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May 13, 2008
Republican Energy Plan Gets Shot Down by Dems and Rino's ~ McCain WIMPS Out On Vote!
The Senate has rejected a Republican energy plan that calls for opening an Alaska wildlife refuge and some offshore waters to oil development. Supporters of the measure couldn’t get the needed 60 votes to overcome a Democratic-led filibuster threat.
Senate votes to halt oil reserve shipments
The Senate, in a direct challenge to President Bush, voted Tuesday to temporarily halt the shipment of thousands of barrels of oil a day into the government's emergency reserve. Both Democrats and Republicans said such shipments make no sense when oil is costing more than $120 a barrel and could better be used to add supplies to a tight market and possibly lower prices.
We are buying the most expensive crude oil in the history of the world and storing it," said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. "When American consumers are burning at the stake by high energy prices, the government ought not be carrying the wood."
Until both chambers of Congress pass the emergency reserve directive and Bush signs it — or Congress enacts it over a presidential veto — the legislation has no force of law. But the Senate's message to the president Tuesday was a strong one.
With Republicans joining Democrats, senators voted 97-1 to suspend the shipments — averaging about 70,000 barrels a day — until the end of the year. Only Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., voted against the measure.
The House was scheduled to vote on a similar directive later in the day. The Senate measure was added to legislation on flood insurance that passed shortly after the oil reserve vote.
Bush has been steadfast in continuing shipments of oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a system of underground salt domes on the Gulf Coast, arguing that the stockpile should be filled to its maximum capacity of 727 million barrels. It currently is 97 percent full at 701 million barrels, equal to two months of oil imports.
The reserve was created in the 1970s as a precaution against major interruptions of oil supplies.
Senators said the stockpile is big enough to meet any emergency.
Dorgan acknowledged that Tuesday's vote was "a small step forward" as Congress grapples with ways to respond to soaring fuel prices that have pushed gasoline prices to nearly $4 a gallon after a winter of record heating bills.
It's uncertain how much effect — if any — putting 70,000 barrels a day of crude onto the U.S. market that uses more than 21 million barrels a day would have. Dorgan said it could send a signal and curb market speculation.
"It could have a chance of reducing the price a small amount," said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., who joined the chorus against continuing the shipments. "But make no bones about it, this is no big energy policy. This is one little thing we can do."
Earlier, the Senate rejected a broader Republican energy plan that called for opening an Alaska wildlife refuge and some offshore waters to oil development. Supporters of the measure couldn't get the needed 60 votes to overcome a Democratic-led filibuster threat.
Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said more domestic oil production is needed to keep prices in check and to reduce U.S. dependence on oil imports. "We cannot repeal the law of supply and demand....We need to increase supply in order to lower gas prices," said McConnell.
But opponents said areas such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and coastal waters that have been off limits to drilling for 25 years ought to remain that out of bounds to oil companies. The GOP measure, defeated Tuesday by a vote of 56-42, would have allowed coastal states to get a waiver to the offshore drilling ban.
"We can't drill our way to lower prices," said Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill.
The president has given no indication that he will move to halt shipments to the oil reserve, short of a congressional directive.
"Our position hasn't changed," said White House press secretary Dana Perino earlier this week. She said the president believes the emergency reserve needs to be increased "in order to protect ourselves against oil shocks" and that the oil being put in — a tenth of one percent of global production — "would have a negligible impact on gas prices" if put into the market.
Democratic Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, interrupting their presidential campaigns, voted to halt the oil reserve deliveries. Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, was not present for the vote.
The VOTE and who voted and how they voted.
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Wild Thing's comment.......
Where the HELL has common sense gone??!!
McCain 'sat this one out' (didn't vote). McCain has no excuse for not being there, as Obama and Clinton cast their votes.
OK so I have to say this about McCain and his wimping out on the vote. If he can screw the conservatives and our country..... well he has and will and he just proved it once again. Sorry but if he wants my vote he has to take my condemnation with it and there will be plenty of it, bet on it McCainiac! My vote is dead on serious and I take it personally when you mess with my country. You already messed with our POW's!!!!!
Good grief, Elizabeth Dole? How disappointing. sheesh! Sorry Liz, hate to see you turned into a rino.
Bush should go on TV weekly and read the list of congressmen who voted against new drilling.
We have the Chinese drilling off our borders....we have billions of gallons of oil in the ground waiting to be tapped....but, NOOOOO....we can’t do that...we must buy our oil from across the oceans from people who hate us, and build gold plated toilets with our money.
This ends the hope of drilling in Alaska for a decade or more. Whomever wins in November they’ve all gone on record as being against drilling.
McCain is part of the problem. He's one of the Gang of 14. Too bad we don't have a conservative candidate running for the GOP. All the candidates are leftists. All global warming Kool-Aid drinkers. All open borders enthusiasts. All Senators with no experience in governing. All three are ignorant of how to run a business and make a payroll.
