About a month ago, Bush, McCain, and congressional Republicans were without any real ideas about energy policy. Pressed on what to do about gas prices, the president told reporters, “[T]here is no magic wand to wave right now.” In fact, the president repeated the line three times, as if to say, “Don’t ask me; I just work here.”
But that was before the GOP settled on coastal drilling as the answer to all of our problems. Never mind that we wouldn’t actually see that oil for at least a decade, and never mind that it would only fuel (pun intended) the addiction we’re supposed to break, Republicans were ready to do something, whether it made any sense or not.
Oddly enough, on June 18, Bush demanded that Congress lift the ban on coastal drilling. The president could have just overturned the executive order on the policy, but “he said he wouldn’t do that because he wanted Congress to act first.”
Today, Bush changed his mind.
Putting pressure on congressional Democrats to back more exploration for oil, President Bush Monday called on Congress to join him in lifting a ban on offshore drilling that has stood since his father was president.
There are two prohibitions on offshore drilling, one imposed by Congress and another by executive order signed by the first President Bush in 1990. The current president, trying to ease market tensions and boost supply, called last month for Congress to lift its prohibition before he did so himself.
“The only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil resources is action from the U.S. Congress,” Bush said in a statement in the Rose Garden. “Now the ball is squarely in Congress’ court.”
Bush added that “Americans are paying at the pump” because Congress hasn’t approved the White House’s drilling plan. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ken.) added, “Now the only thing standing between consumers at the pump and the increased American energy they are demanding is the Democrat leadership in Congress.”
I’ve long since given up trying to figure out whether these guys actually believe their own nonsense, but either way, this is just mind-numbing.
I think the Obama campaign’s statement hit most of the major points.
“If offshore drilling would provide short-term relief at the pump or a long-term strategy for energy independence, it would be worthy of our consideration, regardless of the risks. But most experts, even within the Bush Administration, concede it would do neither. It would merely prolong the failed energy policies we have seen from Washington for thirty years.
“Senator Obama believes Americans need real short-term relief, which is why he has proposed a second round of stimulus with energy rebates for working families. And over the long-term, Senator Obama understands that our national security and the survival of the planet demand a real strategy to break our dependence on foreign oil by developing clean, new sources of energy and by vastly improving the energy efficiency of our cars, trucks and our economy. He is ready to lead such a transformation,” said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.
This is hardly worth debating anymore; it’s just so blisteringly obvious. Would coastal drilling lower the price of gas? No. Would any of this oil reach the pump before 2017? No. Is this even in the same neighborhood as a responsible energy policy? No.
Now, I understand why Republicans love this idea. First, it gives the appearance of taking an issue seriously, without having to worry about facts and stuff. Second, oil companies would love to do more coastal drilling, and Republicans love to make oil companies happy. Third, they know Dems have a reality-based outlook, which makes it easier for the GOP to scream, “Hey! Dems won’t let us drill and it’s hurting your family’s finances!”
But that doesn’t make this nonsense any more palatable. It’s a ridiculous policy, which the Republicans know is a ridiculous policy. It’s as simple as that.
No Trackbacks To “Why Bush lifted the coastal-drilling ban (and why it doesn’t matter)“
These inept idiots have no solutions to the problems they cause.
They have shown us just how incompetent they are.
Heckuva job, Bushie!
WHY IT DOES MATTER: because in the midst of 125 banks collapsing and an already bankrupt government taking on trillions more of debt from loans banks don’t want to pay and oil and food reserves wrecking havoc on the global economy all the Bush administration and the Republicans are doing is twisting our balls to open up protected environments for oil drilling. And they are proselytizing for it 24/7. That is all they are doing and they’re doing it relentlessly and they claim they have the increasing support of the American people. Whether that’s true or not that’s what is being broadcast 24/7. This is an example of disaster capitalism at its finest and the oil lobby will get what it wants if no one steps up to the plate to challenge this assault.
