gas prices

Wait about 72 hours.

Gasoline prices jumped to unprecedented levels in the wholesale markets today as Hurricane Ike tore across the Gulf of Mexico, threatening to strike Texas and its refineries...

The wholesale price of gasoline ranged from $4 to nearly $5 a gallon in the U.S. Gulf Coast throughout the day today, said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst of the Oil Price Information Service in Wall, N.J. That was up significantly from about $3 to $3.30 a gallon on Wednesday, Kloza said.

"We're looking at the highest wholesale prices ever for a huge swath of the country," he said. "People understand that regardless of what happens with Ike, it's going to shut down the biggest refining cluster for a period of five, six, seven days."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5995474.html

The effect is already in motion. This morning the Citgo station in CT I drive by was at $3,69/gallon; by 6pm EDT it was up to $3.79/gallon

I'm a fan of expat CT resident Brendan Loy, the cassandra of Katrina, who is still a weatherblogger @ Pajamasmedia http://pajamasmedia.com/weathernerd/. A close read of Loy's blog suggests that the impact of Hurricane Ike may be devastating to the domestic oil industry.

Meanwhile, Alan Sullivan (who has a new post up, BTW) wrote in comments on his blog: “It’s the industry of Houston that I’m worried about. Not only could we be looking at the most expensive hurricane in history, but the destruction of energy infrastructure could put the nation in real difficulty. We have refused to build infrastructure for many years; now we may lose some of what we have.” This from a guy who’s been saying that Ike is “overhyped.” If Sullivan is right, today’s gas panics may be just the beginning.

http://pajamasmedia.com/weathernerd/2008/09/12/ike-nears-coast-storm-surge-catastrophe-likely/

A quick look at the location of American oil refineries demonstrates that a huge percentage of U.S. refining capacity are in communities like Baytown, Port Arthur and Texas City which are likely to suffer serious damage from storm surge from Hurricane Ike  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oil_refineries#United_States especially as the estimated storm surge may reach 22 feet in some places  http://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=TXZ238&warncounty=TXC167&firewxzone=TXZ238&local_place1=Galveston+TX&product1=Hurricane+Warning

So we are potentially looking at a huge disruption in refining, for some indefinitive period. (Perhaps someone familiar with the business can tell me how well this equipment will handle saltwater immersion)  I know "Beldar" is a Houston lawyer, http://beldar.blogs.com/, whether he has any expertise in oil and gas I'm not sure about.

The usual Democratic response to a price spike--releasing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve--won't work, since the SPR is crude oil, and the problem is we will not have sufficient operating refineries to process the usual deliveries.

Maybe this will be a short hiccup, but if it isn;t maybe fervent opponents of "Big Oil" like Barack Obama or Nancy Pelosi can explain how we are supposed to function without it? Will Speaker Pelosi suggest that we "refine our brains"?

Senator McCain's V.P. choice of a true energy expert, Governor Sarah Palin, may prove all the more prescient in the next few days.  

I think the Culture Club music in this web ad is perfect. Liberal CT Democrat Chris Murphy has recently been trying to present himsel as a supporter of oil drilling. Much as Boy George could dress up like a woman, Murphy is dressing himself like a realist, not who he really is-a clueless foot soldier who blindly supports the Nancy-state in D.C. . 

 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1661874453047759429&ei=5_mtSJHrD46yrQKO2-WjAg&q=chris+murphy+chameleon&vt=lf&hl=en 

Let's not stop with this, folks. We are just starting to have fun with these jokers.

A few weeks ago I blogged about my brain dead Democratic Congressman telling me we ought to "talk about solutions to our oil crisis" http://www.thenextright.com/ironman/my-tone-deaf-democrat-congressman-mouth-works-ears-and-brain-dont

Sounds like Chris Murphy, a charter member of the "Drill Never" caucus,( his statement to that effect http://dems.house.gov/index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC={2D7E6E08-EBA9-41F2-96E7-638CAE603CE3}&DE={006C3F9C-40F2-485F-9381-34E1D740316F disappeared from the House web site) must regret asking people for their solutions, as it seems he must have gotten an earful

The very next day after John Boehner came to CT to "hang" Nancy-state Pelosi's "save the planet" agenda around Murphy's neck, http://ctlocalpolitics.net/2008/08/13/boehner-to-headline-fundraiser-for-cappiello/   this profile in correctness raced to the press to reinvent his agenda on energy.

Cappiello calls out Murphy

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State senator: Congressman flip flopped on offshore drilling position

 

U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy said Thursday he asked House leaders to bring a comprehensive energy package that includes expanded offshore drilling to a vote in the near future.

