What do the Democratic-led Congress and OPEC have in common? Both sit on vast amounts of oil, and are content to leave it in the ground and let prices soar. Fortunately, Americans are catching on.
New polls show that Americans, far from thinking that we can do nothing, want Congress to drill, and drill some more if necessary, to break the energy crisis.
A Pew Research poll out Wednesday found that 47% say exploring and drilling for more oil and building new power plants should be the top priority for U.S. energy policy, up from 35% in February. And 50% now say they favor drilling in ANWR, up from 42%.
That follows a Rasmussen poll in June showing that 67% of Americans support drilling for more oil, and 64% think it will help bring down the price of energy.
… In fact, Democrats in Congress for nearly two decades have rejected drilling for more oil, building more refineries or developing more nuclear power. Since 1990, there have been 46 attempts to boost America's energy supplies. Only Democratic opposition keeps us from having more.
Alaska's National Wildlife Reserve, for instance, holds 10 billion barrels of oil, enough for 1.5 million barrels of oil a day. That would be a 20% increase in current U.S. oil production. Slam dunk, right?
No. President Clinton refused to OK development of ANWR back in 1995. When President Bush brought it up again in 2002, he couldn't get Democrats to support it. So no oil.
Likewise, Democrats have refused to drill for our Outer Continental Shelf oil resources, an estimated 89 billion barrels of crude. Nor do they want to disturb the 1 trillion barrels of oil locked underground in shale deposits stretching across the Rocky Mountains.
… Just like Saudi King Abdullah, OPEC's de facto leader, who this week said Americans must "adapt to" high oil prices, Democrats want you to embrace higher prices — and lower standards of living.
That's why Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid can call coal and oil a "sickness." He actually believes it, and thinks your suffering from higher prices is therefore noble. It purges the disease — oil.
Americans today face spiraling costs for food and gasoline thanks to the Democrats' ideological nearsightedness. Higher energy costs are feeding into higher prices for everything, especially food.
'Bruce the Goose' says he likes coal while taking help from those who seek to destroy it
The Sierra Club, one of Bruce Lunsford’s most liberal allies in Washington D.C. when it comes to energy policy, began running radio ads in Kentucky yesterday attacking Sen. Mitch McConnell, the same day Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, NV) said on national television that coal makes him “sick.”
“Here’s the question for Kentuckians: can Bruce Lunsford be trusted to support Kentucky coal, which helps drive our economy and keep our electricity rates low? The answer is unequivocally no,” said McConnell campaign manager Justin Brasell. “Lunsford would be taking orders from the Sierra Club and Sen. Harry Reid, who make no excuses for their hatred of coal.”
The Sierra Club / Harry Reid / Bruce Lunsford Alliance Against Kentucky Coal
Bruce Lunsford says he’s for clean coal yet welcomes the support of the Sierra Club, which opposes all forms of investment in clean and liquid coal technologies.
Bruce Lunsford was recruited in to the Senate race by Harry Reid, who says coal makes him “sick.” Would Lunsford stand up to Reid on investing in clean coal given his belief that Reid should beat people up in the hallway over policy differences?
-Reid says focusing on coal is “shortsighted” and accuses the coal industry of acting like “Hitler.”
“This is more of ‘Bruce the Goose.’ He erroneously claims Sen. McConnell is influenced by campaign supporters and then tries to tell us he’s not influenced by his own supporters who wish to destroy Kentucky’s coal industry. Once again, what’s good for ‘Bruce the Goose’ is good for the gander. Bruce gives lip service to coal while his campaign is bolstered by those who hate coal.
“We call on Bruce Lunsford to repudiate ads from the Sierra Club and demand they stay out of the Kentucky Senate race. Otherwise, he should really just be honest and tell Kentuckians he would be another solid vote for the ultra-liberal, anti-coal crowd,” Brasell said.
One of the most important duties a U.S. Senator has is to vote on the President’s Supreme Court nominees. In fact, many Supreme Court-watchers expect the next President to appoint one or more new justices.
