GOP=Grand Oil Party
Crooks and Liars has a post on how Bush is shamelessly using the price of oil to bash Democrats. For one thing, why did he wait until now to lift the drilling ban? Furthermore, his own energy department says prices won’t be affected much by drilling, and the results don’t occur for up to a decade, anyway.
Progressive Accountablity has McCain’s record on oil:
McCain Voted To Protect Big Oil
McCain Voted Against Reducing Dependence On Foreign Oil. In 2005, McCain voted against legislation calling on the President to submit a plan to reduce foreign petroleum imports by 40 percent. [Senate Roll Call Vote #140, 6/16/05]
In 2005, McCain Voted Against A Windfall Profit Tax On Oil Companies At Least Twice. McCain voted against a measure that would have provided an income tax rebate to Americans by taxing enormous oil company profits temporarily on an sale of crude above $40 a barrel. [S 2020, Vote #331, 11/17/05; S 2020, Vote # 341, 11/17/05; Houston Chronicle, 11/17/05; Las Vegas Review-Journal, 11/18/05; Environment and Energy Daily¸ 11/18/05]
McCain Voted Against Taxing Oil Companies To Provide $100 Rebate To Consumers. In 2005, McCain voted against an amendment to impose a temporary tax on oil company profits from the sale of crude oil. The funds would be used to provide every taxpayer with a $100 non-refundable tax credit for 2005 for each person in their household. The amendment failed 33-65. [S 2020, Vote #341, 11/17/05]McSame As Bush:
McCain Changed Position To Embrace Big Oil Backed Offshore Drilling
McCain Now: McCain Called For Lifting The Off Shore Drilling Moratorium. During a press availability in Arlington Virginia, John McCain called for a lifting of the federal moratorium on offshore drilling. [McCain Press Availability, 6/16/07]
McCain Then: McCain Voted Against Off-Shore Drilling At Least Three Times, and Twice Supported Florida Efforts To Prevent Drilling Off Their Coasts. [H.R. 6, Vote #143, 6/21/05]S. 14, Vote #221, 6/12/03][H.R. 2788, Vote #241, 10/7/89]
Houston Chronicle: McCain Announced Drilling Stance To “Make Amends With Texas Energy Producers.” The Houston Chronicle Reported, “Republican presidential candidate John McCain, seeking to make amends with Texas energy producers who did not support him during the 2008 GOP primary season, said Monday he wants to end a federal moratorium on offshore drilling and create “additional incentives” for states to approve new exploration ventures.” [Houston Chronicle, 6/17/08]
Good I’m glad McCain changed his positions.
What is it with you people.. conditions have changed.. it’s stupid to not exploit our resources.
My Are you deliberately trying to impoverish us with these asinine objections to increasing the supply?
It’s really hard to understand what your position is.. because the obvious reason is illogical.
July 14th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Bush is using the price of oil to bash Democrats?
A highwayman holds a pistol to my ear, and mutters through his teeth, “Stand and deliver or I shall kill you, and then you will be a murderer!”
To be sure, what the robber demanded of me–my money–was my own; and I had a clear right to keep it; but it was no more my own than my vote is my own; and the threat of death to me, to extort my money, and the threat of destruction to the Union, to extort my vote, can scarcely be distinguished in principle.
A. Lincoln, 1860.
July 14th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Perhaps maybe it’s because the oil companies already have existing land they refuse to drill on. i think the oil companies want a monopoly on all the oil sites so, in the future when they own everything, they can charge whatever they want for gas.
We’re not saying they shouldn’t drill, we’re saying they should drill on the the leased to them first before looking for other hunting grounds.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/23/news/economy/oil_drilling/index.htm?cnn=yes
July 14th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
We let’em drill where they want, we charge’em a windfall profits tax, and we take a stroll down memory lane with a Nixon-era price control law to prevent them passing on the tax to the consumer.
July 14th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Drill here, drill now. Pay less. RC, they will find a loophole. Alan, good show tonight on the TV side!
July 14th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Democrats are getting bashed because they are responding to Bush’s gimmicks. If Democrats formulated a plan and led with it, then Bush would be exposed as the phony playing politics. Drilling will not help this situation because drilling is looking for new oil supplies that may or may not be found. We have oil in the oil reserve. We must look for alternative sources and change the gas mileage standards. Drilling is doing nothing but looking for more $4.00 a gallon gas waiting for it to become $5.00. Offer an alternative and Dems won’t get bashed. We can’t keep transferring funds to terrorists. The days of big oil are over.