Murphy, D-5th District, said in a press statement that he sent a letter to Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, asking Democratic leaders to find a compromise with Republicans and pass an energy bill. Murphy previously rejected calls for increased offshore drilling.

State Sen. David Cappiello, R-Danbury, who is challenging Murphy for the 5th District congressional seat, issued his own press statement Thursday, calling out the congressman for flip flopping on the issue.

"Murphy's election-year conversion on offshore drilling is a day late, a dollar short, and totally disingenuous," Cappiello said. "His latest flip flop proves he cannot be trusted to address America's energy crisis unless he is dragged kicking and screaming to do so

http://www.newstimes.com/ci_10210304

It's hard to take Murphy's alleged change of heart  seriously since just weeks ago he lambasting oil drilling as just a means to for that evil oilman Dubya to boost oil industry profits   "The president should stop doing long-term planning for oil company profit-making and start doing short-term planning for American families," said Rep. Chris Murphy, D-5." 

I also notice this occurred on the heels of Mark Udall flip-flopping on drilling in the Colorado senate race.  http://www.clubforgrowth.org/2008/08/udall_flipflops_on_energy.php.

I suspect the same pollsters are showing these Democrats their poll numbers are sinking as deep as the Continental Shelf by opposing drilling.

This is a political gusher, folks. Keep at it!

The House Democrats are in an uproar over remarks made by Minority Leader John Boehner which they deem to endorse physical violence against Speaker Pelosi.

This is the incinidiary language which appalls the Democrats.    This was offered in support of Drill Now as Boehner announced a campaign trip to CT to pressure Nancy-stater Chris Murphy to adopt a realistic energy policy.

“She’s gonna bring us back and not deal with it? The American people are gonna hang her,” Boehner said. When pressed further, Boehner said it would “be fine, as long as we get a vote on our bill.”

Democrats Miller (CA) and Markey (MA) responded to Boehner’s comments:

Mr. Boehner’s comments about the Speaker are offensive, inappropriate and deliberately misleading.

First of all, no public official should use language implying bodily harm to anyone, whether they are referring to the Speaker of the House or any other American. That is completely outrageous. [Miller]

…

Assertions of physical violence toward the Speaker of the House have no place in the halls of Congress. Period.
…
Democracy is about settling differences through debate, without violence. It is unfortunate that the Minority Leader allowed violence to creep into his overheated rhetoric. [Markey]

http://ctlocalpolitics.net/2008/08/13/boehner-to-headline-fundraiser-for-cappiello/

Now I find it rather odd that two partisan Democrats not known for prior restraint in their criticism of Republicans are so irked at this rheotorical florish.

First, Boehner was not suggesting he wanted to "hang" Pelosi, or recommending it. He predicted the "American people" would do so.  Evidently the Democratic party has rather low regard for the Americans people's  judgment in this regard.

It's also odd that a liberal CT blogger known for wishing all sorts of ill to occur to Senator Joe Lieberman would suddenly develop such a delicate sense of decorum.  

But maybe the biggest problem is a sense of humor which is akin to the 1980 comedy hit Airplane!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080339/

Implying Boehner's comment were anything more than a projection of future election results makes as much sense as this dialogue

Ted Striker: Surely you can't be serious.
Rumack: I am serious... and don't call me Shirley

I'd ask Pelosi, Miller and Markey to shed some light on these remarks, but just like the movie, they might just dump a bunch of old lamps out of a truck.

We have a bunch of comedians in the Democrat Party. Sadly, they aren;t even good ones.

ARRA News Service - In the House, the Republican protest over Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to allow a vote on drilling enters its second week today. The message is clearly having an impact, as Politico reports that “MoveOn.org announced Thursday it was launching radio ads targeting Republicans for organizing the protest.” MoveOn is apparently desperate to blunt the momentum for more drilling; a new Rasmussen poll that shows 57% of Democrats and 61% of independent voters see finding new energy sources as a priority. Rasmussen Reports also notes: “With energy issues taking center stage in the presidential campaign, 81% of Americans see development of new energy sources as an urgent priority. Only 9% disagree.”

I'm sure you've heard the one about, a guy walks up to the bar and the bartender says, "There's no way, no how the Republicans can win this year." And while you would expect that from fair and balanced media outlets like "Newsweek" and MSNBC, there are a growing number of our own people walking around feeling the same way. And if they haven't already given up, they're threatening not to vote everytime John McCain has the slightest idea that isn't in lock step with "The National Review."

So when I see articles like in today's Wall Street Journal, " Not All Democrats Want To Ride Obama's Coattails," I say to myself, "Self, just why the hell can't we win?" Instead of giving up or whining whenever our candidate doesn't pander specifically to us, let's brainstorm on ideas on how to take the fight to a Democrat controlled congress with a 9% approval rating. For example, there was one part of the WSJ article that caught my attention:

"Operatives from both parties predict that there will be about 75 competitive House races in November. Among the most vulnerable are 26 freshman Democrats and one freshman Republican."

