McCain Is Exactly Wrong on Energy

nro ^ | 6/11/08 | Larry Kudlow

[Fred]

Sen. John McCain delivered a nearly pluperfect supply-side tax-cut plan yesterday, one that is worthy of conservative support, and frankly a real eye-opener showing just how good he can be. I wrote about it in my latest column.

But then he goes on NBC’s Today Show this morning and gets the whole energy story wrong. Oh my gosh.

When asked about gas prices at the pump, and whether they could go any lower, Sen. McCain said he didn’t think so because “You’ve got a finite supply, basically, and a cartel controlling it.”

This is exactly wrong. There is no finite supply, or if there is we are 100 years away from it. I don’t know who has put this thought into the senator’s mind, but it is a bad thought in terms of energy and a bad thought in terms of the politics of this campaign.

Look, we have the Bakken fields, the outer continental shelf and all the offshore drilling opportunities, ANWR, and so forth. There’s probably over a trillion barrels worth of reserves out there. And Republicans in the Senate are trying to move a deregulated drilling bill through the process. McCain should be backing this and talking about it.

Democrats are out there pushing cap-and-trade, which would jack up gasoline and oil energy prices, damage the economy, and create a massive central-planning exercise. The Democratic Congress has done nothing to alleviate the oil shortage. They’re captured by the greenies. They should be blamed.

This is a real turnaround issue for the Republicans and Mr. McCain. But McCain’s not going there.

Incidentally, in the Today Show interview, the senator takes a whack at oil-company profits, suggesting they should return some of these profits to consumers. And he would consider voting for a windfall profits tax. And then he used the phrase “obscene profits.” Make that two oh my goshes.

[Doohickey]

Why? They have no shame.

[Little Ray]

If oil companies start means-testing gasoline price... I just can’t post it.

The “poor” and “less fortunate” don’t pay their share in the first place. Right now the top 50% of incomes pay 97% of the taxes; needless to say, they also consume government services way out of proportion to their numbers in society.
Lets give the “Evil Rich” a break and to hell with the “poor” and the “less fortunate.”

[stockpirate]

“ThereÂ’s probably over a trillion barrels worth of reserves out there”

I read in just oil shale in the US we have over 800 billion barrels, several more hunderds of billions of barrels off shore.

Now China and Cuba are drilling 60 miles off the FL coast.

[Fishtalk]

predict a distinct lack of McCain buttkissers on this thread.

They find it really hard to defend their guy when he does this nonsense.

Gotta be one helluva tough job, giving up your pride and common sense to constantly defend a traitor.

Which is odd even more in that McCain doesn't even care what the Conservative base thinks. That's so obvious.

And yet they defend him even as he spits on the Conservative base. McCain is going after the disenchanted Democrats and the so-called "moderates". That's very obvious.

and hey, it might work. The strategy just might get him elected president and THAT'S what McCain cares about.

Now he can't even bow a bit to even what many centrist Democrats think and even more will just as soon as the pubbies grow some and start talking it up.

For the average American most certainly does think we ought to hell drill on our own soil and keep those gas prices rising and soon the ladies at the beauty parlor are gonna wonder why on earth our own elected politicians keep refusing to do such a thing.

It might take $5.00 a gallon gas but sooner or later the mighty beast of the American public, yeah us guys who carry this country on our backs whilst raising the soldiers and citizens of tomorrow, are really gonna wake up and we will all be mad as hell.

[CollegeRepublican]

God McCain sucks. How can you know so little and become a Presidential nominee? Thank God that my vote does not count here in Maryland. So I can vote my conscience which will certianly not be for Barry Osama or Juan McCrazy.

[cripplecreek]

If the congresscritters get the bill to his desk, he'll sign it;

And then there would be decades of court challenges costing billions.

[CaspersGh0sts]

“Nobody has a solution for the oil problem. Drilling more is a band-aid. It should still be done, but it won’t make a huge difference.”

http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/13/federal-lab-says-it-can-harvest-fuel-from-air/index.html?ref=science

Oh, we have solutions to the fuel problem if our country actually has the balls to use the technology we uncover. We could actually lead the world in pioneering this technology and sell the technology to others if we had leadership willing to do something about it and with the vision to make things happen.

But it would require a heavy investment in nuclear technolgy.

And it would probably require the band-aid of more drilling until we got things up and going.

And that’s just it: our politicians REFUSE to develop a long-term, viable energy program.

[SERKIT]

John McCain's Secret Energy Plan (formerly 'My Energy manifesto'). It is SO secret, you'll never find it on McCain's website:

* Cease all ethanol production. It takes away from food production and the unintended consequence is higher food costs. As diesel prices go up, the cost of farming tips the balance of cost to make ethanol a bad idea. Just say "no" to ethanol! Even Jimmy Carter says that diverting farm production from food to fuel is dumb – even HE gets it. This will create only ONE "blend" of gasoline and will cease regional "boutique" blends (gasohols) which are stupid, costly, and meaningless. Trucking custom blends around the country is wasteful. Ethanol blends get fewer miles to the gallon, and adds to the cost of production and transportation. Newer cars do not need oxygenated fuels.

