Posted on 05/30/2008 6:22:46 AM PDT by kellynla
Former Speaker Newt Gingrichs petition to Congress demanding the removal of government obstacles to increasing our energy supplies is gathering momentum by the minute, while the Democrats do-nothing Congress wants to raise fuel prices.
Actually, labeling Congress a bunch of do-nothings is almost right, but not quite. Theyre doing their best to create more obstacles to growing our energy supply. And while the price of energy is already unreasonably high, theyre working hard on a liberal agenda that will raise the prices consumers pay for gasoline, diesel fuel, natural gas and home heating oil.
With the summer upon us (and the November election fast approaching) the price of gasoline should be on the mind of every member who wants to keep his job after November. There is a conservative approach to the problem: relieve government burdens on the energy market. But Congress isnt controlled by conservatives: the Democrats rule both houses of Congress and even with gasoline prices reaching all-time highs almost daily -- the Dems are doing their best to raise the burden on the voters.
As Speaker Gingrich told me in a Wednesday interview, Every time I turn around I see Congress and bureaucracy making it harder to produce energy, increasing the price you and I are paying, reducing the amount thats available, and then trying to find someone else to blame.
Thats right: while many Americans are paying more than $4/gallon for gasoline (add another 75¢ for a gallon of diesel fuel), Congress is coming back on Monday to try to pass legislation such as the Warner-Lieberman cap and trade anti-global warming bill which -- by itself, and without the costs added by other Democratic initiatives -- would boost the price of a gallon of gas to levels paid in Europe. (Yesterday, the price of a gallon of gas in England was about $6.23.)
Gingrich told me:
At a time when the Congress should be finding ways to lower the amount of cost to put gas in your wifes car, they are actually proposing to increase the cost of gasoline, increase the cost of diesel fuel, increase the cost of aviation fuel, increase the cost natural gas, and increase the cost of coal. This is at a time when truckers are at a danger of being put out of business. Airlines are in danger of being put out of business. Its just absolutely amazing.
It is amazing, because there are so many government obstacles to energy development that Congress could eliminate, if it chose to. Gingrich explained:
[I]ts currently illegal to explore the Atlantic. It is illegal to explore the Pacific. It is illegal to explore the Eastern Gulf Of Mexico. It is illegal to explore Alaska and it is currently illegal to look for shale oil. Now, if you basically and this is what makes the recent decision by the House to vote to sue OPEC an act of absolute childishness. If youre not prepared to allow Americans in America to look for oil and gas in America, how can you have the arrogance to say to some foreign country they have to pump more of the stuff were not willing to pump?
The vote to sue OPEC only produced another Kucinich moment for Nancy Pelosis Democrats. The little fact that no court would have the power to penalize OPEC didnt deter the Pelosicrats from this frivolity.
Gingrichs petition starts with the commonsensical proposition that instead of creating more burdens on the energy market, Congress should go about taking down the old barriers. In Gingrichs characteristically plain English the petition says:
We, therefore, the undersigned citizens of the United States, petition the U.S. Congress to act immediately to lower gasoline prices by authorizing the exploration of proven energy reserves to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources from unstable countries.
As of about 8:30 pm Thursday, the petition had about 150,700 signatures. Gingrich aims to get 200,000 signatures by this coming Monday. Every conservative -- and every voter who wants to see energy prices go down and not up -- should sign the petition. (You can sign the petition by clicking on this link).
And after Monday?
Gingrich said:
Were going to print out the petition, take it up and give it to the US Senate. Then, we are going to continue to gather names. When we get to 500 thousand were going to take it up and give it to the US House, and then were going to try to gather an excess of a million signatures before the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention.
He proposed that we have a straight-up argument in this country on energy and on the Dems elitist view that were not paying enough. The Dems apparently believe that the answer to economic pain is more pain. As conservatives, we should view this debate to be equal in importance to the illegal immigration debate we forced last year.
It is, like the illegal immigration debate, a question of our nations economic survival, our national security. Last year, conservatives prevented passage of the comprehensive immigration reform -- i.e., amnesty -- bill. This year, we can -- at least -- prevent passage of legislation that will make our energy supplies more expensive.
And next year?
HUMAN EVENTS is researching and will soon publish a conservative energy agenda, one designed to remove government barriers to exploration, development and distribution of energy in the United States. We believe this is exactly the kind of mess that Ronald Reagan had in mind when he said, Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem."
ping
HOW did the Eco-geeks get to be MORE POWERFUL tahn the PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES????? HOW did we let that crap happen? One LAWSUIT STOPS CHEAPER OIL!
I tried to sign the petition last nite.
It said I already had. (???!!!???)
Then my daughter tried to add her name (and different email address) and it wouldn’t accept it, either.
Here is a link to the petition
http://www.americansolutions.com/actioncenter/petitions/?Guid=54ec6e43-75a8-445b-aa7b-346a1e096659
It is time to start a writing and calling campaign to Congress with this message: DRILL HERE & DRILL NOW! I like the sound of it.
The Democrats in Congress will pursue this agenda and continue to blame “big oil” when gasoline prices soar, we have shortages and rationing like in the 1970s and the economy is in massive recession. Hillary stumping in South Dakota said we don’t need any more drilling, just more windmills, punishing of the oil companies and less gas usage. She obviously isn’t paying much attention as to how one has to get around out here on the prairie.
Umm, not by me....
Drill more - pay less!
Thanks for posting it.
Drill Alaska Screw dat! Come to Pennsylvania.
Go to newt.org and sign the petition. Its that simple understand nrwt.org got it.
“Petition has been signed already.”
“Umm, not by me....”
That’s what just happened to me also.
Hey Shadow go back to move on .org where you belong
Dig up Nixon and ask him...most of this crap began with the left wing of the Republican party. Unintended consequences? Maybe, but post-Carter, that's hard to believe since those of us who are old enough to remember back that far have been predicting that this day would arrive. It was only a matter of time even without the introduction of the global hoaxes that the left has been spinning.
With each election, no matter who we elect, the bureaucrats continue in a straight line down the policy road we are traveling, leading to the inevitable.
Excuse me, but could we stay positive and on point...
what has happened in the past is history...
what we need to do NOW is all that matters!
gezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...you’ve been around here what a couple of months and all you can do is be negative?
go elsewhere if all you can do is post negative...PLEASE!
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