Those are 26 freshman democrats who were voted into Congress on promises, most of which congress didn't even come close to fulfilling.  The biggest  is how the D's were going to lower gas prices. Remember Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer being driven down the block in their SUV's to hold a press conferences at the local gas station? So here's my idea...what if we campaigned on John McCain's "Lexington Project" the same way we did with the "Contract for America" back in 1994?

At $4.20 for a gallon of gas I can't think of a better contrast than McCain's energy plan where no idea is off the table (including alternative energy, conservation, and off shore drilling) and the D's plan (as per a recent article from Politico.com) of, "driving less and waiting for the wind." If Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi think driving less is the winning argument, maybe they'd like to write my boss a letter excusing me from having to drive to work.

Campaigning on the Lexington Project is just one idea. Maybe instead of giving up so easily, our time would be better spent brainstorming on more.

We'll be discussing this and more this Sunday on PCLIVE! You can visit us on Facebook too.

Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: When it comes to addressing our national energy crisis, drilling for oil and protecting America and American interests, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representative is clueless. Even the liberal New York Times has taken notice.

On Friday, Carl Hulse in an NYT article title "Democrats Dig In as G.O.P. Presses for Oil Exploration in Protected Areas" depicts the logger-headiness of Pelosi. The article is long but worth reading. Some limited excerpts will reveal Pelosi's failure to comprehend our internal National crisis and her inept understanding of the role of the National Strategic Petroleum Reserves in a time of global crisis with existing threats against America and American interests:

House Democratic leaders took a hard line Thursday against opening up restricted areas to oil production as Republicans threatened to try to keep Congress in session this summer unless they got a vote on new drilling opportunities.

As the political and policy fight over gasoline prices escalated, the White House rejected a call by Democrats to release oil from the nation’s strategic reserves in an effort to lower prices by increasing supply. Tony Fratto, a White House spokesman, said, “We’d like to see members think a little bit more long term and take advantage of the opportunity that we have to do drilling from our domestic sources.”

Even as some Democratic lawmakers called on Congress to open up restricted areas to drilling, . . . “This call for drilling in areas that are protected is a hoax,” Ms. Pelosi said. “It’s an absolute hoax on the part of the Republicans and this Bush administration.” . . . But with public anxiety growing over gasoline prices, some Democrats say their party has to move beyond encouraging exploration on tracts already owned by oil companies and open new, potentially productive areas to exploration. Leaders of a coalition of moderate and conservative

Democrats known as the Blue Dogs have stepped up their push for drilling both in the Arctic refuge and offshore, saying the oil royalties produced could pay for research into new energy technologies. “I propose that we drill in ANWR,” said Representative Mike Ross, Democrat of Arkansas, referring to the refuge. “We’ve already got a pipeline going to Alaska, the ANWR, that can handle two million barrels a day. We’re only putting one million in it. Let’s fill it up.”

But Ms. Pelosi, who considers energy legislation a personal priority, does not appear ready to shift her view, based on discussions in a private meeting with members of the leadership on Thursday. According to accounts from those present, Ms. Pelosi said that if Democrats relented on drilling, “then we might as well pack it up and go home.”

Ms. Pelosi instead forged ahead with the effort to encourage the White House to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, even listing the White House telephone number and e-mail address on a poster at a news conference to encourage consumers to join the appeal. She said the release of less than 10 percent of the 700 million barrels of oil in the reserve would influence the price at the pump “now, within 10 days, not within 10 years.” . . .

Pelosi continues to prove time and again that she is a masochistic politician who is heartless in her un-willingness to do anything and everything to help the American people while at the same time she insists on placing our National Security at risk. She welds her dictatorial control over house democrats and refuses to allow anything that might in any way give partisan credit also to the Republicans. She has helped lead the U.S Congress to its lowest approval rating ever.

Let's clarify the risk that Speaker Pelosi is willing to take even though it is not a solution to our petroleum resource needs. Lee S. Gliddon, Jr in Desert Conservative hits the nail on the head regarding Pelosi approach of releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve:

If you really think about Nancy Pelosi’s demands that we use our nation’s Emergency Reserve Oil Supply as a, ‘fix,’ you will see that she has no thoughts of the real ‘why’ this Emergency Reserve exits in the first place! Should Iran actually close the Straits of Hormus after were used the Emergency Reserves, then what? Nothing to be used and what would our military do? Nancy Pelosi has ideas but her ideas are going to destroy America!