So it stands to reason that if you were running for U.S. Senate, you might be willing to tell voters your views on the Supreme Court, and the decisions it makes, right?
Our guess is that Bruce Lunsford has no interest in discussing the Supreme Court because he doesn’t want to tell Kentuckians that he’d be a lockstep vote for liberal justices who make law from the bench, and against justices who would strictly interpret the Constitution as written.
Mitch McConnell steadfastly supports federal judges at all levels who strictly interpret the Constitution as written and don’t substitute their judgment for that of the people.
Lunsford says, “I don’t tend to address Supreme Court opinions, you know?”
Yes, Bruce, we know. You don’t address much of anything.
There was a remarkable exchange on the floor of the Senate this past Thursday between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. It offers pretty stunning evidence of how personally petty Reid is, as well as his penchant for defining “partisanship” as anything that keeps him from getting his way.
…The Senate was voting on a Medicare bill bloated with new spending. The bill was also an attempt to prevent cuts in payment rates to doctors who treat seniors on Medicare, and Democrats wanted to pay for that by taking the funds from Medicare Advantage, a private fee-for-service plan. The president would likely have vetoed the bill in its current form and Senate Republicans opposed the gutting of Medicare Advantage, so Senate Republicans blocked the bill. The trouble is that if the Senate doesn’t resolve the issue very soon, doctors will stop receiving Medicare funds. So Republicans proposed a 30-day extension to allow more time to hammer out a compromise. Democrats blocked the proposed extension…
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): “I have said we are all here by virtue of being elected by our respective States. I had out here earlier today our Velcro chart, 79 filibusters. Is it any wonder that the House seats that came up during the off year — Hastert’s went Republican, a Republican district that went Democratic; a seat in Louisiana that was a longtime Republican seat went Democratic. Is it any wonder that the State of Mississippi sent us a Democratic House Member? It is no wonder because they see what is going on over here. . . . Mr. President, I am sure it was a Freudian slip — 59 Democrats voted for this. But next year at this time, there will be 59 Democrats at least.” (Sen. Reid, Congressional Record, S.6233, 06/26/08)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Here we are a few days before the doctors receive this unconscionable cut, and the majority is saying it is more important to play politics with this issue, to brag about the fact there are 59 Democrats who voted to go forward, to talk, of all things, during the Medicare debate about who won special elections for the House of Representatives in Illinois, Mississippi, or Louisiana. What in the world does that have to do with the subject matter?
The subject matter before us is not playing political games. . . . And the reality is that the refusal of the majority to approach this issue on a bipartisan basis, as has been typically done in the past, will lead to a Presidential veto, a reduction in the reimbursement rates for doctors, an expiration at the end of the week. There is a way forward to get back together like we have typically done on this, and that is to approve a 30-day extension.
"I want you to think about this," Barack Obama said in Las Vegas last week. "The oil companies have already been given 68 million acres of federal land, both onshore and offshore, to drill. They're allowed to drill it, and yet they haven't touched it – 68 million acres that have the potential to nearly double America's total oil production." Wow, how come the oil companies didn't think of that?
Perhaps because the notion is obviously false – at least to anyone who knows how oil and gas exploration actually works. Predictably, however, Mr. Obama's claim is also the mantra of Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, John Kerry, Nick Rahall and others writing Congressional energy policy…
Democrats are in a vise this summer, pinned on one side by voter anger over $4 gas and on the other by their ideological opposition to carbon-based energy – so, as always, the political first resort is to blame Big Oil. The allegation is that oil companies are "stockpiling" leases on federal lands to drive up gas prices. At least liberals are finally acknowledging the significance of supply and demand.
“Bruce the Goose” Says Money from “Big Oil” is Bad… …Unless It’s Being Spent on His Behalf
What’s good for Bruce the Goose… Bruce Lunsford attacks contributions from the oil and gas industry.
“…Mitch McConnell has taken nearly $600k from Big Oil to finance his campaigns. Meanwhile Kentuckians across the state are paying more than $4 a gallon at the pump. Let's show McConnell and his Washington cronies that his war chest funded by special interests can't match the energy and commitment of hardworking and honest Kentuckians. We need your help now!” – Bruce Lunsford fundraising e-mail appeal, June 26, 2008.
