How to win in November
This is an argument that can work for many Republicans -- except John McCain.
Via Powerline and Rep. Roy Blunt comes these numbers:
ANWR Exploration
House Republicans: 91% Supported
House Democrats: 86% OpposedCoal-to-Liquid
House Republicans: 97% Supported
House Democrats: 78% OpposedOil Shale Exploration
House Republicans: 90% Supported
House Democrats: 86% OpposedOuter Continental Shelf (OCS) Exploration
House Republicans: 81% Supported
House Democrats: 83% OpposedRefinery Increased Capacity
House Republicans: 97% Supported
House Democrats: 96% OpposedSUMMARY
91% of House Republicans have historically voted to increase the production of American-made oil and gas.
86% of House Democrats have historically voted against increasing the production of American-made oil and gas.
And the nationwide average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline has finally climbed above $4. When I filled up my tank Friday, I paid $4.399.
News reports talk about employers switching to 4-day work weeks and telecommuting. Use of public transportation is climbing, but it's costing more to run those buses and trains -- so prices are going up there too.
Using the pain many Americans are feeling, along with the Democrats' long history of refusing to use our own natural resources, it should be enough for Republicans to at least hold their own in a year that is poised to trend Democrat. Unfortunately, John McCain -- a centrist -- has been part of that GOP minority that has contributed to the bans on drilling off the coasts and in the most remote parts of Alaska. (McCain has likened drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling in the Grand Canyon -- he isn't senile, but he could use a vision test.)
Unfortunately, it looks like the global warming scaremongering has overtaken too much of mainstream American thought with the help of a credulous and scientifically illiterate media. The "Next Ice Age" scare of the '70s managed to last just long enough for it to be disproved by a warming earth. This time around, it seems that no amount of proof will allow reconsideration of the thesis. After topping out in 1998, the Earth stayed the same temperature until 2007 when it started cooling.
Still, you get members of the Church of the Earth decrying man's impact on the environment. Carbon dioxide-emitting cars are destroying the planet -- and carbon dioxide-emitting humans are a close second on those sinning against Mother Earth.
This idiocy has captivated a substantial minority of the GOP and nearly the whole of the Democratic Party. The policies advocated by this bipartisan majority have raised global gas prices by artificially constricting the supply of oil. They've raised the price of food worldwide by supporting policies that made food more valuable as fuel than as food. And the hilarious part of it is that the Democrats took over Congress in 2006 in part because of promises to bring fuel prices down -- gas was about $2.40 a gallon then.
All the promisies and policies they continue to support will only raise food and fuel prices more. If these policies don't force the American economy into a recession in the next couple of years, it will be a miracle.
This is an issue that Republicans in tough House and Senate races can run on. Will they? Especially when their party leader is on the other side of this issue? Who knows? But it may be their only hope.
On a personal note: I spent four nights last week at the Hoy Senior Living Home, where the commute to work is a 14-mile round trip instead of a 66-mile round trip. I took the trolley to work two days -- the other days I had to drive because by the time I get off work, the trolley no longer goes where I need it to go. This should save me around $200 a month -- and more every time the price at the pump goes up.
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I really think John McCain will change about anthropogenic global warming. The globe is cooling just fast enough to encourage the tide of skepticism. I think that tide will flood the nation's consciousness before the election.
Too bad he couldn't encourage that tide. It might really be a winner.
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