It's obvious that we're heading for a showdown between Senate Democrats and 'Big Oil'. The Senate is ratcheting things up with their (non) energy plan. Here's a few details of their non-plan:
The Democrats' energy package also would:This isn't productive. Then again, the Democrats have been unproductive for the most part since retaking the majority. (I'm thankful for that because their agenda is radical.) As I said here, increasing taxes on oil companies while preventing them from producing more oil here at home is counterproductive.
- Make oil and gas price gouging a federal crime, with stiff penalties of up to $5 million during a presidentially declared energy emergency.
- Authorize the Justice Department to bring charges of price fixing against countries that belong to the OPEC oil cartel.
- Require traders to put up more collateral in the energy futures markets to curb speculation.
The only thing it's good for is to have Democrats thump their chests and say 'We're punishing evil big oil'. It apparently isn't important that they've done nothing to be part of the solution. In fact, it apparently isn't that important that they're part of the problem.
People are looking for solutions. The Democrats' plan (I'm using the term loosely) isn't a solution; it's a political ploy. If Republicans keep pushing Newt's plan, they'll quickly be seen as having a solution. If Republicans are seen as having the solution, they'll get a big fundraising lift and in the polls.
I'm confident, too, that first term Democrats running in the South will be on the hot seat the more the increased exploration agenda is pushed. That's a good thing because it puts the Democrats on the defensive. They either let these freshmen do what they want or they put them on the endangered species list.
Oil executives, testifying before Congress last month, called the proposed taxes "punitive" and warned that they would discourage domestic oil and gas exploration and production, possibly causing prices to rise instead of fall.Democrats can reject the comparison all they want. That won't change the public's opinion that they want lower gas prices. It won't be difficult to prove them wrong. A simple Google search would undoubtedly produce headlines and articles that would show people what happened.The American Petroleum Institute, which represents the major oil companies, has been reminding lawmakers that in the early 1980s, when the government imposed windfall profits taxes on oil companies domestic oil production dropped and imports increased.
But Democrats reject the comparison.
Most Senate Republicans have a different approach to dealing with the growing energy crisis: pump more oil and gas.Democrats won't let this happen but that's ok. Republicans will be able to point to the Democrats' standing in the way of lowering prices during the fall campaign. I'm betting that the American people will trust Republicans, if for no other reason than that they have a coherent plan.The GOP energy plan, rejected by the Senate last month, calls for opening a coastal strip of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil development and to allow states to opt out of the national moratorium that has been in effect for a quarter century against oil and gas drilling in more than 80 percent of the country's coastal waters.
"Republicans by and large believe that the solution to this problem, in part, is to increase domestic production," said McConnell.
Everyone knows that renewables and other alternative energy sources must be part of the solution but they know that everything has to be on the table. Here's a question for Democrats:
Why would you unilaterally make anything offlimits in finding a solution to this crisis?
The D's don't have an answer for that question. That's because they shouldn't make any capability offlimits in brainstorming for a solution to this crisis.