* Lift the restrictions in order to drill for oil in Alaska, Gulf of Mexico, and other sites in the CONUS as a matter of national security.

* Encourage the petro industry to construct state-of-the-art refineries and/or retrofit current and dormant ones and crank up production for our newly-accessed oil in the CONUS.

* Make all “carbon credit” scams unlawful. Discrediting Algore should have been a slam-dunk a long time ago. Stop electing Reps who buy into the Global Warming / Global Cooling / Climate Change Hoax. CO2 is not our enemy!

* Construct SEVERAL, regional Pebble-Bed Modular Reactors (or other similar modern designs) that are not considered "breeders", are rechargeable, and cleaner than any current nuclear generator design. Breeders are OK, but PBMR's are better. Refine spent nuke fuel for recycling. DO SOMETHING NUCLEAR to resolve energy problems.

* Use the residual heat from the reactors above to process motor fuel from coal and/or shale. Even though Clinton "stole" some of the best coal reserves, we still have a lot to use.

* Become independent enough to make the cartels (i.e. OPEC) inconsequential.

* Convince local taxing bodies to lift or cap the sales tax on gasoline so that as gas prices go up, the local tax collectors don’t see a windfall revenue jump at the expense of the consumer. The Federal government could compel the states (and locals) to cap the fuel taxes.

If you squint real hard, and read between the lines, the ‘manifesto’ will require the dismissal of all RINOs and LibDems and the election of some clear-minded conservatives to even consider any of the above.

[trane250]

I read in just oil shale in the US we have over 800 billion barrels, several more hunderds of billions of barrels off shore.

In fact, there may be several trillion barrels of kerogen locked up in the western oil shales. In order to extract kerogen from the shale, massive amounts of fresh water and energy are required as well as the will to see the project through to completion. Unfortunately, we lack all 3 components. A start was made during Jimmy Carter's tenure but it soon shut down.

[TChris]

Whatever comes of November, it's gonna be a LOOOOOONG four years.

*sigh*

[Fred]

Please, no one is dissing nukes, coal to oil, bio diesel, etc..... There has got to be enough oil to get the US to the point where it can produce energy from these next generation sources.... We need more oil...

What part of this do you all not understand





I did not make this chart...it comes from the EIA For anyone to think we can just conserve our way out of this nightmare crisis is naive to say the least....Oh yeah, I hear the green red diaper doper babies on TV all day long telling everyone to just take the bus, put more air in your tires, walk, ride a bus.....AS IF this will stop the consumption of 9 million barrels a day...



Here is another good one...lets all just increase the taxes of oil so we can force conservation....the stupidity just never ends.

Any other country would be drilling like madmen if they had all these potential reserves.

I can sympathize with you if you are a volunteer or work for McCain. But McCain and his campaign have got to get this thru their thick skulls or lose.

And do not get me started on wind and solar...you are just asking for it...

[july4thfreedomfoundation]

There are vast reserves in North Dakota....an oil boom is going on there right now, in certain towns.

[kbennkc]

John McCain's Secret Energy Plan

I feel better knowing there is a secret plan . Are you sure of the wisdom of ever letting him in on it ?

[Marcella]

The Texas state Republican convention begins tomorrow in Houston and I will be there. MCain has sent Romney as his surrogate to make a speech. I think McCain isn’t coming because he might be booed on stage, too many real conservatives there. When Romney tells us how fine McCain is, he might be booed, too.

[TheBattman]

Add my name to the list of NON McCain buttkissers.

The jerk is not fit to be a Senator, much less President of the United States.

It doesn't really matter who is elected appointed in November, I have to remember that GOD is in control and is Sovereign. A time of judgment has been a common tool used of God to correct people. That is what I see at least the next 4 years (and possibly 8) as being for the United States.

[TADSLOS]

McCain has painted himself into a corner. If he reverses position now about drilling on US soil and offshore, he will be labeled a major league flip flopper by the dems and will lose all of those green weenie save the planet fairies, global warming soccer moms and disaffected Hillary voters. He’ll also lose his major liberal political allied power broker, Lieberman, who co-sponsored the cap and trade scam. Instead, he’ll be inaccurately painted even more as a conservative- the same people he’s been trying to scrub off like a bad case of scabies. Ah, the irony is sweet.

[Marcella]

I agree with you except McCain will hurt the conservative cause if he wins. God’s plan will be God’s plan no matter what we do, so trusting in God to deliver us from evil is our only salvation.

[trane250]

Any other country would be drilling like madmen if they had all these potential reserves.

In case you didn't know, Fred, western shales must be mined like coal. You can't drill for shale oil.

[Fred]

We have plenty of oil reserves too, time to drill for them....

[Fred]

Just way too funny and 100% accurate.....however, can’t they take it is a crisis approach as was Katrina....