Democrats play games with drilling issue

By The Daily Progress

Published: September 23, 2008

Politics. I hate the word. It has come to represent exaggeration, obfuscation and even falsification.

Let’s follow a recent example. The Republicans wanted offshore drilling. The Democrats didn’t.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wouldn’t allow a drill-ing bill to come to the floor of the House before she let the representatives go on a recent extended recess. Some Republican House members stayed in Washington to protest. The media began reporting that Pelosi was getting in the way of energy needs of the country. She felt the heat and negative press.

So, after returning to Washington, she and her colleagues had a brilliant political idea: “Let’s back a bill that will allow drilling 50 to 100 miles offshore but not closer to land.” (Of course, it is well known that the easily accessible, economically feasible oil is to be found within the 50-mile limit.) “We will add some needed and uniformly backed long-term energy items to the bill that will make what we are doing with offshore drilling less obvious.”

Now the Democrats can take credit for offering “offshore drilling.” But nobody will drill that far out. The energy crisis will not be minimized. This specific offshore drilling bill can’t help the economy now, or even in five or 10 years.

The Democrats can say, “We offered the country offshore drilling and the Re-publicans turned it down. What hypocrisy! ” (Note: they are doing it already! See The Daily Progress of Sept. 18, Page 3 for Tom Perriello’s words about the so-called hypocrisy of Virgil Goode’s voting against the House bill.)

Democrats don’t want the economy to improve right now. They want gas prices to stay high until after the election. They desire that we will then elect Obama and Demo-crats to office.

Then the Democrats will say that time and needs have changed and will sponsor a bill allowing drilling within the first 50 miles, along with development of other energy sources that everyone desires. If the economy improves, the Democrats take the credit.

Legerdemain? Politics at its finest?

Wait and see.

Donald Richardson
Albemarle County