Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Playing the Blame Game

Yesterday, by some fluke, I got a letter from Sen. Joe Biden, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee. It was addressed to "My fellow democrat."

This is funny because I've never been a registered democrat. He probably should hire a new marketing company. But what was more troubling was the fact that he wants the American voter to "throw out all the Republicans" from the U.S. Senate. They are to blame for all of our problems. (Now there is a scary thought: One party rule in the United States.)

One such problem is gas prices. It is the fault of the Republicans pandering to "Big Oil." If only Sen. Biden would look in the mirror.

Back in 1979, during our last energy "crisis," the call went out for energy independence. At the time, Jimmy Carter was in office. His plan: turn down the thermostat and wear a sweater. What we really needed was more domestic supply, as well as conservation. While conservation of our resources is always important at every level, it only goes so far.

So what has our government done in the last 30 years? Let me think. Hmmm. Nothing. Nada. Zip.

Now, the Democrats response to this "crisis" in the oil market is to investigate. Let's have a bunch of hearings on Capitol Hill. Go after the big oil companies. Tax them. Tax something, by God. Go after the speculators. Point fingers. Blame someone.

That's the plan of the Democrat-controlled Congress. Even in the short-term, it won't solve anything, except make some liberals feel good.

In the meantime, we are providing hostile regimes with billions of dollars each day. Every time you fill your gas tank, you're supporting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hugo Chavez, and other leaders openly hostile to the United States. Some of these oil-producing nations support terrorism. That's where your money is going.

What we need is a multi-faceted approach: Drill more, build more nuclear power plants, build more refineries, as well as finding ways to use alternative sources and reduce consumption.

Holding hearings or taxing oil companies, like back in the late 1970s, just won't work.

1 comment:

Mike's America said...

Guess who said this in 1979?

"What you see too often in Washington and elsewhere around the country is a system of government that seems incapable of action. You see a Congress twisted and pulled in every direction by hundreds of well financed and powerful special interests. You see every extreme position defended to the last vote, almost to the last breath by one unyielding group or another."

Hint: It's the same person who said this later in the same speech:

"Point one: I am tonight setting a clear goal for the energy policy of the United States. Beginning this moment, this Nation will never use more foreign oil than we did in 1977 -- never. From now on, every new addition to our demand for energy will be met from our own production and our own conservation. The generation-long growth in our dependence on foreign oil will be stopped dead in its tracks right now and then reversed as we move through the 1980's, for I am tonight setting the further goal of cutting our dependence on foreign oil by one-half by the end of the next decade -- a saving of over 4 1/2 million barrels of imported oil per day. "

And yet here we are with the same problem, thanks to Joe Biden and special interests.

He's got some nerve asking the people paying $4 for a gallon of gas for money.