If any Congressman or Senator votes NOT to drill, they need to be fired from office, either voting them out or impeach them for not standing up for America.
GOP Senators Killing Energy Issue for Republicans and America
Posted by Bobby Eberle
August 12, 2008 at 6:26 am
http://www.gopusa.com/theloft/?p=757Last week, I wrote on efforts by House GOP members to draw attention to the fact that Nancy Pelosi sent House members home for the summer without a vote on domestic oil drilling. The American people want it, and the GOP House members are fighting for it. I also wrote on how big the energy issue is. It could be THE issue of the upcoming elections... an issue upon which Republicans could run AND win.
However, this is a new week, and whenever too much time passes, there is bound to be a new effort by the GOP to stall momentum and stab conservatives right in the heart. Who needs Democrats when so many GOP "leaders" act just like them? Now, we have the "Gang of 10." This group of senators (5 Republicans and 5 Democrats) claims to have forged a "bi-partisan energy compromise." In reality, we have a group of five GOP senators who are set on taking the winning issues of drilling and energy off the table and selling out to the liberals.
A report in Investor's Business Daily (IBD) sums up the situation perfectly: "If you thought Republicans were no longer 'The Stupid Party,' then you haven't met the senators who may have just destroyed the GOP's biggest hope this election year: the drilling issue."
IBD summarizes the issue as follows:
Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Bob Corker of Tennessee, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John Thune of South Dakota remember their names if things go badly for the GOP this November.
With the issue of domestic drilling to provide relief for suffering consumers landing right in the laps of embattled congressional Republicans, those five none of whom faces any immediate danger of losing his seat decided to join with some crafty Democrats and smash to pieces that gift from the heavens.
The "compromise" they are promoting is actually a wholesale giveaway to Democrats. Touted as a drilling plan, it actually imposes about $84 billion in new taxes on oil companies and keeps the offshore and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge drilling bans.
The drilling issue is a winning issue for Republicans. In order to reduce prices, we need more supply. To get more supply, we need more drilling. The American people are calling for more drilling, and with Democrats in opposition, this issue could help tremendously in November. Increasing domestic oil production is the conservative approach. We don't need more taxes or government controls. We don't need to leave our security in the hands of Middle Eastern governments. We need more oil supply at home as America continues its trend of conservation and seeking out more fuel efficient vehicles.
However, as IBD notes, "These Republicans are placing Sen. John McCain in a tough position."
If he supports the plan, he'll invite the ire of GOP anti-tax crusaders already uncertain about him for past opposition to the Bush tax cuts. If he opposes it, his claim of being a uniter will be questioned. The five have also done Obama a favor. His support would neutralize drilling as an issue to be used against him and make him look bipartisan.
These GOP stooges could end up being the Five Fingers of Death for their party come November.
The Wall Street Journal described the issue in this way: "Politics has its puzzling moments. John McCain and most of the GOP experienced one late last week. That was when five of their own set about dismantling the best issue Republicans have in the upcoming election."
The WSJ explains that by "riding voter discontent over high gas prices, the GOP has made antidrilling Democrats this summer's headlines." But, along comes the Gang of 10, complete with five GOP senators who are quite eager to stick it to conservatives and cave in to the Democrats.
The plan is a Democratic giveaway. New production on offshore federal lands is left to state legislatures, and then in only four coastal states. The regulatory hurdles are huge. And the bill bars drilling within 50 miles of the coast -- putting off limits some of the most productive areas. Alaska's oil-rich Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is still a no-go.
The highlight is instead $84 billion in tax credits, subsidies and federal handouts for alternative fuels and renewables. The Gang of 10 intends to pay for all this in part by raising taxes on . . . oil companies! The Sierra Club couldn't have penned it better. And so the Republican Five has potentially given antidrilling Democrats the political cover they need to neutralize energy through November.
Lost in all this is the fact that these GOP senators have basically driven a steam-roller over the efforts of GOP House members. These House members were gaining traction with their "protest" and drawing more attention to the drilling issue. Now, GOP senators want to sign on to more taxes and no continued drilling bans? This is crazy.
So far, Sen. John McCain has not signed on to the "Gang of 10" energy plan. He should NOT do it. If he does, he helps kill the issue and will be showing his support for more government controls and higher taxes on business. That is not conservative, and that is not how to win on this issue. We need more domestic drilling, and we need Republicans who will act like Republicans. Is that really too much to ask?
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