“Mitch McConnell got $600,000 (in campaign contributions) from the oil companies, as did many other Republicans…” – Bruce Lunsford, Henderson Gleaner, June 25, 2008.
…is good for the gander! Bruce Lunsford’s campaign accepts money spent on its behalf by the oil and gas industry.
FACT: The Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) reported to the Federal Election Commission it spent $29,000 on behalf of Bruce Lunsford’s campaign in a fully coordinated expenditure.
FACT: The DSCC has accepted $458,000 from the oil and gas industry since 2007, according to non-partisan campaign finance group OpenSecrets.org.
FACT: Bruce Lunsford’s hypocrisy knows no bounds. Bruce Lunsford attacks Mitch McConnell for taking campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry while accepting DSCC campaign expenditures funded by the oil and gas industry. He attacks oil companies and Wall Street for driving up the price of gas, yet has invested millions in oil and gas companies and speculation.
FACT: Many of Senator McConnell’s contributors from oil and gas work for Kentucky-based companies that contribute greatly to the economy of our state.
FACT: Since 1984, oil and gas has made up just 2% of Senator McConnell’s contributions.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell introduced the Gas Price Reduction Act of 2008 on Thursday to address the high price of gas at the pump and provide a balanced approach to America's long-term energy needs. The legislation, which has a total of 43 cosponsors, is a result of efforts by Senate Republicans to intensify the legislative debate and provide a vehicle for bipartisan action addressing high gas prices.
"The Gas Price Reduction Act uses a three-pronged approach -- conservation, innovation for newer technologies, and expanded exploration of our domestic resources -- to solve America's energy crisis," McConnell said. "This legislation also would create thousands of jobs and help get prices down at the gas pump. We must expand our domestic energy production and limit the hold Middle Eastern nations have on our economy.
"The United States is the third-largest producer of oil in the world after the Saudis and the Russians. While we must work now to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, if we truly want to achieve energy independence, America must be allowed to take advantage of the vast energy resources we have right here at home."
Senator Mitch McConnell made the following comments related to the Supreme Court’s decision in the case D.C. v Heller.
Today the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment protects the individual right of law-abiding citizens of the District of Colombia to protect themselves in their own homes. This landmark ruling will ensure that regardless of where citizens reside, the government will respect their rights that are guaranteed by the Second Amendment.
Bruce Lunsford attacks primary opponent Greg Fischer’s investments in companies that Fischer criticized…
“Bruce Lunsford is criticizing opponent Greg Fischer…calls Fischer's investments in funds that have invested in two companies that grew out of the Vencor company ‘hypocrisy.’ Fischer's TV ads have criticized Lunsford's management of Vencor…” – WHAS-11 Political Blog, May 5, 2008.
“The campaign of Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford dispatched a press release today accusing primary opponent Greg Fischer (D-Louisville) of ‘hypocrisy’ for his investment in mutual funds with holdings in successor companies to Lunsford's own oft-maligned Vencor nursing home chain…—PolitickerKY.com, May 6, 2008.
“’The fact that all the while, Fischer has investments in the very companies he claims Bruce ran into the ground makes Fischer's actions the ultimate hypocrisy,’ said Lunsford spokesperson Allison Haley in a release today. The Lunsford camp hit Fischer today for his investments in five mutual funds with holdings in Vencor's successor companies - Kindred Healthcare and Ventas. Those funds have a combined total investment in Ventas and Kindred of over $26 million…”—PolitickerKY.com, May 6, 2008.
