True to form nobody wants to pay $4.00 per gallon for gas, nor do they want oil rigs offshore. That was the message from this morning's article in the Daily Times.
Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan doesn't want the view from his beaches ruined. It doesn't matter that you would need a telescope to see an offshore rig. Nor does he want the risk of pollution. Forget the fact that there is a higher risk of pollution from the city's own waste water treatment plant. How many oil spills were there after hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf?
I wonder what Meehan would say if the government proposed outlawing recreational and commercial fishing in the waters off Ocean City. There is probably more pollution from that than there would be from a dozen rigs parked 12 miles off his coast.
Meehan shouldn't feel bad. At least his "not in my backyard" views aren't nearly as bizarre as the arguments put forward by Delaware Sen. George Bunting (D-20):
True to form, our leading local Democrats like Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) don't want offshore drilling. They claim to support research for "alternative energy sources". Why wouldn't they? These guys love more big government programs.
I support research for alternative energy sources as well. The difference is that I believe that we should strip the oil companies of their current corporate welfare and allow them tax credits for research in those areas. Does anyone honestly believe that the government can solve the energy problem better than the private sector?
Let's face facts. The Democrats are not the least bit interested in SOLVING the current energy crisis. This is little more than a campaign issue for them. O'Malley's remarks are a case in point:
In addition to the oil being pumped, what about the potential economic development benefits?
Again, our Democratic brethren aren't looking for solutions. They simply want to spend tax dollars and whine in the media.
Cardin and Biden are two cases on point. Last week on WICO-AM, Cardin's rebuttal to any discussion of offshore drilling was "it won't do anything to lower the price of gas now". On this morning's "Meet the Press", Biden's response was almost exactly the same - only more long winded.
IF we don't start doing something now, there will NEVER be any effect on price of oil. Instead we will continue to be at mercy of the other oil producing nations as well as growing economies such as China and India.
Lest you believe that I'm only picking on the Dems, I commend you to Joe Biden's co-conspirator on "Meet the Press", Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC). When confronted with a series of quotes where he opposed offshore drilling his response was, "$4.00 a gallon gas and $135 per barrel oil".
With men of such strong philosophical conviction, is there any wonder that Barack Obama could wind up in the White House and the Dems could wind up with a filibuster-proof Senate? The best thing Sen. John McCain could do is kick Graham out as national co-chair and put real conservatives like former senator Phil Gramm and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) front and center.
cross posted at Delmarva Dealings
cross posted at Red Maryland
Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan doesn't want the view from his beaches ruined. It doesn't matter that you would need a telescope to see an offshore rig. Nor does he want the risk of pollution. Forget the fact that there is a higher risk of pollution from the city's own waste water treatment plant. How many oil spills were there after hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf?
I wonder what Meehan would say if the government proposed outlawing recreational and commercial fishing in the waters off Ocean City. There is probably more pollution from that than there would be from a dozen rigs parked 12 miles off his coast.
Meehan shouldn't feel bad. At least his "not in my backyard" views aren't nearly as bizarre as the arguments put forward by Delaware Sen. George Bunting (D-20):
"The only way I could be supportive of it is if we had a threat to national security, like if we're embargoed or something," he said. "The gas situation is really hurting a lot of people, and I think we as a nation are going to have to start being leaner in our use of fuel."Let's assume that it takes up to ten years to get a rig sited, built, installed and put in operation. IF we had some sort of "world emergency" (Bunting's term, not mine), it would be a little difficult to help with that emergency by drilling offshore, wouldn't it George?
True to form, our leading local Democrats like Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) don't want offshore drilling. They claim to support research for "alternative energy sources". Why wouldn't they? These guys love more big government programs.
I support research for alternative energy sources as well. The difference is that I believe that we should strip the oil companies of their current corporate welfare and allow them tax credits for research in those areas. Does anyone honestly believe that the government can solve the energy problem better than the private sector?
Let's face facts. The Democrats are not the least bit interested in SOLVING the current energy crisis. This is little more than a campaign issue for them. O'Malley's remarks are a case in point:
"The governor supports efforts to reduce our dependence on foreign oil by investing in cleaner, alternative and renewable sources of energy, but does not support lifting the moratorium because of environmental concerns regarding our coastal bays, Chesapeake Bay and our critical areas," said O'Malley spokeswoman Christine Hansen.Let's assume that we had offshore drilling off the Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia coasts. How would that affect the Chesapeake Bay? How would it affect our coastal bays? There would have to be a massive spill, coupled with a strong easterly wind. Given the safety record of modern oil platforms, is this really an unacceptable risk?
In addition to the oil being pumped, what about the potential economic development benefits?
Again, our Democratic brethren aren't looking for solutions. They simply want to spend tax dollars and whine in the media.