July 14th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
The [liberals] will have us ALL riding bicycles !
Al Gore will ride in a private jet !
Alan will drive a Cadillac [with norstar] !
Vote the bastards OUT !
July 15th, 2008 at 12:43 am
A society that relies on fossil fuels to transport people fifty miles or more every day just to reach their place of employment is dashing headlong to the brink of an abyss.
The whole model is insane.
In 1908 the Ford Model T goes into production. It gets 14-18 miles a gallon. Now it’s 2008 and we’re producing this vehicle called the “Hummer.” It gets 14-18 miles a gallon.
Well that’s a heck of a lot of progress for just one whole century.
Why, it’s just breath-taking.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:45 am
A society that relies on fossil fuels to transport people fifty miles or more every day just to reach their place of employment is dashing headlong to the brink of an abyss.
The whole model is insane.
What’s insane is that we have a society just like that and we have a political “leadership” that is deliberately trying to crush it.
Who are these Congressidiots working for? It certainly isn’t the American people.
It goes well beyond energy too. The entire political class in Washington , including the courts, are destroying the hard work that the American people have done to build their own society
This is precisely the outcome of the type of government that Conservatism as an ideology is against.
This is why Conservatives , such as myself, have severed ties with the Republican Party.
The (R)s are just as responsible for the mess overall as the (D)s are.
THis government needs to be rolled back substantially. Now.
July 15th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Just what is the Democrat plan? I have yet to hear one.
July 15th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
The Democrat Talking Point now is that “The oil companies are sitting on trillions of acres of leases and hoarding all the energy. they need to use it or lose it”
Here’s some into from Glenn Beck:
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/12393/
1981 secretary of interior proposed opening almost the entire Outer Continental Shelf to drilling. The environmentalists, surprise, surprise back in 1981 went crazy. California congressional delegation slipped in a provision into a bill the same year that placed a moratorium on drilling off of the California shores. Congress enacted separate moratoriums for Cal Florida, California, New Jersey, North Carolina. None of these bans covered what is called the Destin Dome. Destin Dome is a formation in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s about 25 miles off of Pensacola, Florida. Experts say it has enough natural gas to supply a million homes for 30 years, this one place.
Well, under Reagan, 1981, Chevron leased this dome. It’s federal land. They have the lease for the dome, 1981. They drilled three wells to explore, one in 1987, one in ‘89 and one in ‘95. They found an estimated 2.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. So story ends. We’re pumping the gas, right? No, no. The lease only gave Chevron the right to drill, not to produce the gas. They could drill. They just can’t take it out. The lease that they had on the Destin Dome, they could find it but they had to go back and get federal approval to actually take it out. In 1996 Chevron submitted a developed plan to the state and interior department. They proposed drilling 21 different wells. They said as few as 12 but maybe as much as 21. Florida officials took their time dragging their feet deciding whether or not to grant Florida’s — grant Chevron’s request. Eventually two years went by and they were denied. Chevron appealed the decision to the department of congress. Congress sat on the appeal. Eventually in 2000 — remember this started in 1981. In 2000 the commerce department, doing nothing on the appeal, Chevron said, okay, what are you guys doing to us. They sued the federal government in order to compel it to act. While the lawsuit was pending, Bush met with his brother Jeb, who was the Florida governor if you remember right. They agreed to have the federal government buy back the leases for $115 million and place a moratorium on the drilling in this dome until 2011. Now, why did that happen?
There are over 140 actual leased tracks right now that these oil companies have that they cannot drill in. They have the leases. They can drill in some of them but they can’t produce. In others they can look but they can’t drill. So when people come out and say, these oil companies already have these giant tracts of land, ask yourself and ask them, do they have the right to drill and produce on those lands. By the way, what did Chevron do? It took the refund from the government, it took the $115 million. Instead of the 2.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, enough, for 30 years of natural gas, they took the $115 million refund and they invested it in a project in Angola where they’re currently producing liquefied natural gas that has to be shipped from Angola to us.