Bush in 2000: I’ll bring down gas prices through ’sheer force of personality’
THEN:
Douchebag-in-Chief 2000:
The 2000 Campaign: The Texas Governor; Bush Would Use Power of Persuasion to Raise Oil Supply
The New York Times
By Katharine Q. Seeyle
June 28, 2000
Gov. George W. Bush of Texas said today that if he was president, he would bring down gasoline prices through sheer force of personality, by creating enough political good will with oil-producing nations that they would increase their supply of crude.
It is mind-numbing but it will work. The average uninformed voter will believe anything these guys say. Congress should take up the measure since many Republicans also voted for a ban. The next Pres can change it back before anything happens (since it will take years to execute) if they actually remove the ban. Call the bluff Dems if you have the courage to do something besides hide.
Naomi Klein was on democracynow.org for a full hour today.
Shock Doctrine is the only concept that rationally explains all of this.
This planet is in the clutches of criminals beyond comprehension. They are ushering in a world wide fascist state. They are destroying our country at the same time they’re destroying our planet. This is beyond insane. I have the feeling that if we really knew what these maniacal fools have in store for us, we would rise up like a tsunami and sweep them away.
“President Bush Monday called on Congress to join him in lifting a ban on offshore drilling that has stood since his father was president.”
But Bush listens to a “higher father”. The one that directs him to destroy the planet and all its inhabitants. When a conservative Christians finds “God” people suffer. There would have been a lot less suffering and destruction in the world today had Bush stayed coked up and drunk under the table and away from the bible.
Teleken @5, I’m afraid you are right. We Americans are very self absorbed, The average Amercan can’t even find Iraq on a map. They don’t know who Supreme Court Justices are, Some don’t even read newspapers. Now you have idiots screaming Drill. I think we are a nation of Hank Hills.
Ruthless “The Whiner” People @ 8:
I can think of a few other ‘what ifs’ …
And, yes, the Cons are echoing the myth that hurricanes Katrina and Rita didn’t cause any “major” oil spills….which Think Progress has looked at too:
http://thinkprogress.org/wonkr.....na-spills/
The “drill, drill” mantra is all the GOP has to run on. It’s up to the media and the Dems to keep this in perspective. How long it will take, the shortage of refinery capacity (which Big Oil is happy with, thank you), shortage of ships and drilling equipment, etc, and then just how long it will take to get any return and how little impact it will probably have on prices. Finally, this is a Big Oil distraction, meant to take our focus off of alternative fuels.
When are they going to start drilling for stupid in Bush’s skull?
-GSD
http://www.theoildrum.com/ is very useful on this score.
This is typical bald lying smoke screen drivel we’ve come to expect but may help manipulate the NASCAR vote.
The Oil Companies don’t have enough offshore drilling rigs and can’t even drill in the lands they already lease. There won’t be enough drilling rigs for at least two years. Deep water and offshore oil recovery is fiendishly hard especially in a hurricane zone. All the easy oil in the US is gone. And the easy oil elsewhere is going fast.
There has also been a major decline in refinery capacity as we have gone from around 300 refineries a few decades ago to around 110 to 150 or so now.
There is simply a protracted bottleneck of capacity coupled to a crazy demand spike.
And No useful thing can be done about it beyond reducing your exposure to the income bleed by using less.
…and it takes 10 YEARS to build a refinery..
GSD @ 12:
Vast untapped reserves there.
I posted this in the Open Thread, but it’s appropriate here [sorry for the cross post Site Monitor…please have mercy on me ;)] [also slightly edited]
I keep hearing this BS about “gas shortages” and “China buying up all the available gas” causing the prices to soar. Funny, but every gas station I see has plenty of petrol to sell us at over-the-top high prices. I remember in the ’70s when there were real gas shortages. I used to have to watch for stations with the ‘green flag’ so we could GET gas (2 hour waits, lines of cars around the block, limits on how much you could buy at one time)…whatever the price. That’s what a shortage means…not enough to go around. We have plenty, it’s just expensive.
Maybe investors should be checked from speculating on the price of crude based on how hard it’ll be to get in the future. Of course, these over-inflated prices are probably doing more to ween us from oil than anything else could, Americans being who we are and all…
When you look at the high price of oil- you also have to look at the low price of the US dollar. Since oil is traded in dollars- the amount of inflation the federal reserve creates to “stimulate the economy” and keep up with congressional spending takes a serious toll.
