How can Democrats be blamed for rising gas and oil prices when the GOP keeps stymieing them?
WASHINGTON – House Republicans on Thursday scuttled a bill that Democrats hoped would help lower gasoline prices by forcing the Energy Department to release 70 million barrels of oil — about a three-day supply — from the national stockpile.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080724/ap_on_go_co/congress_energy;_ylt=AiqH_gP7nLKWRdX7ZsCrF3ys0NUE
They keep claiming that drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf will bring immediate relief–but as the article points out—releasing oil from the SOPTRs has shown to have an immediate effect on gas prices than drilling does. (Because *we* hold our own ready-to-use reserves.)
We’ve done it before, why won’t the GOP allow the Democrats to do it again? What are they afraid of specifically?
March 6th, 2010 at 8:13 am
By any rational standard they can’t.
However, the GOP isn’t basing their accusations–or their political strategy–on rational or honest principles.
In the wake of the 2006 election, if you’ll recall, several of the Republican leaders openly stated that they intended to use filibusters along with vetoes from Bush to deliberately prevent the new Democratic majority from accomplishing anything. Then they would use this supposed "failure" as a propaganda tool in the 2008 election.
Well, they’ve carried out their plan. They have filibustered andor (through Bush) vetoed roughly 100 bills (about 1 every 5 days!)
And now have mounted a propaganda campaign blaming the Democrats.
This is one reason why I no longer regard myself as a neutral (Independant). The GOP as it now is constituted and run, is corrupt and is not going to change anytime soon. They whine "You’re either for us or against us." Okay–I’m against them. No point in remaining neutral when one side is clearly evil.
March 6th, 2010 at 8:13 am
Lies and blame are GOP specialties.
March 6th, 2010 at 8:13 am
What makes you think that washington is anything more than a pawn Rep. or Dem when it comes to the price of anything?
March 6th, 2010 at 8:13 am
We may need it to liberate Iran. Blaming democrats is much easier than admitting the GOP has failed miserably for the average joe.
March 6th, 2010 at 8:13 am
but I thought Democrats wanted a long term solution???
Releasing the stockpile is only postponing the problem.
March 6th, 2010 at 8:13 am
We never had these problems before the congress was
over run with the democrats lead by the blind Pelosi!
March 6th, 2010 at 8:13 am
Why have liberals been against oil and nuclear power for decades???
Solar and ethanol??? Yeah, that worked out real well.
March 6th, 2010 at 8:13 am
How does a 3 days supply of gas solve the problem? more liberal thinking, give me something for nothing, and just make me feel good……
March 6th, 2010 at 8:13 am
We had one heck of a surplus untill Bush took over and now we are so far in debt it will take us eions of time if ever to recover.
Yet the Republicans blame the Democrats.
I am in my sixties and all i know is that when a Democrat was in office times were good and when a Republican got in office times were allways bad for the working class.
March 6th, 2010 at 8:13 am
You sure are naive. The politicians on both sides of the isle are on the same page for stymieing any alternative fuels or lowing costs. The only differences between the two parties are what they’re lying about.
March 6th, 2010 at 8:13 am
Your forgeting some of the argument (see below). Republicans want long term solution not just some temporary fix. 10 years ago Bill Clinton (Dem) vetoed new US drilling and if he hadn’t we wouldn’t be facing this problem now!!
"Despite winning a clear 268-157 majority, the measure still lost. Democratic leaders had brought the proposal up for debate under rules requiring a two-thirds vote to pass.
But passing the bill by just a majority would have meant allowing Republicans to force a vote on new offshore drilling leases.
"They’re hiding from a vote," said GOP leader John Boehner of Ohio. "They’re scared to death to allow us to … force their members to vote on drilling."
March 6th, 2010 at 8:13 am
I agree. This craziness has got to stop!! I think they ALL should be fired. If they are not going to stand up for the American people they can just go to Iraq. It seems they are more concerned with helping them than our own citizens.
But I think it’s might funny the people answering that say it’s not a "long term solution". Well, that’s true, but neither is the gas tax relief for the summer months put forth by McCain.
March 6th, 2010 at 8:13 am
Those stockpiles and reserves are for national emergencies, high prices are not an emergency. Besides, I thought all lefties complained that drilling on the continental shelf and in Alaska were only short term solutions, I thought all lefties wanted us off of oil, thinking up long term solutions, alternative fuels. How would releasing 3 days worth be a long term solution?
March 6th, 2010 at 8:13 am
Investors in oil have been betting that prices will continue to rise because they know that Congress refuses to allow drilling to increase the supply of US-produced oil. But, when Bush last week removed the presidential (put on by Clinton) moratorium on drilling, look how the market reacted – by dropping almost $20 a barrel. Investors saw that as a sign that something might finally get done about the supply issues and decided that the price at that time was not justified. You have to understand that markets price future expectations into present valuations. When something happens to change future expectations, the market reacts.
An artificial three day supply from the national reserve does nothing to change future expectations. If Congress were to announce that it was lifting its ban on off-shore drilling and drilling in ANWR, making Bush’s desire a reality, investors will start looking for something better to invest in, even if we may not see the first barrel of oil for a couple of years (it will take far less than the ten years the naysayers like Pelosi want you to believe…we’re the freaking United States of America and we can do anything we set out to do. JFK said we’d put a man on the moon in eight years and damed if we didn’t. Don’t tell me we can’t get new oil out of the ground in two years or less.)
If Congress wakes up and does what a majority of Americans are calling for, you’ll see a barrel of oil below $100 within two weeks’ time.
March 6th, 2010 at 8:13 am
So the Democrats agree that increasing supply, by releasing a few days worth of reserves, will help lower gas prices. Why not drill here now, to increase supply and lower costs for a few decades?