By the way, earlier in the program I also told you a story that I said I didn’t have confirmation on. I just got a note from somebody in the refinery business and also from one of my researchers who said he verified this story as well today. And this, I think, proves that these gas companies, these oil companies are not trying to screw you. Here’s — and this was presented to me as a concern, not as, “Hey, the oil companies, this was presented to me as a concern: Glenn, you don’t know how bad things really are. And it came from an airline executive and what the story is is we were talking about how airlines are just not going to be able to survive. You will not recognize — if oil stays at this price or above, you won’t recognize the airlines in a year.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Vince P,
The pinheads in this blog have’nt the foggiest idea who Glenn Beck is. Besides, they would rather get their politics, religion, and other information from the misinformed from You(BOOB)Tube. They want and live for conspiracy theories instead of facts and truth. Just read the blogs from these nitwits. However, I like your tenacity. Good job.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
LMAO good audio from Bush today! alan you have to playback the line bush gave to the press about having a magic wand/gas prices.
July 15th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Mr S, didn’t you hear BHO say it too? Several weeks ago. If you want to laugh at Bush you have to laugh at Obama. And for a kick, you can search it on http://www.dailyshow.com. Even Jon Stewart couldn’t take it.
AND REMEMBER EVERYONE READING THIS - it’s not dems vs repubs, libs vs cons, IT’S US VS THEM AND THEY’RE WINNING BY CRUSHING US UNDER THEIR BS BICKERING.
I had to yell that one out, sorry.
July 15th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
I love this answer from Bush responding to a stupid reporter who thinks it’s the government job to tell me how to run my life.. The answer is perfect
I really resent these Left-wing moralizers who think that everyone has to live the way they want them to and that the government has to continuously remind us to live that way.
—
Q Mr. President, understanding what you say about energy supplies being tight and the debate over energy, which has gone on for years and will continue long through the campaign and into the next administration — one thing nobody debates is that if Americans use less energy the current supply/demand equation would improve. Why have you not sort of called on Americans to drive less and to turn down the thermostat?
THE PRESIDENT: They’re smart enough to figure out whether they’re going to drive less or not. I mean, you know, it’s interesting what the price of gasoline has done, is it caused people to drive less. That’s why they want smaller cars, they want to conserve. But the consumer is plenty bright, Mark. The marketplace works.
Secondly, we have worked with Congress to change CAFE standards, and had a mandatory alternative fuel requirement.
So no question about what you just said is right. One way to correct the imbalance is to save, is to conserve. And as you notice my statement yesterday, I talked about good conservation. And people can figure out whether they need to drive more or less; they can balance their own checkbooks.
Q But you don’t see the need to ask — you don’t see the value of your calling for a campaign –
THE PRESIDENT: I think people ought to conserve and be wise about how they use gasoline and energy. Absolutely. And there’s some easy steps people can take. You know, if they’re not in their home, they don’t keep their air-conditioning running. There’s a lot of things people can do.
But my point to you, Mark, is that, you know, it’s a little presumptuous on my part to dictate to consumers how they live their lives. The American people are plenty capable and plenty smart people and they’ll make adjustments to their own pocketbooks. That’s why I was so much in favor of letting them keep more of their own money. It’s a philosophical difference: Should the government spend their money, or should they spend their own money? And I’ve got faith in the American people.
And as much as I regret that the gasoline prices are high — and they are — I also understand that people are going to make adjustments to meet their own needs. And I suspect you’ll see, in the whole, Americans using less gasoline. I bet that’s going to happen. And in the meantime, technologies will be coming on the market that will enable them to drive and save money, compared to the automobiles they’re using before. And as you notice, the automobile industry is beginning to adjust here at home as consumer demand changes. And the great thing about our system, it is the consumer that drives our system; it’s the individual American and their collection that end up driving the economy.
July 15th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
If bush is the oil guy, why did the price of a gallon of gas double since the democrats took control of congress?
July 15th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
So people are getting killed, figuratively speaking, by the price of gas, but people are smart, and they know that if they drive less they’ll have enough money to pay the rent and buy food, and therefore the marketplace works.
“…it’s a little presumptuous on my part to dictate to consumers how they live their lives.”
