offshore drilling

 This Reuters article that I read Wednesday indicates, "Obama has said he would be open to expanding offshore drilling areas as part of a comprehensive legislation to address America's energy problems." 

I agree with Republican lawmakers that it is essential to encourage President Obama to OK the offshore drilling plan. 

The moratorium on oil and natural gas exploration in the outer continental shelf that expired on September 30, 2008 was put into place during a very different time in our nation’s history.  Let’s not turn back the clock by imposing another ban.

Oil and natural gas exploration in the outer continental shelf will create additional U.S. jobs. Individuals who worked in this industry had wages in 2006 that were more than double the national average.

Production of oil and natural gas has brought billions of dollars in revenue to state and federal governments and represents a significant revenue source to the federal government.

For those of you who feel strongly about this issue you can find more information about offshore oil and natural gas exploration at the North Carolina Energy Forum website (http://www.ncenergyforum.com). The North Carolina Energy Forum is a community of concerned citizens who are committed to achieving energy security for our country. You can also join the NC Energy Forum.

ARRA News Service -As often happens on Fridays, Charles Krauthammer has a devastating column. He skewers Democrats in Congress for their staunch opposition to producing more oil and for their weak arguments against doing so. Krauthammer writes:

“By an overwhelming margin of 2 to 1, Americans want to lift the moratorium preventing drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf, thus unlocking vast energy resources shut down for the past 27 years. Democrats have been adamantly opposed. They say that we cannot drill our way out of the oil crisis. Of course not. But it is equally obvious that we cannot solar or wind or biomass our way out. Does this mean that because any one measure cannot solve a problem, it needs to be rejected? . . . The consensus in the country, logically unassailable and politically unbeatable, is to do everything possible to both increase supply and reduce demand, because we have a problem that’s been killing our economy and threatening our national security. And no one measure is sufficient.” . . .

The problem for the Democrats is that the argument for ‘do everything’ is not rocket science. It is common sense. Which is why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, surveying the political rubble resulting from her insistence on not even permitting drilling to come to a floor vote, has quietly told her members that they can save their skins and vote for drilling when the pre-election Congress convenes next month. Pelosi says she wants to save the planet. Apparently saving her speakership comes first.” . . . [Read Charles Krauthammer's No Will To Drill]

A report about the activity happening on the floor of the House. - Jon Henke

For an hour and a half this morning, I was on the House floor watching the Guerrilla Congress in action. Unfortunately, I have no photos to show for it, as Blackberries, iPhones, and cellphones were all banned from the chamber. The representatives I heard speak this morning (sadly, ol' Marsha Blackburn was not among them, though I did see her there): Adam Putnam (Fla.), Virginia Foxx (N.C.), Scott Garrett (N.J.), Frank Wolf (Va.), Christopher Shays (Conn.), Patrick McHenry (N.C.), Judy Biggert (Ill.), and Rob Bishop (Ut.). I think the theme of what everyone spoke on can best be summed up by what Rep. Putnam reiterated twice: "When the next generation looks at the Middle East on the map, they should be able to say, 'What an interesting place,' not, 'We depend on them for our economic security.'" A lot more under the jump.

Barack Obama's flip-flop on offshore oil drilling is a major strategic victory for House and Senate Republicans.

The Democratic plan was to reup the Congressional ban on offshore oil drilling as part of a long-term continuing resolution. Reid had originally promised a vote on offshore drilling, but has backed off that promise now that it has become a potent issue.

Now it is time to drive this issue home as a clearly branded Republican issue. The longer the fight goes on, the more it paints Democrats into a terrible corner. And there is a synergy between high energy costs and broader economic insecurity that will likely be the driving issue in November.

But let's review the dynamics that will lead to the win on this issue:

First, the dramatic events yesterday on the House floor telegraphed an intent to take this issue into recess. Undoubtedly, this is the major issue that Republican members will be talking about during the recesss. I would be shocked if there were not robocalls dropped in prior to townhalls in Democratic Congressional seats around the country. There will almost certainly be ads. Now the Republicans have a line that "even Barack Obama supports this, so why can't we get a vote in the House and Senate?"

Second, there is a bipartisan group of Senators who are pressuring Reid on this point, not to mention significant caucus-internal pressure on Pelosi. There will be enormous pressure from inside the Congress to force a vote on these issues.

Third, Republicans and conservatives are actually organized on this issue. Drill Here Drill Now has 1.4 million signatures and the American Family Association, with their 3.3 million person list, also seems inclined to play on this issue. You can expect enormous pressure from constituents on these issues.

Fourth,  an enormous majority is with us, and the higher-profile the issue is, the more people are likely to actually vote it. But the Dems have no reasonable action they can take until September while we pound them.

This will be fun. We have to keep track of what happens in Congressional districts and at town halls this recess.

More on that coming.

[Promoted - Jon Henke]

As Patrick noted earlier, the Lefty Noise Machine is "already trying to soften up" Bobby Jindal. Late last week Think Progress threw up a post, hitting Jindal for being "unaware" that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused "major" offshore oil spills. Debating offshore oil drilling on Fox News, Jindal accurately said, "You know, that’s one of the great unwritten success stories, after Katrina and Rita, these awful storms, no major spills." To rebut Jindal's claims CAP linked to a Minerals Management Service study that they claim reports "that 113 oil platforms were “totally destroyed” — a total of 124 offshore spills." And it is true. The cited MMS study does report that 113 oil platforms were destroyed and that there were 124 offshore spills.

But here is what else the report says: