
Posted on 07/19/2008 8:50:34 AM PDT by DallasBiff
WASHINGTON A plan to lift the ban on coastal drilling is stalled on Capitol Hill, for one simple reason: A Californian who opposes President Bush's proposal is calling the shots in the House of Representatives.
Despite growing public support for ending the ban, even in California, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she won't allow a vote.
"I have no plans to do so," Pelosi said Thursday.
It's an example of the vast power placed in the office of the speaker, who sets the agenda for the 435-member House. Members can force a vote if enough of them sign a petition, but that's a rarity because it requires rank-and-file Democrats to line up against their boss.
In this case, Pelosi is going against a rising tide of public opinion. Faced with rapidly increasing gasoline prices, 73 percent of Americans now favor offshore drilling, according to a poll conducted by CNN/Opinion Research Corp
(Excerpt) Read more at mcclatchydc.com ...

Contact your Congress critters to let them know that you are tired of high gas prices.
9% approval rating! Stand your ground Pelosi!! Shoot for 1% and make history again!!
And her voters will fully support her out in Fagafrisco.

McCain, Bush, and the RNC needs to hang this around that witch’s neck for all to see!
Do Nothing Nancy doing what she does best. Hey Grandma, Lead, Follow or get the ______ out of the way!
If you like $5/gal, Thank Pelosi in Nov.
Pray for W and Our Troops


I just dont understand why Nancy just cant "swallow" the idea of offshore drilling.
Note how that line was written -- as if she was one daring, brave voice in the howling wilderness. When in fact it should be written more along the lines of:
"In this case, Pelosi is dismissing the rising tide of public opinion."
District Office - 450 Golden Gate Ave. - 14th Floor - San Francisco, CA 94102 - (415) 556-4862
Washington, D.C. Office - 235 Cannon HOB - Washington, DC 20515 - (202) 225-4965
The Green-stop-o at their neo Luddite dictatorially best
I am confused here. I thought that the ban had to be renewed each year. If the opposite is true (i.e. that the ban is permanent unless Congress removes it), then Congress can do that at any time. There should be no set date upon which Congress can take action.
“We, the people”....
[The congressional ban on offshore drilling has been in effect since 1981, but Congress must renew it each year. The issue could come to a head again in September, though Pelosi could make it tougher for opponents to kill the ban if she includes it in an omnibus spending bill that may be required to keep the government operating]
Stop Oil Seeps - we can clean up oil seeps by drilling into undersea oil reservers
1. According to the National Academy of Science, over 60% of the oil that pollutes our coastal waters is caused by oil just left in the sands below the ocean bottom and allowed to seep naturally into our waters.
2. Only 1% of the pollution in our coastal waters is attribuatable to accidents or human error involving offshore drilling.
The facts are clear.
We must act now to save Willie and all of our other furry and feathered friends
Think of the children.
Call your Congressman and demand that we end this destruction of our environment.
Demand that we safely and immediately begin removing the oil from the ocean floor before it has any further chance to pollute our environment.
For Gaia’s Sake
EMBRACE THE GREEN.
SAVE THE WHALES.
DRILL OFFSHORE NOW.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0422/p18s03-hfks.htm
from the April 22, 2008 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0422/p18s03-hfks.html
Ooey, gooey oil seeps on the seafloor
For kids: Off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif., people aren’t polluting the ocean with oil nature is.
By Lance Wills
Santa Barbara, Calif., is famous for its golden beaches, wind-swept cliffs, and scenic views of the Pacific Ocean. But the city’s postcard image hides a dirty secret: oil slicks as colorful as a rainbow and as smelly as a gas station float atop ocean waves just offshore.
Don’t blame the oil rigs that dot the coastline, though. They may actually be helping keep the marine environment clean. In this topsy-turvy place, people aren’t polluting the ocean nature is.
Oil from underground deposits has been seeping into the Santa Barbara Channel for thousands of years. Every day, about 11 tons of oil droplets and oil-coated gas bubbles leak out of small holes or fissures in the seafloor.
Because oil is lighter than water, much of it rises to the ocean’s surface and floats in thin, silvery slicks. But not all of it will reach the surface. About 15 percent will dissolve in the water in about a month. A small amount will sink into the mud and muck on the seafloor. And some of it will thicken into the gooey, black tar balls that wash ashore on Santa Barbara’s tourist beaches.
Tar balls can be little black pebbles not much bigger than your fingernail, or they can be big, black blobs several inches across. Step on a sticky tar blob with your bare foot, and you’ll wish you hadn’t.
ESTIMATES SAY WE COULD HAVE OIL FROM THE REGION IN ONE YEAR!
(Nancy and Friends, destroying capitalism one government made crisis at a time,)
Yes, We the people need to do whatever we can to put the pressure on. Writing and calling members of Congress is a good start. I am also making up little stickers to put on every gas pump I can. Taking file folder stickers and writing, “High prices brought to you by Democrat Congress”.
"Safe word: Palamino!"
...black tar balls that wash ashore on Santa Barbaras tourist beaches....
Can you harvest these? at $5 a gallon it’s now worth the effort.
Wrong weekend, John. You wont even get a flashlight. This weekend is devoted to BHO and his historial magical mystery tour.
Environment vs Economy and the American Citizen .....and the winner is???
I don’t understand why the Republicans don’t communicate how stupid and harmful the Democrats are to our country. All the Republicans would have to do is tell the truth about how the Democrats have impeded the ability to produce oil and natural gas in the US. Just the facts. The American people have to be told that they will be paying $5-$10 per gallon for gas if the Democrats win the election and totally control energy policy.
Thanks for the reminder. I just contacted my representative and senators!
Those words of angst like those of Racists Reverend Wright are “Coming Home To Roost”.
Nancy has most certainly gone through menopause so it must be for some other reason that she wants middle America to suffer under her dictatorial leadership.
Why do we not see advertisements from Republicans saying this is the main reason your grocery bill has gone out of sight.


