Jul

Bush Rescinds Executive Order Banning Offshore Drilling

President Bush today withdrew an executive order which banned offshore oil drilling. Of course it doesn’t mean much, because Congress would also have to lift its ban.

In another push to deal with soaring gas prices, President Bush on Monday will lift an executive ban on offshore drilling that his stood since his father was president. But the move, by itself, will do nothing unless Congress acts as well.The president plans to officially lift the ban and then explain his actions in a Rose Garden statement, White House press secretary Dana Perino said.

There are two prohibitions on offshore drilling, one imposed by Congress and another by executive order signed by former President Bush in 1990. The current president, trying to ease market tensions and boost supply, called last month for Congress to lift its prohibition before he did so himself.

But Perino said Bush no longer wants to wait. She pinned blame on the leaders of the Democratic Congress, noting that no action has been taken on this issue. Read more….

Unfortunately, here is the left’s response:

“The Bush oil policy is an attempt at mass deception by a White House that has, for the last seven and a half years, pursued Big Oil’s agenda of drill, drill, drill,” Markey, chairman of a select House of Representatives committee on energy independence, told a news conference.

“Drill, drill, drill has failed, failed, failed,” Markey said. “It has failed to make America energy independent. It has failed to prevent rising prices at the pump.” Read more….

and

“The president cruelly is misleading Americans for attempted political gain,” said Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat. “He knows ruining our coastlines won’t bring down gasoline prices nor solve our energy challenges.” Read more….

First, we aren’t “drilling, drilling, drilling.” As illustrated in the Gateway Pundit post, most of our continental shelf is off limits.

Think of it this way, the Democrats are arguing that oil companies have leases on 68 million acres. Ask yourself, are they where the oil is? Secondly, consider this, the Federal Government controls over 650 million acres of land. So there is a lot of places that still need to be opened up to exploration.

Second, the left, in this case Senator Nelson, plays the environmental card, claiming drilling for oil will ruin our coastline.

Let me ask you one question. How many oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico sprung leaks during Hurricane Katrina? Argument over. Second, most, if not all of these oil platforms will be so far offshore, they will be out of sight. So the second argument, that it will ruin the “view” is also dead wrong and a lie.

The Republicans may be spineless wimps, but a least they don’t want you to pay $4.00 a gallon for gas.

The Democrats, the party of high gas prices.

Technorati Tags: Bush, Democrats, Offshore drilling