Wiretap the phones, throw people in jail without due process, torture people in custody–all of that’s just fine. But when it comes to saying, “Hey, folks, buy a fuel-efficient car this time around,” well that’s just un-American. Because it’s “presumptuous”.
July 15th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
ah such a reasonable response… oh wait, that would be too much to ask for. I forgot the Template.. Must hate all the time.
July 15th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
LMAO bush is such a moron!!!!
July 15th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
What about the 65 million acres that need to drilled, in fact needed to be drilled long ago? This isn’t a suuply and demand issue, this is an update issue, update the refineries…they are such dinosaurs. While I don’t don’t his politics, or what he did to John Kerry, via the SBVT, T. Boone Pickens may have something there, with his plans for alternative energy, like wind, and solar.
July 15th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
They aren’t being drilled because it appears as if there is a regulatory requirement for every step of the process. So i assume they’re only going to drill at unmistakable areas where they aren’t stopppd by legislation.
The Congress has established a policy that could be held hostage by enviromarxist laywers (whose funding is unknown) forever. Congress is not looking out for us.
July 15th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
http://www.funwithwarcrimes.com/
July 15th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
Lucieann,
Listen up! The oil companies have stated that the lands that they have leased for drilling are not productive, meaning there is little or no oil there at all. The lands they need are denied by the environmentalists, and the liberals in Congress. If you conspiracy theorists can’t understand where the real problem lies try this. Bend over, reach behind your backs, and pull your heads out of your asses.
July 16th, 2008 at 5:52 am
As usual the conservatives always give the benefit of the doubt to the rich and powerful.
The liberals and enviromentalists are lying, but the oil companies who have made record profits, and the politicians who have their own personal wealth intertwined with the oil companies…. why, THEY would never lie to us.
July 16th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
The oil companies say a lot of things, and just like everyone else they calculate what they say to serve their interests, not ours.
July 16th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Their interest is to extract and sell oil.
My interest is to have affordable fuel.
Our interests meet.
Now we have some Environmarxists who think that normal people should be economically crushed so that they we have to live like we’re in London in the 1800s.
July 16th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Others think it is the Corporatemarxists who are gouging you because no matter what, they WILL have record profits!
July 16th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
OldLefty,
According to you everything is a conspiracy. If you’ve got a problem with a free market and capitalism, and you do, then I know there’s a cave somewhere in other countries where you can reside.
July 16th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Conservative:
If you have nothing substantial to offer other than personal attacks, why not try and find a right wing web site. You’ll be in good company with the likes of Michael Savage, Michael Reagan, Rush Limbaugh, etc.
July 16th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
There is no conspiracy, and it’s not free markets and capitalism, it’s UNREGULATED free markets and capitalism.
The multinationals don’t believe in free markets, that’s why THEY can go overseas for cheap labor, where they depend upon brutal governments to keep the workers in line.
But when YOU want to go to Canada for drugs, they want the government to tell you…”Oh, no! Not THAT kind of free market….. not the kind where YOU get to go for the cheaper price!”
I guess Kevin Phillips is also a conspiracy nut.
Phillips was a senior strategist for Richard Nixon’s 1968 campaign, which was the basis for a book, The Emerging Republican Majority, which predicted a conservative realignment in national politics, and is widely regarded as one of the most influential recent works in political science.
He said about the Bush family:
“This is not a family that has a particularly strong commitment to American democracy. Its sense of how to win elections comes out of a CIA manual, not out of the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution.”
— Kevin Phillips writing about the Bush family in American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush
July 16th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Who cares about Bush.. You silly Leftists think Bush represents Conservativism. He doesn’t.
Few conservative back the majority of what Bush has done. And for that matter , few support McCain.
I intended to not vote at all this year… until Obama revealed his Marxism.. that’s the only reason why anyone that I know plans to vote for McCain.
The same goes for a lot of Democrats too.. a lot of Dems say they’re voting for McCain too because Obama is dangerous.
July 16th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Obama is no more a Marxist than Dwight D Eisenhower or Teddy Roosevelt was.
You either don’t know what the word means or you are just repeating the right wing talking points.
You are right though that Bush doesn’t represent Conservativism.
You guys have not had anyone represent you since Hoover.
July 16th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Hmm how interesting.. just the fact that was more oil under ground then previously thought has caused the price the drop. Just knowing that caused a price drop.