Bin Laden set out to bring the us economy to its knees. While hiding out, OPEC is doing it for him, with the help of the dems and the rino's.
The McCain platform: High energy costs and lots and lots of illegal immigrants. He says he’s tough on security but he condones a slow-motion invasion across our borders.
With the 3 horrible people we have running for President, God have mercy on America!
Posted by Wild Thing at May 13, 2008 06:55 PM
Comments
yeah, what is it with allowing foreign countries to drill for oil in our waters and on our lands, but we can't do it? WTF?
My sisters first husband has land in Alaska near Denali. He was always willing to let drilling be done. It isn't going to destroy anything.
And why are they saying that we "are burning" but they aren't willing to help us out?
Thank you so much, Eco Geeks. Because of you we're screwed, blued and tatooed and stuck paying these exhorbitant prices for gas, food, medical care. I hope you are very satisfied with yourselves. You socialistic assholes!
And to the dummys and rinos who want to block this, we're going to vote your butts out of a job.
Posted by: Lynn at May 13, 2008 07:47 PM
Everybody tries to blame the Republicans for the price of gasoline. I don't care what they say, it is the democrats fault. They are pandering to another special interest group all for the sake of more power and votes. It is going to take a revolution and probably a shut down of the country to get through to these communist morons.
There is no way alternative fuels are, at this point, even close to matching the energy output of OIL. The democrats as usual are trying to blow smoke up our collective asses just to show they are in charge.
The people they are supposed to be serving are getting ripped off to the highest order, and it will take something close to a shut down of the country to scare the hell out of these morons to start moving on new drilling. Then it will take years to catch up.
And of course they will have Bush to blame on all of this but eventually the truth will come out and once told it should destroy the democrat party. Because thats what they are doing to the country.
Posted by: Mark at May 13, 2008 08:03 PM
This is worse than a clown car, it's a clown Winebago.
Republicans have been gutless drones for fifty years, which is why conservativism always comes first for me. Reagan gave them cover and the opportunity to behave like men, but the best of them were still wonks like Gingrich, who've spent their professional lives in government kissing liberal asses when the clouds rolled in, and blustering when the sun was out.
It's their nature; they're reverting to type. They won't fight as a group, and the odd one who does fight, does it alone and ends up sabotaged by the Republican establishment. It's simply evolution. Republicans are the bottom feeders, chewing on the spewed fragments that float from the mouths of the Donks feeding above them.
Wm Buckley built the conservative movement almost singlehandedly, entirely without the support or favor of Republican politicians. And he began his battles when liberals infested every sector of American society. By the end of his life, he saw the end of his movement.
It can be done again. But not by voting for a screwball like McCain, who will single us out for oblivion. His hatred for conservatives will control him, I think.
Posted by: Rhod at May 13, 2008 08:45 PM
McCain has already said he will not allow drilling in the ANWR and he was forceful about it.
Here's an American Citizens interruption of his interview with OrReilly concerning ANWR.
Posted by: BobF at May 13, 2008 11:04 PM
Lynn AMEN my friend!
Posted by: Wild Thing at May 13, 2008 11:11 PM
Mark, yes, I bet your right, some kind of shut down , something is going to have to happen to get through their thick skulls what they are doing to our country.
Posted by: Wild Thing at May 13, 2008 11:15 PM
I agree Rhod it cannot be done with McCain.
That brought tears to my eyes reading what you wrote about Reagan and Wm. Buckely. I agree it can be done again,but no way with the likes of McCain.
Posted by: Wild Thing at May 13, 2008 11:19 PM
BobF thank you so much, I left a commment. I posted that on here too a few days ago. Nicholas and I wacthed it on TV when it happened too and I was getting madder by the second during the interview.
Posted by: Wild Thing at May 13, 2008 11:26 PM
At least Congress is consistent. Decade after decade candidates run for election or reelection to Congress promising that they will fix the energy problem and then end up doing nothing constructive like this latest vote and non-vote.
Albert Einstein said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. The insane electorate deserves what it voted for and will vote for next November.
Posted by: Les at May 14, 2008 12:24 AM
If I was fishing offshore Key West and looking at Chinese or Indian oil rigs I would be chewing nails. Offshore Louisiana we went fishing around the rigs as they attracted fish. The go green movement is killing us here and literally killing poor people in third world nations by creating food shortages. Read my post Al Gore and his Nobel Death Prize. I am literally seething and don't know how to bring about the answer but we need more drilling, more nuclear power plants, coal to oil, clean coal, develop oil shale and tar sands. And most of all a complete change of government and giving them ever more power is not the answer.
Bob
Posted by: Bob at May 14, 2008 06:37 AM
LOVE your graphic WT.... NO pain in the gas there!! $upply & demand for our LAST oil refinery built was in Yuma Arizona in ... 1976! 1976!!
Posted by: darthcrUSAderworldtour07 at May 15, 2008 12:27 AM