If you measured the price of oil in terms of Gold- the price has remained pretty stable and the same Gold from ten years ago would buy roughly the same amount of oil today.
earl @ 14:
Then we better get started! Is what the wingers say.
earl @ 6:
ya know, i went out to buy that book yesterday. i went to a large center city philly bookstore and the book was… sold-out.
my dissappointment in not being to buy the book was trumped by thrill that people are starting to become interested in the damage unrestrained capitalism and market fundamentalism has caused on the country, the world, familes and individuals.
of course, there is always the possibilty that they only stocked one book…
OT
More DisasterCap in action:
“As part of its cost-cutting, GM plans to eliminate health care coverage for U.S. salaried retirees older than 65, effective Jan. 1.”
Love your blog. Thanks for all the great content.
But I think you miss the point. His actions are always well-conceived, well-articulated. The rub comes from the confusion on his goals. You assume his primary goals is leading the country towards solutions that bring prosperity and strength.
It’s not. It’s never been. Bush is very consistent in working towards his goal of power. Power is his goal.
And his primary tactics are diversion, distraction and division.
This ‘meaningless’ step of removing the equally meaningless presidential moratorium on offshore drilling isn’t meant to help ease our oil supply, our dependency on foreign oil (hello? Saudis are his friends…) or lower prices at the pump, now or in the future.
It’s meant solely as the means to create more division within our country. He knows it will kick up a storm of dialogue, repubs and against dems, old against young, environmentalists against the business community….all while he sits back, waits for it to settle, winners to pop up. And he’ll do it again, all the time orchestrating the conversation towards division.
Divide and conquer. He’s very consistent, very insistent. And he’s successful as long as he’s allowed to be underestimated. So far, it’s worked for him.
Actually, this bullshit move by Chimpy DOES matter. Now Republicans can run around and blame the Dems for high gas prices. And the Dems….being the spineless pussies that they are….will immediately cave.
Bottom line: get ready more drilling….everywhere. And a lot sooner than you might think.
Because God forbid, ‘murikans pay what the rest of the world does for gas. And since the citizens of this wonderful country are beyond stupid, they’ll fully expect gas prices to magically drop the moment that first drill hits the water. It won’t happen of course, but it’s a nice dream.
Samson- @ 19:
I think it just came out in Paperback today …so she was shamelessly flogging it :)
Seriously tho, you still have bookstores?
who gives a crap why bushbrain says anything
he will lie for political reasons and we all
know that he is delusional and a LIAR.
OT Did I just hear that Bush vetoed the Medicare bill? Didn’t like the way it was financed. He just can’t let the Democrats show him up. Especially when Ted Kennedy came in especially to cast his vote. Bush will show ‘em!!! Hope all the rich doctors vote for McCain come November. The repugs will take care of their own.
earl @ 15:
Untapped???? I’d say that douchebag is using 100% of his stupidity.
The Truth Hurts @ 26:
i hope you are going to come and clean the coffee off my monitor, thank you
Ruthless “The Whiner” People @ 18:
But, but where would the poor beleaguered Oil companies find the $$$ ?
The Truth Hurts @ 26:
I dunno, seems like an endless supply of stupid in the Crawford Cowboy …did you try to listen to that presser this a.m.?
It apparently worked because oil “plunged” $8/barrel today!!! Mission Accomplished!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlmmui8iq50
The oil companies do not want to drill. They want to lock up the remaining territory so no one else can drill. They are sitting on millions of acres of leased land that they are not developing, why would they want to drill in five miles of water? This is a ploy to control supply and therefore price.
Oil is rising in the US because of our falling dollar, and because traders, via the unregulated futures exchanges, (thanks to Phil and Wendy Graham) have stockpiled something approaching six times the amount of oil in the Strategic Oil Reserve. There is no oil shortage. There have been no disruptions to supply. If there were, you would see lines at the gas stations.
On another note, I have been approached many times by panhandlers asking for a few dollars to get some gas for their car, which ran out of gas around the corner. Every time I offered to give them the gas instead of the money, saving them the trip back and forth to the gas station, they say they don’t want to be a bother, just give them a few bucks. Clearly, they are lying, they just need a few bucks for beer.