…NOW: Bruce Lunsford, June ‘08
Bruce Lunsford is discovered to have invested in oil and gas companies and speculation funds, which he criticizes for driving up the price of oil…
“Bruce Lunsford has pumped gas at stations around the state as part of his effort to understand how high gas prices affect Kentuckians. And though Lunsford claims he wants to ‘protect consumers’ from ‘Wall Street speculators who are driving up oil prices’ Lunsford himself is one of those Wall Street speculators who profit as the price of gas soars. Lunsford's most recent financial disclosure form, dated April 17, 2008, makes clear that at least as of that date, he owned substantial assets in hedge funds that invest in oil and gas.” - Elephants in the Bluegrass
“…financial disclosure documents filed by Lunsford indicate he has investments in a Goldman Sachs Capital Partners equity fund that has substantial holdings in the oil and gas industry. Lunsford characterized that as "the typical bait and switch" of the McConnell campaign. ‘He knows that when you make investments it's like a blind trust. When those investments were made oil was at $40 a barrel.’ He accused McConnell of manipulating those facts for political gain.” – The Henderson Gleaner, June 25, 2008.
Lunsford's empty rhetoric doesn't match his personal financial decisions
Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford made his third stop at a Kentucky gas station yesterday, wildly attacking Senator Mitch McConnell, oil companies, and Wall Street for high gas prices. In fact, Lunsford’s campaign website specifically attacks “Wall Street” for driving up gas prices.
But a search of Lunsford’s financial disclosure filed with the U.S. Senate on April 17, 2008, shows that he has profited massively from personal investments in hedge funds that invest in oil and gas companies. At least until April, Bruce Lunsford was potentially making millions from oil and gas industry investments. Ironically, during the primary, Lunsford attacked his opponent Greg Fischer for having invested in Lunsford’s healthcare companies, which Fischer had criticized. Now Lunsford is blaming the very hedge funds from which he profits for the energy crisis.
• Lunsford is invested in Goldman Sachs Capital Partners V, LP, an $8.5 billion private equity fund for "high net worth individuals." Lunsford valued his assets in that non-publicly traded fund as between $1,000,001 and $5,000,000. Lunsford's financial disclosure forms list GS Capital Partner V's investment as including: CVR Energy, Inc.; Knight, Inc.; McJunkin Red Man Corporation; SunGuard Data Systems, Inc.; and Cobalt International Energy.
o CVR Energy…operates a 113,500 barrels-per-day-throughput-capacity oil refinery in Coffeyville, Kansas, and a crude oil gathering system in Kansas and Oklahoma…
o McJunkin Red Man Corporation: Exclusively geared toward the distribution of industrial and oilfield PVF products…has a significant presence in the oil and gas industry…
o Knight, Inc. owns the general partner of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP), one of the largest publicly traded pipeline limited partnerships in America with an enterprise value of approximately $20 billion. KMP is the largest independent transporter of refined petroleum products in the United States…
o SunGard Data Systems, Inc., which acquired FAME Energy. SunGard FAME provides ‘data services to support energy traders, research analysts and risk managers of energy companies and financial institutions.’ Sounds like it helps the very energy speculators…Lunsford blames…
o Cobalt International Energy, LP…an oil and gas exploration and development company focused on pursuing…opportunities in the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico and offshore international areas. Cobalt…wants to drill some of that oil that the Cubans and Chinese are extracting just miles from our shore. Lunsford recently said he opposes oil drilling off American shores…yet would profit from a company that exists to do just that…
“Maybe Barack and Bruce can get together and talk about audacity, because this is the height of it,” said McConnell campaign manager Justin Brasell.
“Lunsford’s plan to tax American energy companies and not expand domestic production, returning us to the failed policies of the Carter Administration, would make us more dependent on Middle Eastern oil. That’s wrong for Kentucky, and wrong for America,” Brasell added.
Cecil Herndon, a columnist for the Kentucky New Era, writes about the need to tap U.S. oil reserves.
American motorists are fighting mad over the soaring cost of fuel during the last several months. But if motorists are shocked, it’s because they’ve been paying attention. And we probably haven’t seen anything yet.
Fuel costs may level off or even decline somewhat in the short term. But an upward trend is almost certain over the long term.
Oil of a finite resource. No more is being made, and when it’s gone, it’s gone forever. Even as the worldwide supply of oil dwindles, the worldwide demand for oil steadily increases.