Cardin and Biden are two cases on point. Last week on WICO-AM, Cardin's rebuttal to any discussion of offshore drilling was "it won't do anything to lower the price of gas now". On this morning's "Meet the Press", Biden's response was almost exactly the same - only more long winded.
IF we don't start doing something now, there will NEVER be any effect on price of oil. Instead we will continue to be at mercy of the other oil producing nations as well as growing economies such as China and India.
Lest you believe that I'm only picking on the Dems, I commend you to Joe Biden's co-conspirator on "Meet the Press", Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC). When confronted with a series of quotes where he opposed offshore drilling his response was, "$4.00 a gallon gas and $135 per barrel oil".
With men of such strong philosophical conviction, is there any wonder that Barack Obama could wind up in the White House and the Dems could wind up with a filibuster-proof Senate? The best thing Sen. John McCain could do is kick Graham out as national co-chair and put real conservatives like former senator Phil Gramm and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) front and center.
cross posted at Delmarva Dealings
cross posted at Red Maryland
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Technorati Tags: 2008, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, politics, Maryland politics, Virginia politics, Delaware politics, Barack Obama, John McCain, Joe Biden, Lindsay Graham, Tom Coburn, Phil Gramm, Martin O'Malley, George Bunting, Ocean City, Rick Meehan, energy, GOP, Democrat, campaign
Rick Meehan is not only out of touch with the people of and the Town of Ocean City but also Worcester County.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like to me that if he were really in touch with his constituency he would have a vested interest in seeing energy cost reduced for many of the town's motoring tourist.
What a hypocrite. I hope he is replaced to.
We should just go to nuclear energy and stick to all the oil companies!
ReplyDeleteRick Meehan = Lost Ball in Tall Grass.
ReplyDeleteIt would be impossible to see them at that distance even with a telescope due to the curvature of the earth
ReplyDeleteWell, there is where the problem is, DEMOCREEPS.... Tree Huggers, they do not have a grip on life, only votes
ReplyDeleteGreat writing, G.A.--where ya' been?
ReplyDeleteWe're all in a big world of hurt. How do I get off this ship?
ReplyDeleteWho remembers the Arab oil embargo when " No Gas" meant no gas. OC was panicking about sunday driving bans, rationing - all which never came. Then the ad slogan came out " Only half a tank away".
ReplyDeleteMaybe the old B.C. and A. Railroad is still operational.
bob p
I agree, we should move to nuclear
ReplyDeleteenergy in this country and thereby stick it to the oil companies. It would solve our energy problems, but not the gas problems until the nuclear use eliminates the need for fuels and the prices have to drop.
A. Goetz
In the early 70's my father and grandfather worked for McKinney Drilling Company out of Texas.
ReplyDeleteThey were both getting ready to sell their homes in S.MD to move here to the Eastern Shore (Cape Charles actually) because they were going to start a 'slant drilling' project down there.
At the time, the entire area of Cape Charles was owned by Brown and Root Construction (Lady Bird Johnsons family company). There are huge reserves under there and they could have gotten it years ago but the EPA shut the project down, and now we have a dead town with overpriced homes no one lives in and golf courses, for the rich.
There is nothing there that keeps anyone no jobs, no industry, nothing.
I lived in CA for 12 years and you can't see the platforms from the beach. Meehan and all these others need to get over it.
We have the oil, we need to drill for it, all while we are seeking better sources.
Watch the movie "What ever happened to the Electric Car". They wouldn't sell them, only leased them and one day came and picked them all up. They were all crushed and the only one left is in the American Auto Museum and has been disabled; never to run again.
Do you honestly believe that additional domestic drilling will lower gas prices? Perhaps a math lesson is in order. The United States contains approximately 3% of the worlds oil reserves, yet we consume 25% of the world's production (these data are available from the United States Geological Survey). Consider ANWAR in Alaska. It is estimated to be one of the largest untapped reserves in North America. The high estimate in ANWAR is 10 billion barrels. Given that the U.S. consumes 21 million barrels per day, those 10 billion barrels under ANWAR would provide a mere 476 days of oil for the U.S.
ReplyDeleteOil indepence for the U.S. is a farce, we simply do not have enough to meet our own demands at our current consumption. The only answer to energy independence is to make real in-roads to sustainable/renewable energy sources.
Drill here, Drill now, Pay less!
ReplyDeleteWe may not get any immediate relief from the higher costs, but LOOK DOWN THE ROAD 3, 4, 5, years, even more.
Everyone wants relief, but many are opposed to drilling???
Those in opposition oughtta shut up.
They can pay if they want, I want relief. Even if it's 5 years from now.
oil rigs,fish like em,throw some wind mills in there to,fish like them to.
ReplyDelete