If I was a foreign oil power, and I knew that the USA was or is a top oil producer, then I would look for weaknesses, any weakness by which the influence of US oil production could be neutered.
One weakness could be exploited by hiring environmental lobbyists to pressure Congress to curtail oil exports because it would harm the environment in developing countries. Another weakness would exploit a perception that oil exports would lead to expanded domestic drilling and therefore, increased environmental harm to the interior of the USA. Another weakness would exploit the fear that exporting oil would increase domestic oil prices. Another weakness would exploit absurd ties to man-made global warming.
All such weaknesses could be exploited by a legal or academic class who are equipped to fashion false arguments based in hysterical fears. All that is needed to put this class to work is money.
Who has the money? Two sources: the US Government and certain foreign powers. Of course, It would be smart of the foreign powers to prompt and compel the US Government to spend its own money to curb, neuter and demolish its own domestic oil industry and this would be most easily done by hiring top lawyer-lobbyists to craft the necessary false arguments to bring the whole business down.
Donald Trump is right. We are so stupid. We are so stupid as to produce the rope that we use to hang ourselves. We are stupid because we are trusting. We trust our elected leaders and ignore that they have bills to pay, campaigns to finance and that they are corruptible by accepting that a little corruption won’t do any harm, especially when the alternative is to be out-financed by political opponents who have no problem taking the money.
BTTT! Dig into a progressive/environmental organization’s structure and sooner or later you will be face to face with an enemy of this country and its people. Our whole opinion industry, media, academia, politics and entertainment, is full of Quislings ready to sell the rest of us out.