Today, a woman came up to me with the same story, and as usual, I offered her the gas. She took it. First time ever. Just as oil is now considered a currency along with gold and Euros, gas is a new currency on the street.
earl @ 29:
No, I stopped acknowledging that shithead several years ago. I simply don’t need the aggravation. The instant I see his Alfred E. Neuman face, or hear that alcohol-soaked thwang, I change the channel.
Oil plummetted today on news of reduced demand and Ben Bernanke’s congressional testimony
until…
Bush demanded more drilling this morning, causing oil futures to rebound slightly. Interesting reaction from the market, eh. For a measure that he (erroneously) proclaims would lower prices.
My solution: Fewer proclamations from this crook and liar.
Been reading about an alt. fuel source , Joe Cells , not a proven system , seems to have promise , basicly its water as fuel lots of vids on youtube , google has a few sites too .
How fitting it would be if they start drilling and when that first drop comes in , we wont need it , oh history will prove how good gwb was , I forgot , what was I thinking .
Do they believe their own drivel who cares. The american people with inability to read or hear the truth will buy into this in huge numbers. I can’t remember the name of the ludicrous movie where the population bred down to an average IQ of 50 and some GI woke in that time and was elected president. Stupid movie but it is coming true.
Seldom mentioned that big oil already has millions of acres on lease to drill in but they haven’t had the cash or time to do as of yet. Bush is just leading his pig masters to the trough to try and lock them in forever once he is just a shitstain memory on the toilet paper of history. President Shit For Brains little tirade yesterday blaming the Dems for oil shortages wasn’t even funny anymore. Just expected.No low is too low for these lying sacks of facist shit but im really surprised they haven’t hit bottom yet. Best memory chuckle yet is still Bush promising to restore honor,honesty and integrity to the office back in 99. Still makes me giggle like a schoolgirl.
Can anyone say “STRAW MAN”? All he is attempting to do is provide ridiculous talking points for his propaganda minions and their brain addled listeners.
“It’s them goddamn Democrats and tree huggers who won’t let us drill and lower the price at the pump. They hate America!”
Zane: I think you give the man too much credit. He seems to constantly be doing things for the short term, and he doesn’t seem to be terribly concerned with consequences. As near as I’ve been able to tell, he never wanted to do the President’s job, he just wanted to be President and leave the thinking and policy stuff to guys like Cheney and Rove. I still can’t decide whether he’s really a psychopath or just extraordinarily self-centered. I don’t suppose it matters much in the way of effects, though. What a truly horrible President he’s been.
And I agree about the supply - there’s plenty there, judging by the ready availability at the pump. It’s a combination of ‘market forces’ (= naked, unchecked greed in all its various forms and techniques) and the falling dollar that seem to have done most of the damage.
I think the oil prices are all manipulated by Dubya and his gang of greedy neocons. They drive it up with speculators and the saudi oil cartel so that they can “fix” the problem by gaining more off shore deals. Causing the problem, blame others, and then solving it for your own personal gain.
It’s just how Naomi Klein describes the process in her book, “The Shock Doctrine”.
Strategically cause a crisis and repair it by passing legislation (that was on his agenda).
These neocons are American citizen haters. Anything for a buck. We’ve been bought and sold for the last eight years, what’s another few months. Brutal,… just brutal.
dems have controlled congress for a little less than 2 years
there was one party rule in this country for the previous 6
what was accomplished during those 6 years?
not one piece of legislation dealing with alternative energy….but a whole bunch allowing the crooks to rape and pillage
bush is a sociopath who must be hauled in chains before the man
PNACCIO,
You are correct!
As the price continues to rise, I expect more gas station robberies, which also will get more lethal.
any downturn in oil futures will be met with a rebound tomorrow.
The Truth Hurts @ 33:
I mostly stopped a listening to him long time ago as well, I just tuned in this morning while watching the Dow tank to see what the 62 year old petulant boy genius would say … was kind of hoping for a total meltdown … but it was just the usual sociopathic ravings and insulting bs so i turned it off.