From the McConnell campaign parrot blog Elephants In The Bluegrass (who, despite being wrong about everything, do write quite a bit better than your average bear):
Democrats in Congress are starting to panic, as the realization sets in that the overwhelming majority of voters want America to drill in America, including off-shore, in shale, and in that minuscule part of Alaska that only 800 people visited last year.
And every time a Democrat like Bruce Lunsford does a photo-op at a gas station, he simply underscores the difference between the two parties on the issue.
Republicans have proposed legislation (drafted by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell) that would allow us to increase domestic drilling, but takes off the table those issues that make Democrats hyperventilate, like Alaska and nuclear energy. That is, the Republicans are reaching out, extending the bipartisan olive branch Democrats — and the Courier-Journal — always demand.
We’ll withhold a full fisking in favor of just noting a couple of issues: first, we were informed that most of the American public now supported expanded domestic drilling rights. Let’s take a moment to lay that idea to rest.
First: while the public does indeed favor expanded domestic drilling, there are two forces at work here that can’t be discounted before the GOP uses a new data point as an excuse to keep the economy thriving for the top half of 1% of us. First: we have an angry electorate. That means they’re more ready to lie to pollsters than ever before, act completely out of character in the voting booth, and generally be as hard to govern as a sack of cats. They’re not telling you that you have to drill, really–they’re telling you that the percentage of their income that is spent getting from point a to point b has to go down. Do it with drilling, do it with electric cars, do it with flying carpets, but get it done, and now (and we will point out that electric cars would get it done BEFORE drilling). Second: the American public, even if they’re not being overspecific like they are here, can be really, really fucking wrong.
Next up: the Republican plan to allow expanded drilling isn’t what I would call an olive branch, and if the roles were reversed, it’s not what you would, either. Picture this: “HEY! You guys can get on board with our really bad idea to ingratiate ourselves to an industry that already owns our souls, or we’ll try to use it as a wedge issue in the fall when we’ve got the lowest numbers of all time!” Would you sign on and try to act like the bad idea folks with the low approval ratings needed you, or would you continue down the path that would allow you to play “Puppy vs Truck” on election day? Being bipartisan has a time and a place, both of which are dependent on good ideas.
I skimmed over a point back there, though–this is indeed to ingratiate the GOP to the oil industry some more, as they’re both dinosaurs bound for extinction unless they can find a way to move forward–the oil barons by getting into alternative fuels, and the GOP by embracing principles out of this millennium. Give the oil barons credit, they’re at least trying–the Republicans are instead simply looking to load up their war chest for one last fight before being snuffed out. It would be significantly less tragic, however, if the energy companies that they’re seeking to endear themselves to actually needed their help–they’re not using the land they already have drill rights on, and probably won’t go anywhere new given the chance, thanks to the laws of supply and demand. More oil, even 20 years down the road, means a smaller price, and who wants that?
Technorati Tags: Oh, And Bruce Lunsford Is Pretty Sweet Too, Screw Oil Companies, Who Says Fascists Can’t Have An Eloquent Turn Of Phrase, Sock Puppetry, Partisan Hackery, FAIL, Oil, Energy
