by Tina Grazier
It should be a fairly reasonable expectation that elected leaders will act in the best interests of the American people but sadly that is rarely the case. The current energy problem is no exception. As a citizen I want Congress to make laws and set policies that support people in getting on with their own lives. Instead they continually throw up road- blocks and detours impeding progress at every turn. Today they are setting a course to put the American people in a giant holding pattern as we wait for their dreams to materialize.
In the lofty dreamers mind it seems quite reasonable to imagine a world without oil. In the practical every day lives of most Americans it is unimaginablewe are, and will remain, dependent on oil. Every job depends on it. Everything we consume depends on itand therefore being able to eat depends on it. The dreamers notion that we can just turn off a spigot and free ourselves from oil is both childish and silly.
Unfortunately our representatives in Congress prefer to dream than design a workable long-term plan for our energy requirements:
Energy bill out of gas, by Jared Allen and Mike Soraghan The Hill
Worried that a floor vote on any energy-related measure would trigger a Republican-forced vote on domestic drilling, the leadership has scrubbed the floor schedule of the energy legislation that it vowed to tackle after the Fourth of July recess. *** Just before leaving for their districts, a number of House Democrats called a press conference to declare victory on a number of energy bills including overwhelming passage of a bill to rein in excessive oil market speculation. *** Nadeam Elshami, spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), said energy activity this week is taking place at the committee level, noting that there are four hearings planned on the issue of speculation in oil trading. *** Different members have different ideas, Elshami said. Well bring forward the best piece of legislation based on the recommendations and hearings we are having this week. *** Republicans pounced, saying Democrats were backtracking after realizing they would be unable to defeat a Republican vote on increased domestic oil drilling in new areas. *** A senior Democratic leadership aide acknowledged this week that there are plenty of members of the majority caucus who want to drill and want to drill where Republicans want to drill. *** For now, though, there will be no legislation to pass, as the only energy-related action this week will occur at the committee level.
The bottom line? Democrats are wedded to special interest groups pushing green industry. They arent just in favor of alternative sources developing and coming into their own within the context of a free market, they want to force alternatives as a replacement to oil. And they want it today. They have once again pitted one group of Americans against another placing all Americans at risk in the process. Their basic message, as expressed by one aid, is do without and wait:
Right now, our strategy on gas prices is Drive small cars and wait for the wind, said a Democratic aide.
I imagine he had one of those silly smiles on his face as he delivered this edict completely oblivious of the everyday needs of the American people and their shrinking pocketbooks.
Its thumbs down on drilling for the Democrat leadership in the House folks. This is unconscionable. As Ive said before we need a plan that will serve the people now and into the future. What we dont need is a few power hungry dreamers, who are also probably investing heavily in the alternative energy sector, telling the rest of us to put up with it and shut up.