Higher fuel-related transportation costs are reflected in higher prices for other consumer products. So consumers feel the pain not only at the pump, but also wherever they shop.
...
The sad thing about the upsurge in fuel prices is that it could have been avoided or delayed or certainly eased had the country’s elected officials learned from the oil embargo of the 1970s and reacted widely and properly.
America has untapped reserves of oil and natural gas beneath its lands and waters. Those resources could help make America energy self-sufficient. Political bickering and rigid environmentalists keep them off limits to exploration.
Technology is available to bring these resources on line in environment-friendly ways. Our politicians talks endlessly about the need to develop alternative fuels, but nothing gets done. The same members on Congress who resist domestic oil exploration find it politically expedient to blame the oil companies for high fuel costs.
There is no apparent quick and easy solutions to the country’s building energy crisis. But there are long-term solutions and time is wasting.
The Obama-Lunsford team has a new talking point on energy, falsely accusing U.S. companies of keeping oil off the market.
In short, the Democrats have banned U.S. companies from drilling in the places with the most oil (ANWR and the outer continental shelf, among others). Now Bruce and his buddies say that U.S. companies must first drill all the land not covered by the bans before they can drill in the places with more oil. It’s kind of like telling a bottled water company they have to drill all of the Sahara desert before they can use any mountain springs.
First, Democrats dishonestly blamed oil companies for overcharging. Now they falsely accuse them of keeping their high-priced oil off the market. With public support for drilling growing, Congress is panicked.
In this presidential election year, the Democrats really do seem to think they can fool most of the people all of the time. Gasoline prices have reached well over $4 in much of the country, but instead of fulfilling the duties given to them by the voters in 2006 and allowing access to more domestic sources of oil and gas, Democrats have thrown a new headline-grabbing smear at Big Oil.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi complains that energy firms are "sitting on 68 million acres of federal lands they've already leased," but with which they are not producing oil and gas. … When oil companies spend big money leasing land, they are buying access to a great deal of territory, much of which has no oil and gas underfoot. They have to spend still more big money pinpointing the parts of that land where those energy resources are.
All the while, they have to weave their way through a labyrinth of environmental rules that Congress has imposed on them, plus defend themselves against bogus legal attacks from green extremists. Then, even when oil is found, it can take years to prepare to drill.
So when Pelosi and other congressional Democrats claim the oilmen are "sitting" on all that land, under which lies an ocean of crude they are gleefully keeping from consumers, those senators and representatives are lying through their well-sharpened political teeth.
In fact, these companies are spending fortunes surveying, building facilities on, and even drilling on much of this land, though it may officially be classified as nonproducing. The fact of the matter is that 94% of federal onshore lands remain unleased, while 97% of offshore areas are similarly off-limits to oil exploration.
Meanwhile the Communist regimes of China and Cuba collude to exploit the oil and gas resources off our own Gulf Coast. The blame here rests squarely on Congress, which could repeal its quarter-century-old offshore drilling moratorium tomorrow if it so chose. Since Congress' enviro-driven 1982 moratorium, lease purchases have dwindled to a fraction of their previous level (see chart). Who, after all, wants permission to drill in a dry hole?
This incompetent, irresponsible and thoroughly politicized Democratic Congress is endangering our national security and economic well-being by locking up our own energy resources. It must not be allowed to blame the companies that spend billions supplying our energy needs for its own idiotic policies.
McConnell leads 50% to 39%; 58% approve of job performance
Senator Mitch McConnell’s reelection campaign released results of a statewide survey showing McConnell with a 50% to 39% lead over Democrat Bruce Lunsford. The survey of 600 registered voters was conducted by Voter/Consumer Research June 15-17, and has a margin of error of +/- 4.1%. In addition to McConnell’s 11% lead, the survey showed that 58% of Kentuckians approve of the job McConnell is doing as Senator.