Pelosis is clueless as Speaker of the House. And that is being nice. Because if she were not clueless, then she would be a traitor based on her past actions and comments while Speaker of the House. It is time for Speaker Pelosi to step down. If unwilling to step down, we can only hope there exists enough uncompromised Democrats like Rep. Mike Ross to lead in establishing a coalition of House Democrats to replace Pelosi. The United States needs a new Speaker who is a statesperson; a person more dedicated to the people than to liberal party pandering. America deserves and needs a better person speaking for the House to the public!

We welcome Senator Alexander to the blog, and applaud his action to improve our energy situation.  - Jon Henke

Americans are feeling the pain at the pump. Hundreds of my constituents have written me with their stories of how record-high fuel costs are affecting their family budgets. One Tennessean who wrote to me is a diabetic who is having trouble paying for her insulin shots due to rising gas prices. She says: “Gas for work or insulin to live. That is the decision I have had to make several times daily.”

It’s time for Congress to take action. Forty-four Senate Republicans are co-sponsoring legislation to address these record-high costs. Our bill – the Gas Price Reduction Act of 2008 – can be summed up in four words: “Find more, use less.”

“Find more” means we would increase U.S. oil production by one-third through offshore exploration and Western states’ oil shale. This will over time produce at least 3 million barrels a day. “Use less” means we would reduce imported oil by one-third by making it easier for millions of Americans to drive plug-in electric cars and trucks. This will over time reduce Americans’ use of oil by 4 million barrels a day. Just those three provisions – deep sea exploration, Western shale, and plug-in cars – will allow us to cut our oil imports in half.

Unfortunately, most Democrats still insist on trying to repeal half the law of supply and demand.

Instead of Economics 101, we might call this new theory “Obamanomics.”

When we say “offshore exploration,” they say “No, we can’t.” When we say “oil shale development,” they say “No, we can’t.” When we say “more nuclear power for clean electricity to power plug-in cars and trucks,” they say “No, we can’t.”

They would rather our country beg Saudi Arabia and other countries for more oil when we already have larger reserves than the Saudis offshore and in shale in Western states.

Republicans will do BOTH – find more and use less – and we intend to work hard and in good faith to find a way for Democrats to say “yes we can,” too.

Every poll taken and every conversation with a real person outside of DC shows gas prices as the number one issue in the country... and today Senate Democrats schooled us on it.  “Republicans Defend Big Oil” is the basic message we sent the country after the energy debates in the Senate today, we'll really win elections on that one.  Here’s the AP’s opening paragraph:

Saved by Senate Republicans, big oil companies dodged an attempt Tuesday to slap them with a windfall profits tax and take away billions of dollars in tax breaks in response to the record gasoline prices that have the nation fuming.

Anything that even gives a reporter the excuse to write that is political insanity.  So how do we win on this issue instead of getting ourselves pegged as special interest shills?  Stop doing anything that can be portrayed as defending oil companies, start shining the spotlight on the Saudis and shift the debate further towards production.    

First, I don’t see any reason at all we need to keep getting stuck with the “defending tax breaks for big oil” charge over and over again.  Subsidies are not a free market principle.  Let’s cut ‘em and get the issue off the table.

Second, start talking about the Saudis.  The Democrats are winning this debate because they’ve offered domestic oil companies up as a handy scapegoat.  We’ve got to change the narrative and start focusing criticism on, gee I don’t know, the international cartel of terrorist funding despots that actually controls the oil supply?  Of course, the legions of lobbyists and public affairs shops that the Saudi’s have retained around DC have absolutely nothing to do with why they haven’t been the subject of criticism.

Doing both of those things makes it easier for us to shift the spotlight back onto all the pro-energy production policies we want to pass and the Democrats insist on blocking.  Republicans are much more serious about increasing production and making the U.S. truly energy independent, but we’ve let the Democrats turn the debate into a fight over “big oil company profits.”  To be fair to the Senate Republican leadership, they have been trying to talk about production, but without pivoting away from the “big oil” narrative, the Democrats were able to use their procedural levers as a way to control the terms of the public debate.

So practically, what should Senate Republicans have done differently?  Let the bills come to the floor, drop the objection to cutting the oil company subsidies, offer amendments to strip out the windfall profits tax (letting senators vote their conscience on it) and then start offering amendments for a week straight on production-increasing measures that will “free us from our dependence on terrorist-funding despots.”

On Friday, I sat down with Rep. Thad McCotter (R-MI), the Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee. We had a reasonably wide-ranging discussion. You can watch all of the segments here, and I will be posting them regularly here and at Redstate. In this one, McCotter explains that the issue environment may not be as bad for us as we may think.

What do you think? Do you buy this? I confess to being somewhat skeptical.