[IrishGOP]

I didn't say it was the 'cause' of high prices here in the US. I said it was an issue we have to deal with. Prices are high because of an artificial price of $70 a barrel. Again, even OPEC says it's not necessary, even with higher demand worldwide.

I want us to drill for oil in our own country, we have plenty of it here. If we don't have to rely on the Middle East for the majority of our oil, then our price will go down. Politicians and others have not wanted to push the idea of drilling for oil in our own land for years because of environmental groups that pressure them about nonsense and the fact that the price of oil was cheap coming from the ME they could ignore the issue. Now we need to fend for ourselves and use our own resources that are available on land and in the ocean.
So, if folks complain about 3 and 4 dollar gas, I again will reply 'start exploring and drilling for oil in our own country and cut the dependency on foreign sources of oil"

[jveritas]

If we don't have to rely on the Middle East for the majority of our oil, then our price will go down.

In fact only less than 15% of our total oil consumption comes form the Middle East. Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia in that order are our major exporters of oil. We produce 40% locally and we import 60%.