bush policy. When it was his turn, President Bush summed it up perfectly by saying “A laundry list of complaints isn’t an agenda.”
That applies perfectly to the Democrats’ energy plans today. There isn’t a thing in their agenda that addresses fundamental needs. It’s a glorified laundry list of attacks on the Democrats’ boogeyman list.
Ask yourself this: When haven’t Democrats whined about either Big Oil or Halliburton? Then ask yourself this: Aren’t you getting tired of hearing complaints about the Democrats’ boogeymen? Wouldn’t you love hearing real plans that provide real solutions to this important problem?
If you said yes to that last question, isn’t it time to start looking for people who offer such a solution? The good news is that Republicans have that plan. It’s called the American Energy Act.
In other words, Democrats are doing everything except working on the root causes of the problem. Here’s what’s included in the Republican bill:
To increase the supply American-made energy in environmentally sound ways, the legislation will:
- Open our deep water ocean resources, which will provide an additional three million barrels of oil per day, as well as 76 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, as proposed in H.R. 6108 by Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC). Rep. John Peterson (R-PA) has also worked tirelessly on this issue.
- Open the Arctic coastal plain, which will provide an additional one million barrels of oil per day, as proposed in H.R. 6107 by Rep. Don Young (R-AK);
- Allow development of our nation’s shale oil resources, which could provide an additional 2.5 million barrels of oil per day, as proposed in H.R. 6138 by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI); and
- Increase the supply of gas at the pump by cutting bureaucratic red tape that essentially blocks construction of new refineries, as proposed in H.R. 6139 by Reps. Heather Wilson (R-NM) and Joe Pitts (R-PA).
Those are the increased production provisions. Next, there’s this:
To improve energy conservation and efficiency, the legislation will:
- Provide tax incentives for businesses and families that purchase more fuel efficient vehicles, as proposed in H.R. 1618 and H.R. 765 by Reps. Dave Camp (R-MI) and Jerry Weller (R-IL);
- Provide a monetary prize for developing the first economically feasible, super-fuel-efficient vehicle reaching 100 miles-per-gallon, as proposed in H.R. 6384 by Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT); and
- Provide tax incentives for businesses and homeowners who improve their energy efficiency, as proposed in H.R. 5984 by Reps. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), Phil English (R-PA), and Zach Wamp (R-TN), and in H.R. 778 by Rep. Jerry Weller (R-IL).
To promote renewable and alternative energy technologies, the legislation will:
- Spur the development of alternative fuels through government contracting
by repealing the “Section 526” prohibition on government purchasing of
alternative energy and promoting coal-to-liquids technology, as proposed in H.R. 5656 by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), in H.R. 6384 by Rob Bishop (R-UT), and in H.R. 2208 by Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL);- Establish a renewable energy trust fund using revenues generated by exploration in the deep ocean and on the Arctic coastal plain, as proposed by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA);
- Permanently extend the tax credit for alternative energy production,
including wind, solar and hydrogen, as proposed in H.R. 2652 by Rep. Phil
English (R-PA) and in H.R. 5984 by Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD); and- Eliminate barriers to the expansion of emission-free nuclear power
production, as proposed in H.R. 6384 by Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT).
How many people don’t know about this legislation? I suspect few people know about it because that’s the goal of Ms. Pelosi’s Democrats. They voted to adjourn so that people wouldn’t hear about this legislation. That’s because the Republicans’ bill is the Democrats’ worst nightmare.
Democrats want to be able to tell voters that Republicans don’t care about the average guy, that Republicans are in the pockets of Big Oil lobbyists. The minute that the public knows about the Republicans’ bill is the minute that the Democrats’ arguments lose effectiveness.
The bad news for Democrats is that they can’t prevent the public from finding out about this. Don’t think for a split-second that this won’t be the subject of Republican campaign commercials all across the land all fall long.
As bad of news as that is for Democrats, it gets worse:
With gas prices at nearly $4 a gallon, Republicans are working to capitalize on voter frustration with Congress for failing to do something about high energy costs. House Minority Leader John Boehner has dubbed this the “drill-nothing Congress.”
The message might be resonating with voters across the country. A majority of Americans now say they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supports offshore drilling, according to a new USA Today/Gallup Poll.
Yesterday, I included this quote from Democratic Rep. John Yarmuth:
“I understand why the Republicans think they have that issue, but the vast majority of the American people blame George Bush and the oil companies for high gas prices,” Yarmuth told PolitickerKY.com on Wednesday. “So, I think that is an issue that ultimately will not help them.”
Those poll numbers say that Rep. Yarmuth, like other Democrats attempting to spin this issue, is wrong. This issue isn’t an issue you can triangulate on. It’s a binary choice: You’re either for increasing oil production to lower prices or you’re opposed to such measures.
As I pointed out earlier with the Democrats’ list of legislation, Democrats do nothing to increase oil, natural gas or nuclear production. Democrats made their choice. Now it’s the voters’ choice if they want to wait a couple of decades before alternative energy sources become reliable and viable economically. I’m betting the voters will pick increased energy production while researching viable alternative energy sources and inventing more efficient appliances.
Most importantly, I’m betting that voters will choose the Republicans’ substantive, comprehensive plan over the Democrats’ laundry list of complaints by a fairly decisive margin.
That’s why I’m betting Democrats are very nervous right now.
Technorati Tags: Gas Crisis, Nancy Pelosi, John Yarmuth, Gwen Moore, Big Oil, Democrats, American Energy Act, Drilling, Conservation, Alternatives, Nuclear Power, John Boehner, Polling, Election 2008
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog