In a move that appears out of character, unexpected, and generally inexplicable to tree-huggers everywhere, President Obama has reportedly decided to open up portions of the American coastline for offshore drilling… or is it?
Under the plan, the coastline from New Jersey northward would remain closed to all oil and gas activity. So would the Pacific Coast, from Mexico to the Canadian border.
The environmentally sensitive Bristol Bay in southwestern Alaska would be protected and no drilling would be allowed under the plan, officials said. But large tracts in the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea in the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska — nearly 130 million acres — would be eligible for exploration and drilling after extensive studies.
The move, when combined with the President’s new affection for nuclear energy, should send a message to all “moderate” Republicans that the President is willing to “compromise” to get their vote on proposed “cap and trade” legislation that will be taken up again in the Senate next month. Ready the Sunday circuit… Lindsey Graham is on his way. He has at least three weeks to prepare the nation for his move to the Left on this one, so don’t expect him to waste any time.
The Lonely Conservative is Skeptical to say the least…
Update: I should also have pointed out that any drilling that may occur won’t happen for years. So this move is largely symbolic.
Remember This???
Video via Michelle Malkin..
Adding a bit of Reason to the debate is Mr. Jackson at Political Realities…
Two Truths.
If he tells me his name, I don’t believe him.
If it is too good to be true, it isn’t
It’s a distraction move with an expiration date that will come sooner than later. Mark my words.
Heritage reminds us that the devil, as always, is in the details:
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/03/31/don%E2%80%99t-be-fooled-by-obama%E2%80%99s-offshore-drilling-announcement/
Well, I’m not sure how much reason I added to the discussion, but thanks for the link. As I mentioned in my own article, I really question the move to suspend the leases in Bristol Bay. My thinking is this If our government is keen on getting the drilling underway and adding more domestic oil production to the mix, why are we stopping leases that have already been approved. Why not continue with those leases, instead of trying to start drilling in other places? This will do nothing but slow down even more the process of getting more domestic oil on the market. I applaud the overall decision, but I question that part of it. At any rate, President Obama is going to have a very hard row to plow in trying to sell this to the environmentalists.
LD I think you might have hit the nail on the head on two fronts… I may be going a little conspiracy theory on you here but indulge me for a moment… First of all. Who would stand to take the biggest hit from stopping proposed drilling in Alaska – aside from millions of Americans that could benefit from increased domestic supplies? The President that proposed it? Or dare I say.. the conservative starlet Sarah Palin????
Secondly, as to the environmentalists. They will certainly fight this thing in the courts. Our wonderful system of justice that gives municipalities and government entities immunity for nearly all of its wrongdoings does allow our wonderful treehugging groups to have standing to sue even when they are in no way impacted by “proposed legislation.” They have no offices, no legitimate interest in the matters, but they are allowed to litigate said issues on the public’s behalf. Who the hell made them our representatives? I certainly didn’t.
That leads me to my real conspiracy theory – if it really could be called that. I’d prefer to call it the most likely scenario. As Cap and Trade moves forward, this President is going to have to fight off cries that he is an environmental extremist – which he is – and what better than proposed actions that appear to illustrate a different conclusion? He knows that these projects will take years to come to fruition and he KNOWS that environmental organizations will challenge them all the way. I would even go so far as to say that the two have a mutual understanding. Let me “propose” this – you can challenge it in the courts – and WE will get cap and trade…
A little help from Graham, Collins, Snowe, and McCain??? and he may just accomplish that end.
I’ve been scanning through your site. You have some nice posts on here, especially this one – I really enjoyed it…nice post. Consider yourself bookmarked
nice post. thanks.
A flat tax of 11% of ALL Americans would bring in more money to the government that they are bringing in today – but of course we would tick off a ton of liberals who now reside in their parents’ basements. But at this point if something is not done to reign in spending and taxes we will all be living there.