Democrats Ready To Fold On Drilling

• September 15, 2008

As Obama struggles and Republicans feel revived by the ascension of Sarah Palin into the national spotlight Democrats in the Congress get ready to fold this week on one of the most prominent issues of this election season.

Congressional Democrats, balancing political reality against a policy they have long opposed, are on the cusp of approving legislation that would open the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to oil drilling as close as 50 miles offshore.
With votes scheduled this week in the House and Senate, Democrats have essentially given up defending the current ban on drilling within 200 miles offshore along both coasts. Instead, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), they are offering a mix of proposals that would allow drilling, with the waters off Massachusetts, Virginia and Georgia most likely to be the first affected.

More bad news for the left, which hasn’t had a lot of good news at all of late.

Tags: Domestic Issues, Politics

http://Array Ken Roberts

They have not folded they have offered a bill that would block most drilling and place a tax on the oil, that would negate any savings at the pump. It is the sham of the century, they have been against drilling and still are and will be even if they do it right , which seems to be out side their realm of thinking . It is smoke and mirrors and that is what the democrats do best
jimmy

Nobody in this thread seems to think the oil companies will ever be able to make any money off of new drilling sites. That is bizarre to say the least.

Opening up more drilling sites will not have a significant impact on the price of gas and oil.
Bat One

Permitting more drilling might make the oil companies happy and reward them handsomely for their investments in lobbyists and campaign contributions, but it won’t do anything of significance for individual US consumers.

Jimmy,

You appear to be a lot better at talking points than at making sense.

How do you figure that permitting more drilling will reward oil companies “handsomely” if they won’t have oil to sell for “many years”? Fact is, it will cost them huge amounts of money to acquire the necessary leases and drill for more oil… costs which will not be recovered until they find and start pumping, and selling the new oil.
docdave

Permitting more drilling might make the oil companies happy and reward them handsomely for their investments in lobbyists and campaign contributions, but it won’t do anything of significance for individual US consumers.

I can’t believe that someone would make such a stupid and erroneous comment. You obviously know nothing about economics or the oil industry but a parroting leftist b.s.
jimmy

Permitting more drilling might make the oil companies happy and reward them handsomely for their investments in lobbyists and campaign contributions, but it won’t do anything of significance for individual US consumers.

It will be years before any oil specifically from newly opened drilling sites comes on line, and when it does come on line, its effect will be dwarfed by other factors that determine the worldwide price of oil.

The price of oil has already dropped dramatically from its highs earlier in the year, and the drop has nothing to do with whether or not the US opens more drilling sites.

The reasons for the worldwide drop in oil price include factors such as the drop in demand due to changes in energy use (eg, people and businesses are buying more efficient vehicles and finding other ways to use less oil) and the drop in demand due to the broader economic downturn (people and businesses are generally buying less than they would in strong economy).
2Hotel9

Ken stole my thunder. There are several poison pills in this, and add to it the minor fact that all they have to do is block implementation in any number of ways, dragging this into the gutter, whilst crowing that THEY are the ones fighting to make oil available for American citizens to use.
http://www.wethepeopleforum.com/forum/forums.asp golfmann

The devils in the details couldn’t apply more to this PR stunt.
http://www.valleydeals.com/cgi-bin/board2/YaBB.pl Kevin

I’ll bet old lady Pelosi is really chewing her cud over this news!
docdave

If the Dems do agree to the drilling, they will loose the econuts fringe. The Reps are not likely to get their vote but we could see a rebirth of a green party.
http://dougeefargo.blogspot.com/ dougee

I love democracy!!! Drill Baby Drill!
Pomerdorgrad

Question is whether the Democratic bill would allows revenue sharing with the states. In the abstract, it’s a bad principle — those are federal resources — but in the world of political reality, you have to make that offer in order to get state legislatures to approve the drilling over environmentalist fear-mongering.
http://www.sayanythingblog.com/ electnixon

I would prefer that they simply let the existing ban expire instead of offering these half-truths.
exsanguine

This is a bullshit bill put up by the commies.

They will make it so worthless that the repubs will be forced not to vote for it; then the commies will play gotcha and say “see, we’re for more drilling, but the R’s aren’t! see, see see!!!!”

blah blah blah.

There is a such a large portion of this country that needs to suffer the ills of the socialist ideals them cling to just to prove to them how utterly STUPID and ignorant they are.

I can dream…can’t I?

Ex
http://vdvfamily.com/ Sphagnum

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love the smell of victory…..
http://proof-proofpositive.blogspot.com/ proof_positive

The Reps are not likely to get their vote but we could see a rebirth of a green party.

Maybe an “Al Gore write-in” campaign?
Blue Eagle Six

Under the Pelosi bill, scheduled for a vote Tuesday, the federal government would not share royalties with the states, devoting the money instead toward federal funding for renewable energy resources. Taxes on oil companies would be increased, with that revenue also going to alternative energy sources.

A separate proposal, developed by about 20 Senate Democrats and Republicans, also would move the drilling boundary to 100 miles offshore, with states given the option to set it at 50 miles. But under that plan, new Atlantic drilling would be limited to Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. The Senate plan would allow no drilling in the Pacific.

In a key difference with Pelosi’s bill, the Senate legislation would allow new drilling off Florida’s west coast.

Washington Post

Industry experts question the effect of the proposals, citing federal studies that show that more than 80 percent of known oil reserves are inside the 50-mile limit and therefore unavailable.

Very little is known about oil reserves beyond 100 miles. Waters off almost the entire Pacific coast — where all three governors oppose drilling at the 50-mile barrier — is considered too deep for drilling 100 miles offshore.
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

Permitting more drilling might make the oil companies happy and reward them handsomely for their investments in lobbyists and campaign contributions, but it won’t do anything of significance for individual US consumers.

Really? How do oil companies get rewarded? How do they make their money? Isn’t it by selling products to us, the consumers? Or at least selling products to refiners who in turn sell gasoline to gas stations who sell it to us?

What you’re saying is that allowing increased drilling will reward oil companies, but oil companies are rewarded when we buy oil products. So basically oil companies drill and give us products we want and need.

What’s so wrong about that again?

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Democrats Ready To Fold On Drilling

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