A Little News

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Give The Man Some Credit

""My interest is in making sure we've got the kind of comprehensive energy policy that can bring down gas prices," Obama said in an interview with The Palm Beach Post.

"If, in order to get that passed, we have to compromise in terms of a careful, well thought-out drilling strategy that was carefully circumscribed to avoid significant environmental damage - I don't want to be so rigid that we can't get something done," Obama said."

You can call it a flip-flop if you want to, but I think the man is just using common political sense. You cannot continue to ignore the will of the American people and expect to be elected; a fact that remains lost on Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

President Bush - call these dilatory representatives of the people back into session!

Perhaps now that their standard bearer has had a revelation, others may have a change of heart also. Give them about a week to get their asses chewed out back at home, then call them back to work. The American people deserve better than elected representatives with ideologies to rigid to adapt to the will and the needs of the people.

If, per chance, they refuse to compromise, I hear there are job openings in Alaska for surveyors, and I can think of a few Senators and Congressmen I'd love to see in this situation:















This poor guy doesn't realize that the bear was driven to this rage because the damn penguins have such a goofy sense of humor - not unlike yours truly.

2 comments:

PCS said...

So you think the Republicans are willing to compromise on an energy policy in exchange for offshore drilling in Florida and California? I do too...once Obama is President and the Republicans have no choice but to compromise. BTW, why are Republicans against drawing oil out of the strategic reserve? Wouldn't that drop the price of gas faster than brand new offshore oil wells? Also, why are Republicans against a windfall profits tax on oil companies? I guess they are feeling sorry for the oil companies because they have no place to drill in the USA.

Watson said...

Harry Reid had offered a deal, and then pulled it off the table. The Republicans, like most Americans I suspect, are all for developing alternative energy sources and were even willing to go after the speculators, but Harry didn't want to have his cohorts put in a position where they had to vote against offshore drilling - not good for re-election you know.

The Strategic Oil Reserve is for emergencies. Gas prices are painful, but they're not an emergency. A category 5 hurricane that runs the coast from Louisiana to Texas and wipes out refinery capability is an emergency and what the reserves are kept for. Would a release help drop the price of gas? Just having the President lift the ban on offshore drilling did, so it may well help bring the price down, but then our reserves are down in the event of a catastrophe. Having Congress actually agree to go after speculators AND opening up ANWR and offshore drilling would have a much greater impact than just a reserve release.

A windfall profits tax was a bad idea in the 70's with Jimeh Cahtah, that's why Reagan repealed it. It goes against the basic precepts of capitalism and is just another form of the creeping socialism that I suspect you would prefer. We tend to forget that millions of Americans who've never seen an oil field in their lives have a vested interest in all of these profits because many retirement plans are heavily invested in oil companies and other Fortune 500 companies. When the oil market went to hell in Texas in the 90's I don't remember Congress stepping in to lend a hand.

There are always scoundrels in any type of endeavor, oil companies being no different. The vast majority of the people that make up the oil companies, however, are just honest, hard-working people like you and I. The Democrat tactic of demonizing "big oil" and "big insurance", etc., is the same old class warfare garbage that has been the foundation of their playbook for over 60 years.

Once more, we emphasize what makes us different instead of what binds us together. Finding that happy medium between individuality and group-think has never been, and will never be, easy.