McConnell enjoys strong support in all of Kentucky’s regions. The survey found McConnell leading Lunsford by nine points in the Lexington media market (50% to 41%); nine points in the Louisville media market (51% to 42%); seven points in the Charleston and Cincinnati markets (46% to 39%); and a whopping 20 points in media markets covering Western Kentucky (54% to 34%).
“Senator McConnell’s job approval is high across all regions and demographics, including among Democrats. Currently, more Democrats approve of the job he is doing than disapprove,” pollsters Jan van Lohuizen and Brenda Wigger said in a memo released outlining the survey’s findings.
“There has been a variety of public polling released…showing the Senate race to be very competitive, if not dead even. These polls have shown Senator McConnell underperforming in Louisville, but doing very well in the Eastern Kentucky counties that make up the Charleston and Knoxville [media markets]. Similarly, public polling has shown Senator McConnell doing better in Eastern Kentucky than he is in Western Kentucky counties. Those findings run counter to election returns from the past two decades and are a primary flaw with some of the recently released data to the public,” the pollsters added.
The 50% to 39% margin for McConnell is identical to a Voter/Consumer Research Survey taken for the McConnell Senate Committee in May.
“It appears that Bruce Lunsford has experienced the old ‘dead cat bounce’ since winning the May primary,” said McConnell Campaign Representative Justin Brasell. “A majority of Kentuckians think Mitch McConnell is doing a good job, and they plan to support Sen. McConnell for reelection this November. We plan on working hard to earn their support”
The Voter/Consumer Research Survey also tested the Presidential race in Kentucky and found John McCain leading Barack Obama 50% to 31%. Non-partisan political analyst Larry Sabato told the Courier-Journal newspaper in Louisville on June 16 that he believes Lunsford has no chance of winning the Kentucky Senate race, and that he discounted recent public surveys showing a closer race.
"Here's the giant problem. Barack Obama has correctly written off Kentucky. It's a (John) McCain state ... there will be no coattails for Lunsford,” Sabato was quoted as saying.
“It’s a shame Lunsford took his and Obama’s energy plan to Mayfield today, after we finished our polling last night,” Brasell said. “I suspect their plan to raise taxes, raise prices, and beg the Middle East for more oil would have helped our support even more in Western Kentucky.”
Left: Lunsford's horse "Drilling for Oil" sprints for the finish. Right: ostrich racing.
Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford took his “No Solutions, No Problem!” tour to Mayfield today, where he continued to ignore what Senator Mitch McConnell, a vast majority of Kentuckians, and a growing number of elected officials in Washington and around the country know – the U.S. needs to produce more of its own energy to lower gas prices.
Today’s Washington Post called the Lunsford-Obama plan “election-year symbolism,” saying it was “probably just as well” the plan had died in the Senate and that it “would have had little or no impact on prices at the gas pump.”
Lunsford actually owns a race horse called ‘Drilling for Oil.’ Unfortunately, he refuses to listen to his horse when it comes to a rational energy policy for America. Lunsford opposes a responsible expansion of domestic energy production, even though it is environmentally safe to do so in regions currently off limits for production.
“Bruce Lunsford might want to switch from horses to ostriches, as he prefers sticking his head in the sand while hoping Middle Eastern countries will bail us out of this crisis. That is beyond irresponsible at a time when gas is over $4 a gallon,” McConnell Campaign Representative Justin Brasell said.
Lunsford’s out-of-touch refusal to embrace increased domestic production fits perfectly with Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama’s view of gas prices. Obama told a reporter on June 10 that he preferred a “gradual increase” to the cost Americans pay at the pump. (CNBC's “Special Report,” 6/10/08)
“How anyone or any party could actually prefer higher gas prices is beyond comprehension. We welcome Bruce Lunsford’s embrace of Obama’s plan to raise taxes, raise prices, and raise the ire of every voter in this state,” Brasell said. “Bruce Lunsford wants to beg the Middle East for more oil and raise taxes. Mitch McConnell wants to pursue alternative forms of energy and responsibly produce more energy at home to lower prices. This will be a simple choice for voters come November.”