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At the most basic level, we want to scream: Voting is DEMOCRATIC! WHY CAN ONE PERSON STOP THIS?
Just make sure pelosi gets plenty of coverage.
Can you harvest these?
If the government would let us!
http://www.communityenvironmentalcouncil.org/pressroom/PDFs%202008-/DailySound_SOSmeeting.pdf
Community Environmental Council (CEC) spokesman Michael Chiacos says
more drilling is the last thing he and his organization want to see. Santa Barbarabased
CEC is an environmental nonprofit focused on energy efficiency,
alternative transportation, and climate change.
We need to stop hunting and gathering pockets of oil and focus on renewable
energy, Chiacos said.
But Allen and SOS California founder Lad Handelman argue that by allowing
drilling near the natural seeps, Santa Barbara can greatly reduce the amount of
pollution in its ocean and, through the extra tax revenue, fund research for and
implementation of renewable forms of energy.
By the end of the discussion, Allen had Chiacos a die-hard environmentalist
who makes his own biodiesel from local restaurant waste personally agreeing
that drilling may be the right move for the future of Santa Barbara. Allen said
there is potential to drill the equivalent of 1.8 billion barrels of oil from the Santa
Barbara Channel from already discovered, but undeveloped fields. The
production of these fields, he said, would bring tax revenues of $1.6 billion per
year to the State of California and $330 million per year to Santa Barbara County
for the next 20 years. Money he argued could then be used to build a solar
thermal farm that could permanently supply 100 percent free solar electricity to
every household in Santa Barbara County and provide a $10,000 credit on a new
electric or hybrid vehicle every four years.
The money could also be used to fund new wastewater treatment facilities and
education programs for Santa Barbara, Allen said.
“With skyrocketing gas prices, it is clear that the American people can no longer afford the Republican Rubber Stamp Congress and its failure to stand up to Republican big oil and gas company cronies. Americans this week are paying $2.91 a gallon on average for regular gasoline 33 cents higher than last month, and double the price than when President Bush first came to office.
With record gas prices, record CEO pay packages, and record oil company profits, Speaker Hastert and the Majority Congress continue to give the American people empty rhetoric rather than join Democrats who are working to lower gas prices now.
Democrats have a commonsense plan to help bring down skyrocketing gas prices by cracking down on price gouging, rolling back the billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies, tax breaks and royalty relief given to big oil and gas companies, and increasing production of alternative fuels.”
- Nancy Pelosi, April 24, 2006
http://www.house.gov/pelosi/press/releases/April06/Rubberstamp.html
If Pelosi gets her way here, the Republicans should all resign. If they think they are going to win political points here, they are sadly mistaken. The American people did not vote for them so that they could be victims. Besides, in November, the headlines will be filled with Democrats blaming Republicans for failing to put an end to the ban when they had the chance to do so.
When good compromises with evil, it is only evil that profits."
-Ayn Rand-
ping
Pelosi Says Drilling for More Oil Not the Answer
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said calls by Republicans to drill for more oil is not the answer America needs.
Making gasoline more affordable would be the exact opposite of what we need to do, Pelosi asserted. We need to wean the country off of its dependence on fossil fuels. We can only do this if we discourage Americans love affair with their cars and put an end to the frenzy of excessive and senseless driving.
In support of her contention that Americans driving habits are excessive and senseless, the Speaker pointed to a recent study showing that rising fuel costs were linked to declining highway fatalities. The study by two university professors looked at fatalities and fuel prices over the 1985-2006 timeframe and concluded that fatalities dropped by two percent for every ten percent increase in gasoline prices.
The fact that the peak gasoline price in 2006 was $2.50 a gallon tells me that at todays $4 a gallon were saving even more lives, Pelosi conjectured. Rather than undermine this salubrious trend by attempting to reverse the rising costs of fuel we should be celebrating our good fortune.
read more...
http://www.azconservative.org/Semmens1.htm
Here’s an article talking about the specifics.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048032/posts
“In the House, the power rests in the speaker, the power of recognition, of setting the agenda. . . . Very different rules,” Pelosi said.”
And the Queen has spoken.
We, the people....
went out with a democratic congress apparently.
stop talking about gasoline, start talking about home heating oil. Of course Pelosi will have her buddies RFK Jr. and Hugo Chavez buy everybody a gallon of home heating oil, and the PR bonanza will make everyone feel better about it.
Is that a Picture of Pelosi leaving the room after giving the saudi prince a Monica with a happy ending?
Because the GOP is the Noce guy party and wont point things like this out.
Man, I dread this election.
But I love what she is doing to the democrats......
By herself she is electing a GOP congress....
- Nancy Pelosi, April 24, 2006
http://www.house.gov/pelosi/press/releases/April06/Rubberstamp.html
Thanks for the quote & link.
Both her DC and SF phone mailboxes are full!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CALL YOUR OWN CONGRESS CRITTERS!!!
I did. I told them it RIDICULOUS to allow one woman to hold all of America hostage to these ridiculous gas prices. Said if they don’t start voting with common sense, I will work my fingers to the bone to get them all thrown out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They want us dependent on foreign oil.
They want to have more control over us sheeple.
When she gets down to 0%, can we kick her ass out?
These are the SAME Democrats that the Stupid Party run by the moronic Trent Lott the “Cheer Leader from Mississippi” —— agreed to “share power” with in a majority Republican Congress.
Remember?
Well - when the DNC is in control - they KNOW how to run the Congress..
Straight into the toilet above the squeals of our castrated Republican Congress Critters.
Where’s that pic of the faces of the Washington creeps on the gas pumps?
great speech!
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