The Editors on Offshore Drilling on National Review Online

NRO.jpg

John McCain has recently taken a step toward the right position on lifting the ban on offshore oil drilling though in my opinion he has not gone far enough. However, Barack Obama has remained consistent with his position as the most liberal Democrat in the Senate by remaining opposed to offshore drilling. Today’s editorial page of the National Review Online supports lifting the ban on drilling for offshore oil.

John McCain is finally starting to exploit Barack Obama???s weakness on the energy issue. With gasoline topping $4 per gallon, McCain reversed his stance on offshore drilling and called for Congress to lift a 27-year-old moratorium on coastal energy exploration. With this shift, McCain has put himself on the same side as two-thirds of the American people, according to a recent poll. Obama, meanwhile, has said that he “would have preferred a gradual adjustment” toward $4 per gallon gasoline, but otherwise he seems amenable to it ??? as we would be, if that $4 price reflected market conditions instead of government restriction of the energy supply.

Lifting the ban on offshore drilling won???t increase supply right away, but would signal to oil speculators that the U.S. is serious about increasing domestic production, long smothered under regulatory and tax practices that discourage exploration and the expansion of our refining capacity. That could immediately put downward pressure on the price of oil and alone would do more to reduce the price at the pump than anything Barack Obama has proposed. But McCain should go even further.

To continue reading this article, go to “Lift the Ban.”

Something needs to be done to correct the foolishness of our Congress’ opposition to offshore drilling???the vast majority of this opposition comes from Democrats. Let me again suggest that, if you have not signed Americans Solutions’ “Drill Here! Drill Now! Pay Less!” petition, now is the time to do this. As of this morning, 956,681 people have signed it, and this number is growing while I write this post. To sign this, click here. In addition, United States Rep. Lynn Westmoreland is circulating a pledge in Congress to increase United States oil production to lower our gas prices. So that you can identify these Congressman to make informed votes this fall, go to Rep. Westmoreland’s webpage House members who signed pledge to increase U.S. oil. Friends, now is the time to act and not tomorrow.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.