Senator Mitch McConnell has been promoting an energy plan for several weeks that would increase domestic supply through environmentally responsible domestic energy exploration rather than counting on oil-rich Middle East nations to bail out the U.S.
“How much gas has Bruce Lunsford burned driving around telling people that he’s got absolutely no idea what to do about higher gas prices? Kentuckians are looking for solutions, not silly rhetoric and empty-headed talking points provided by Lunsford’s liberal puppet masters in Washington D.C” Brasell said.
US Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky says Republicans and Democrats need to come together to find a solution to high gas prices . McConnell says "The common-sense solution to this problem ... is a combination of energy exploration here in the U.S. to bring down prices in the short-term married to a long-term strategy of energy independence through the development of clean energy technologies." But he says Democrats seem unwilling to hear that. He noted that Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said he prefers a "gradual adjustment." As he put it: "I haven't heard a single one of them say so yet, but I can't imagine they agree with their nominee, that what Americans really needed was a gradual adjustment to $4 a gallon gasoline."
A Democratic energy bill has died in the Senate -- and it's probably just as well. For the most part, it was election-year symbolism. Several provisions, such as a Justice Department investigation of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, a windfall profits tax and an end to certain oil industry tax breaks, might have stuck it to alleged culprits, but they would have had little or no impact on prices at the gas pump.
Congress cannot repeal the law of supply and demand. In real terms, the price of crude oil has topped the postwar record set in 1980. Between these two peaks, oil was cheap -- encouraging Americans to adopt fuel consumption habits that are painful to sustain now. And we were not the only ones gassing up; India, China and other rapidly growing developing nations began consuming more as well. Especially in the past two years, global demand has begun to outstrip supply -- as production stagnated or declined slightly in Mexico, Venezuela, the North Sea and even Saudi Arabia. According to BP, the international oil company, global oil production fell by 126,000 barrels a day in 2007, while consumption grew by a million barrels a day. Notably, all of last year's increase came in countries other than the United States and Europe, where demand actually went down a bit. Prospects are for more of the same, and the commodities markets reflect that.
Last week Bruce Lunsford's handlers took him to a gas station in Richmond, Kentucky for a quick photo op. What he told reporters would be four hours’ work turned into slightly more than an hour before he left.
Not only did Mr. Lunsford demonstrate a shocking lack of understanding about Kentucky's universities (calling Eastern Kentucky University the "Eastern Kentucky Campus of U.K."), he also demonstrated that he apparently doesn't pump much gas. Check out the video below.
Tomorrow, Lunsford takes his show to Mayfield, Kentucky. Bruce's stunts, photo ops, and opposition to increasing American energy production aren’t helping to lower gas prices.
The simple truth: the Obama-Lunsford energy plan is wrong for Kentucky. Unlike Bruce's DC buddies, Kentuckians don't think high gas prices are helpful. And unlike Bruce himself, Kentuckians believe we should get more of our energy resources here at home instead of begging the leaders of Middle Eastern oil kingdoms for relief.
With Mitch McConnell, Kentuckians have a Senator who is fighting for real change beginning with a modern energy policy that focuses on producing more American energy and creating more American jobs to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Bruce Lunsford? He is standing around getting his picture taken.
More than 10,000 people have signed a petition supporting Senator Mitch McConnell’s energy plan.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., are holding a press conference in Washington, DC, today “to showcase new automotive technologies that can help reduce our dependence on oil.”
Among the cars they are featuring are a Tesla Roadster that retails for $109,000, and the Tango which costs $108,000.
The median home price in Kentucky is about $111,000, yet the Senate Majority today is insinuating that one-hundred-thousand-dollar vehicles are a potential solution to our nation’s energy crisis.
Senator Mitch McConnell believes that along with conservation and the development of new technologies, part of any serious long-term solution to our energy crisis must include increased domestic energy exploration and production. The way to lower energy prices is to increase our supply of energy. By opening areas to exploration and production that are currently off-limits including wilderness and off-shore areas, we can create American jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
More than 10,000 people have signed a petition in support of Senator McConnell’s energy plan that has been blocked from passage by Senate Democrats.
