Bruce Lunsford actually owns a horse called “Drilling for Oil”

With Americans now paying more than $4 for a gallon of gas, Kentucky Senate candidate/Arizona resident Bruce Lunsford showed today that he’s not serious about solving the nation’s long term energy problems.

“It’s funny that a guy who owns a race horse called ‘Drilling for Oil’ supports policies that in fact would decrease domestic energy production and increase the pain Kentuckians feel at the pump,” said McConnell Campaign Representative Justin Brasell.

Lunsford joins a long line of proud, out-of-touch politicians who have repeatedly ignored a rather simple solution to lower gas prices – produce more energy at home – while opting instead for policies and rhetoric that Kentucky consumers pay for at the pump:

• In 1980, Jimmy Carter signed in to law a “windfall profits tax” on American oil companies, making out-of-touch liberals everywhere feel great!  The results, according to the Congressional Research Service, were not great: “The WPT [Windfall Profit Tax] had the effect of reducing the domestic supply of crude oil below what the supply would have been without the tax. This increased the demand for imported oil and made the United States more dependent upon foreign oil.” (Salvatore Lazzari, “The Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax Of The 1980s: Implications for Current Energy Policy,” Congressional Research Service, 3/9/06).  Today, Lunsford endorses a plan proven to increase our dependence on foreign oil from dictatorships like Venezuela and Middle East Oil States, reduce domestic energy production, raise prices and put our national security further at risk.

• In 1995, President Bill Clinton vetoed legislation that would have opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling, making the out-of-touch Washington crowd feel great!  Consumers, however, do not feel great, as they would surely like to have the additional one million barrels of oil per day that would be flowing today from Alaska in our pipeline.  Since that veto and subsequent inaction by Democrats in Congress, America has grown more dependent on Arab oil states while prices continue to skyrocket.  Bruce Lunsford says he opposes Mitch McConnell’s legislation to open ANWR and other areas for drilling.  (Lexington Herald-Leader, May 23, 2008)

“While Bruce Lunsford is happy to bet on ‘Drilling for Oil’ at the track, he is gambling with Kentuckians’ pocketbooks by opposing expanded domestic energy production and supporting Jimmy Carter’s failed energy policies,” Brasell said.  “I guess if you thought the 1970’s were great times and want more of our oil to come from Venezuela and Middle East Oil States, Bruce is your man.”