None of the No-Drill Democrat’s narrative is playing out.
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures fell over $4 a barrel Wednesday, leaving crude with its biggest two-day drop in 17 years, after government data showed a surprise increase in U.S. petroleum inventories. U.S. crude inventories rose 3 million barrels to stand at 296.9 million barrels in the week ended July 11, the Energy Information Administration reported. Analysts surveyed by energy-information provider Platts were expecting a drop of 3 million barrels.
July 16th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Actually, Vince I hope you are right, but also from
Market Watch:
Demand destruction’
The unexpected gains in last week’s U.S. inventories “could indicate that the idea of real global demand destruction is finally beginning to take hold in the marketplace,” said Robert Arber, an analyst at financial information provider Stockhouse.com.
EIA’s latest report showed fuel demand is falling. Over the last four weeks, U.S. motor gasoline demand has averaged 9.3 million barrels per day, down by 2.1% from the same period last year, the EIA said.
Concerns that slowing economic growth will dampen oil consumption triggered a broad sell-off in energy on Tuesday. Crude had closed down $6.44, the biggest one-day drop in price for a front-month contract since January 1991. It plunged $9.26 a barrel in intraday trading earlier Tuesday.
“With each passing day, we are reading about more car companies cutting back on production, airlines slashing flights, and consumers driving less,” said Edward Meir, an analyst at MF Global.
July 16th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
guys remember the 70’s when gas was 30 cents a gallon and we were running out. why carter got elect. he had plan to make us self sef. buy the year 2k first thing Reagan did was cancel all his plans. And now the oil companies have WON they can drill in all the protected areas so they are going to lower the price per barrel so low we stop the alternative fuels. when the ice caps melt and the sea level goes up 170 feet guess i just buy swimming trunks )
July 16th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
It is both Democrats and Republicans. Hillary gets paid 20 million a year from Omar as a consultant yea right. Mccain is oil money like bush they will do nothing but make money. guys we have the tech we could be self sef. in 5 years if we really wanted to be
July 16th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
And why cant i post to hannity’s site?? If any have link tell me. I have never seen a witch hunt like he does he has said Rev. Wright 100 thousand times in the last 4 months on fox news and now he on rant about flip flops McCain was in the senate for 40 years he is why we are in the state we are in and he has flip flop on all to get elected
July 16th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Tim,
Your wrong my friend. Electric cars will only travel short distances. It takes electricity (oil) to charge them, and charging them would take many hours. Roads and highways would need to be littered with elctrical outlets. Hydrogen is highly explosive and only a small amount of oxygen is needed to ignite it. We would have minor nuclear blasts going off at major traffic accidents, not to mention the fool at the pump. Nuclear power plants take about ten to fifteen years to build, and wind turbines would need to be located on private properties which the government would confiscate from the owners through eminent domain. We can’t grow enough corn or sugar, to replace gasoline with ethanol. Besides crops are seasonal so what happens during the winter months? Anything else not mentioned as far as new sources of energy are way down the pike. In the meantime we use oil, we need oil, and it will be many, many years before we even begin to ween ourselves off it. Unforunately, our congressman are waiting for some little fairy to bring them a technological miracle. They’re in a dreamlike trance and while they’re dreaming we’ll be paying through the shnzola.
July 17th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Tim,
Global warming is a hoax. This world will be hear long after most of us are dead. That’s fact.
July 17th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
It amazes me how we think. We are not GODS. There are some things we have no control over. There is no immediate fix to this energy problem except to drill. Even if our elected officials agree to drill where we need to, it will take years to become completely independent of the Middle East tycoons. Blame your Democratic congressmen and the environmentalists for this mess, or keep dreaming.
July 17th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Yea your right (The conservative) What 75% of us drive less then 50 miles to go to work so a elect. car to take us to work and back not for long trips be great. But we don’t have the elect. i work for Alcoa they make aluminum wich takes massive amounts of elect. and we have had to shut down 3 lines because at peak hours elect. goes to 3 to 4 thousand a meg. when it takes 20 dollars a meg to make. Each line uses 120,000 amps for 160 pots. So its not only the oil comp. rapeing us it is the elect. companys allso how can they raise the price for 20 a meg to 1000 in a hour ??
July 17th, 2008 at 9:27 pm