Harry Reid caves on offshore drilling as if it were, oh, a blank check to invade a country

Senate Majority "Leader" Harry Reid has hooked up with Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-Oil & Gas, to ask Democrats to return to the values that have shaped the Democratic Party for at least the last 20 years, i.e., caving to the big bad Republicans like sickening, sniveling little cowards.

Specifically, Reid and Bingaman are suggesting that Democrats should let the oil companies have more offshore leases if they want them (The Hill).

It is a cyncial attempt to take drilling off the table as an election issue so that Republicans can't beat up on Democrats about it anymore.

Such spineless capitulation has long been a popular tactic with Democrats -- albeit an always unsuccessful one. The discredited and disgraced approach was best, which is to say most pathetically, exemplified in October 2002 when a bloodthirsty nation was eager to give a psychotic president a blank check to launch an invasion of another country for no damned good reason, and submissive Democrats, even though they controlled the Senate at the time, complied in the hope that Republicans would quit saying Democrats didn't love America enough just weeks before the 2002 midterm elections.

In addition to not working (ask Max Cleland), it was, on the part of the Democrats, one of the most irresponsible abrogations of duty to country by elected officials in the history of this or any other nation.

Ah, nostalgia.

A lot of people -- including Barack Obama -- have been pushing back against the idiotic Republican proposal for more offshore drilling by noting that it would do diddly squat about the price of gas specifically and energy policy generally. They have tried to expose the entire "debate" over drilling for what it is -- a red herring foisted on an unwitting public by Republicans in an effort not to bring down gas prices, but to win votes.

So as always and again, thank you Harry, so very, very much for your vital contribution to American public policy.

Comments

[All shook up]

A 5.8 in SoCali today -- think the Republicads will blame this one on Pelosi, too?

[RockyGrider]

Wow. Am I glad I read this today.
What a brainless, worthless, idiotic, & moronic article. It is hard to believe an educated person would think much less express these thoughts in public. Where do these people come from & does anyone read this drivel for anything other than comic relief?

[dave404]

From the Hill story; "Specifically, the proposal would set up planning areas covering nearly 1 billion acres off the Alaskan coast with access to an estimated 1.2 billion barrels of oil."

1 barrel of oil per acre?!

Let's see, up to 1/2 of the oil could be brought to the surface somewhat quickly...and at todays consumption of 20m bbl (we are down 5% in consumption compared to February 2008!), that is thirty days of oil! Talk about a needle in a haystack!

If this is a plan to save the economy of the United States and our standard of living then maybe the real story is "Shit to hit fan; oil spout is running dry".

1 billion acres is the size of how many Nevadas?!

[CJ]

Hey Rocky...that string thingy on your g-string chafing your asshole? Cause something's bothering you and the gleaner's truthiness is certainly not in question?

[RockyGrider]

Wow. Am I glad I read this today.
What a brainless, worthless, idiotic, & moronic article. It is hard to believe an educated person would think much less express these thoughts in public. Where do these people come from & does anyone read this drivel for anything other than comic relief?

[jumpin off]

here is reid's 'rational'...
i say f-them and adjourn till the elections!

redicapitulates

Dina told him to do it....our future poster child for "spineless capitulation"

[Michael Green]

First, the idea that Dina Titus or any other Nevada politician could make Harry Reid do something is ridiculous.

Second, whether or not I agree with their positions, I have to wonder if their thinking is that since their willingness to support the drilling would be part of a larger energy package that neither side would approve--Democrats because Republicans will want to drill for oil not just offshore but everywhere, Republicans because the package might include new sources of energy--they might as well try to look reasonable. Not that I think that works, but I could see that.