Liberals want to have it both ways when it comes to energy policy.
They say no to new refineries (last one built in 1976) to nuclear power (20+years), to more drilling in the lower 48 states, in the Gulf and in Alaska, to onshore liquid natural gas facilities and oceanic wind farms within view of their summer retreats.
At the same time, they decry our dependence on “foreign oil” and sneer that it has something to do with Bush’s cozy relationship with the Saudi’s and “big oil”. It’s all politics to them. Liberals like Al Gore and Chuck Schumer were looking to tap the Strategic Petrolium Reserves after oil crossed $34 per barrell! Can you imagine? Good grief.
They cannot have it both ways. You cannot say no to exploration and development at every turn and then complain when the problem only gets worse. Hello. You are part of the problem.
The left prefers to have the issue on the table. They get to slam Republicans for being “anti-environment” and they get to complain about “the enrgy crisis’. It’s a double winner for them, until the public wakes up, makes the connection and sees them for the cynical obstructionists they are.
Get a load of this AP story on the recent vote allowing construction of new refineries.
BOSTON –On the final major vote before Congress took its 10-day Columbus holiday recess, House Republican leaders pushed through a bill that would promote construction of oil refineries by easing the environmental review process.
Any mention in the article about the need for new refineries? Or their connection to our current gas price spike? No, of course not.
So who do we have to blame for allowing this bill to pass?
Six Republicans and six Democrats missed the vote. Three of those Democrats were from Massachusetts. And the three who were absent — Reps. William Delahunt of Quincy, Richard Neal of Springfield and John Olver of Amherst — have the lowest voting percentages of the state’s 10-member House delegation.
Who said the entire Massachusetts delegation was useless? Was it me? I stand corrected. This is my favorite part when the AP reporter scolds these Congressman for allowing this bill to be “pushed” through,
Voting is a fundamental part of being a congressman. Votes are most frequently held between Tuesdays and Thursdays and during designated weeks between congressional recesses, allowing members large blocks of time to work in their districts and engage in official and personal travel.
When the roll is called, member pagers sound and bells ring through all House office buildings. Committee sessions are suspended, and police officers hold traffic so members can reach the Capitol. Clerks at the door of the chamber yell “More” as the final members race up the building’s granite steps to declare themselves “Yes,” “No” or “Present.”