The Play Behind the Politics
This will bring my series of images protesting offshore drilling back to even — one for each day this month.
So that we’re clear here, the entire offshore drilling debate including the smoky #dontgo and #drillheredrillnow initiative is all about heat with very little light.
All of the smoke blown by the Republicans is simply the business of politics. It’s always about taking known advantages and making sure they cast the opponent in the worst light. This is no different.
We all know President Bush lifted the executive order on offshore drilling. What I didn’t know until today was that even if he hadn’t, the bans have to be renewed each year before they expire on September 30th. Traditionally, they’re renewed as a rider to the appropriations bill.
What Bush signalled with the lifting of the bans is that non-renewal would pass through his hands with a nod and a smile. The Democrats don’t have a strong enough majority in the House or the Senate to force attachment of a rider, nor a veto-proof majority when Bush vetoes it.
In other words, releasing those leases was a done deal with no further action from Congress on September 30th.
Do they REALLY wonder why they have such a low approval rating there on Capitol Hill? This should give you a clue. The Republicans are all out there shouting about how Democrats won’t allow a vote, yada yada.
The truth is, no vote is necessary. No action necessary at all. Score one for the bad guys.
Still, for the rest of this month I’ll offer you visual reasons to at least morally, if not politically, oppose offshore drilling.
And I will do everything I can to knock my own Representative, Elton Gallegly, out of office for this and many other ineffective, greedy actions.
Update: GOP spinner ericjodom agrees with my analysis while lifting a quote from this post and altering it to appear as though I’m applauding by moving the quote and changing the word “bad” to “good”, as though that somehow justifies things. As I said in response to him, how utterly Rovian.
Just remember when you hear the new spin that Pelosi and the Democrats are ‘caving in’, that what is really going on is an effort to make something out of a Bush-GOP created situation which has absolutely no bearing on our gas prices or the current oil prices. Exxon John will benefit from the spin, unless educated readers choose to speak out and stop him.