The Gadflyer: Fly Trap:
How now GOP leaders that Bush is tapping the Strategic Petro Reserve?
Thomas F. Schaller (1:52PM) linkHmmm….Failed oilman, supposed free-marketeer and national security-first President George W. Bush is going to start tapping into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Must be because of some national security threat to our pipelines, right?
Wrong. Gas prices are high and already-nervous Republicans are getting more nervous that gas prices will exacerbate their already difficult electoral prospects this November.
Let’s review what major national Republicans were saying when Bill Clinton did the same thing in September 2000:
House Speaker Dennis Hastert deemed it “a political bandaid 46 days before the election” and referred to the Clinton Administration’s energy policy as “risky.”
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Power, was very matter-of-fact: “This is bad public policy, plain and simple. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve exists to be used in states of national emergency, not at the whim of political debates or economic fluctuations. Congressional hearings have demonstrated the administration’s prior knowledge of the coming oil price spikes, and yet they stood by and allowed them to happen.”
Then-Senator and now Alaska governor Frank Murkowski chimed in to remind the country that “the Reserve was established to provide oil to the nation in the case of a severe supply disruption, not to lower market prices when politics demand.”
Republican Senator Don Nickles of Oklahoma declared: “The emergency oil is for a severe shortage and not to help a candidate seven weeks before the election.”
I look forward to the never-hypocritical Republicans shouting about how Bush’s risky energy policy is bad public policy (plain and simple!), and that it should not be done when politics demand that frightened Republican candidates want relief just seven months before they stand for re-election.I’m holding my breath.
Holy shit…. I said nearly the SAME thing to my wife this morning. And ended it w/ “I’ll hold my breath.”
5 Comments
Anthony Schieffer
You missed the other part of the story. The current GOP amendment (amended to what, I wonder) would allow drilling in Anwar (sp?). But hey, you could get $100 back from the governement. Seems like a good deal, I’m sure that we didn’t need that wildlife reserve for anything anyway. :(
Sad to say I am not shocked that the GOP would find a back handed way to get the drilling access that they wanted in a backhanded manner. Flash some easy cash at the population and they will quickly forget about everything else. I still believe that is the government offered free cable they could abolish the constitution without a public outcry.
Dork
Sadly, I think you’re absolutely right about it. I heard about the $100 gas thing yesterday from a friend (I was offline most of the day), and I was just flat astounded. Someone else chimed in that we’re spending roughly $9B/day on the war, and I had to just change the subject.
Fir
Handily, as soon as the oil moguls decide to do something remotely nasty to the environment, there’s a few organisations that will yell and yell and stand in the way. Check out the history of Brent Spar ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brent_Spar ) – even though it was considered safer to drop it in the deep deep deeps, the outcry from Greenpeace and vote-with-feet and damages to property made that so bad for Shell that they had to do something else with it.
For a recent project I’ve had to go through that Brent Spar report (the one that led them ,to the conclusion that sealing + deep dump was safest and best) with a fine-tooth comb, and their decisions were sound. Also compare the trans-alaskan pipeline and the slew of measures they’ve taken there – raising it high, sending excess heat off upwards rather than letting it to the ground. I can’t remember where I came across the public proposals for equipment for drilling into the reserve in Canada (is that Anwar? Can’t remember), but there’s a huge amount of no-damage stuff in it; rolling out only on permafrost, wide-based tracks rather than any wheels to minimise chance of damage, enclosed compound of maximum area, zero emissions… you name it. You can see it either as a tool to attempt to get funding or an attempt to really minimise the impact while still allowing access to the resource. Either way, the result would be the same if it was accepted: as many environmental considerations as possible.
Fir
Oh yeah, original point of the message. Yeah, Bush is an ass for tapping strategic reserves >:( Can only hope that enough people see the light and that if someone replaces him they’re not as bad…
Dork
Sadly, the opposition aren’t doing well in mounting an effective counter-attack for the upcoming 2008 elections.
*sigh*