Posted by
A. Wild on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 9:50:44 AM
Democrats are reading the polls this morning, apparently. On FNC's morning show, Bill Richardson raises eyebrows by suggesting that Barack Obama may in fact reconsider his reluctance on OCS drilling. Wait, not quite - if it takes 10 years to see the results, it's not worth looking into. Then comes the mantra: WE CAN'T DRILL OUR WAY OUT!
Knock-down: We can't tax our way out. We can't conserve our way out. The amount of time it will take for prices to be affected is irrelevant. Investment in domestic energy independence is justified on economic and national security grounds, and we must take a very long view. We must insist that oil companies drill where the resource is actually located, both on old and new leases. Renewable energy is free energy, and therefore should receive maximal investment via consumer tax credits. A multi-pronged, market-based solution.
And when they say, "No. What we need is a new Manhattan Project." (Which is code for "giant government program".) The answer is, "Better yet: fifty-thousand Manhattan Projects, for profit, distributed among American job creators, universities, and agencies."