They Are Finally Getting It

There are some empty seats on the environmental bandwagon that's careened through Congress these past few months. It took soaring gas prices and angry constituents to bring members to their senses, but a growing number of them are politely excusing themselves from the extreme "green" team to advocate offshore oil drilling. Yesterday, President Bush stepped into the ring, calling on Congress to do its part to bring about some relief at the pump. While it will do little to end consumers' pain in the short-term, ending the moratorium on coastal drilling would be a step in the right direction. It is a step that requires the cooperation of both the administration and Congress. As the Wall Street Journal puts it, "Like launching a warhead, both keys must be turned."

First, the President has to rescind the executive order put in place by his father that blocks "coastal oil exploration." The burden would then rest squarely on Congress to give the go-ahead for offshore drilling. Rather than play his card and put the burden on Congress, President Bush held back, missing a golden opportunity to flex his political muscle and galvanize public support. Of course, the most frustrating part of the present energy crisis is that Republicans could have prevented this when they held a solid majority in the House and Senate. Instead, the GOP yielded to an extreme environmental view that pits nature against people, forcing families to choose between filling their tanks and filling their stomachs.

While it may have taken leadership a few years ago, Congress only needs to follow now because the American public is already there. According to a recent survey by the polling company inc., citizens favor U.S. drilling and lower gas prices over an environmental agenda by a 3-to-1 margin. I am not overly hopeful that Congress can even follow the public's lead on this. The response of the Democratic leadership to the $4.00+ a gallon gas prices has been to call for the nationalization of refineries. It is clear; voters are going to have to drive this issue in Washington.

Source: FRC, Wall Street Journal.