Politics and Oil

“Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the level in Europe to encourage consumers to sever their addictions to petroleum.” Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

Hello all,


President Obama is right. America must pursue an “all the above” strategy to take control of our energy future. We should build the keystone pipeline, drill in Alaska, manufacture energy efficient vehicles and call for the resignation of U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, to name a few. I was thinking about this as I was filling my car with gas the other day at $4.35 a gallon. Secretary Chu said the above comment during a Wall Street Journal interview in September 2008. I remembered an op-ed piece I read the other day by Susan Brown. In her piece she spoke about how Secretary Chu is a noble prize winning scientist and no doubt a very smart man. Secretary Chu’s comment reminds us that earned degrees do not amount to much, if you loose your ability to understand common sense and fail to relate to the common man. Secretary Chu, who is part of the “1 percent” that liberals get their panties tied in a wad over, can easily afford Europe’s $8 per gallon of gasoline. Secretary Chu stands resolute in the face of an average gallon of gasoline at almost $4 (nationally). In Congressional testimony Feb 28th, Chu said his overall goal is not to lower gas prices but to lower or “decrease our dependency on oil”. No wonder the Obama administration is doing everything in its power (and pocket book) to have us “buzzing” around town in Chevy volts, (by the way, Chevy has halted production of the volt due to low sales). Incorporating a comprehensive energy policy is a nonpartisan no-brainer, which most Americans would wholeheartedly embrace, given they were allowed to embrace it – voluntarily. Instead, The Administration is bent on assuming a parental role in our lives (sound familiar?).

I’ve heard from friends and foes alike, that the President should tap the strategic petroleum reserve to bring down the gas prices. Now, this is where I might run into some flack from some of you. I disagree with the notion of the President using our oil reserves for political gain. Tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserves won’t help lower gas prices to $2.50, and it wont help the President win voters who are afraid his energy policies are bringing the country back to the 70’s era of long gas lines, bell bottoms and leisure suits. “ Draw, baby, draw” is not an energy policy. It won’t move the needle on gas prices and even if it does it will only be temporary. President Obama is now mulling tapping the SPR (strategic petroleum reserve) as he now says on the campaign trail that we can’t drill our way out of the high gas problems, because that wont move the needle. So then why tap the SPR?

It only moved the needle temporarily the last time it was tapped, when Libya was red hot. It only moved the needle slightly when President George W. Bush tapped it after Katrina in the fall of 2005. Gas still went to $2.98 by July 2006 from a $2.93 national average in September 2005, due to lost supplies from Venezuela and
Iraq. Turning on the SPR spigots didn’t stop gas from rising when President Clinton or President George H.W. Bush tapped it, either. The SPR’s inventory is now at 695.95 million barrels, though it has a maximum capacity of 727 million barrels. It is supposed to be used in emergencies like Iran shutting the Strait of Hormuz, not political panics over losing re-election. According to the DOE (U.S. Dept. of Energy) the SPR last reached its all-time high level of 726.6 million barrels in December 2009.
But top Democrats now urge the white house to unleash the SPR; Reps. Ed Markey, Peter Welch and Rosa DeLauro are urging President Obama to open up the spigots. Even though in their letter they admit supply is not an issue. And even though U.S. liquid energy demand is at a 15- year low. “This most recent run-up in prices is primarily the result of fear driving oil markets, not an actual loss of supply, ” the three wrote in a letter to President Obama, adding that it would “send a message to Iran that we are ready, willing and able to deploy our oil reserves.”
To me, we could lower gas prices more quickly by sending a “drill, baby, drill” message to the mid-east and speculators, that we intend to ramp up production of our own oil and decrease our dependency of foreign oil.


All right, there it is, let’s hear it. What do you think about the gas prices you pay today? Tell us what you think is a solution? As always join us on our website: thepeopleofliberty.com for good information or to just rant about the $4 a gallon gas you just filled your tank with.


Until next time, Rodney