Alesch Right, Opponents Wrong on Domestic Drilling
October 30, 2008
By Patrick Kelly, Alesch for Congress Campaign Manager
A summer of out-of-control speculation on the oil markets drove the price of oil up to a high of $147 barrel, resulting in the record $14.83 billion in quarterly profits announced today by the oil producer Exxon Mobil.
Meanwhile, while Exxon executives were getting even wealthier, ordinary people could not afford to drive to work and were struggling to pay across the board higher prices for their groceries and other essentials.
Welcome to Bush America.
What's more insidious is that right-wing operatives, on behalf of their corporate donors, attempted to use the crisis to lock in more record-breaking profits in the future. They conjured up a mantra "Drill Here, Drill Now," saying that 'we the people' should give away rights to our precious national resources to oil companies. They promised that doing so would increase the supply of oil, thus lowering the price of gas. To anyone with a basic understanding of the free market, that line seems to make sense.
But don't be fooled. Oil is NOT traded on a free market. It is traded on a market dominated by speculators and oil producers who manipulate the price of oil for a living. When oil companies and speculators work together to drive up the price, they can set the price to be whatever they want.
"Drill Here, Drill Now" is an attempt by these same people to take away our last bargaining chip. As citizens of the U.S., we control those protected off-shore and arctic reserves. They belong to all of us, and they are our insurance policy against a future energy disaster, and fortunately, in the past, we elected smart legislators who protected these valuable national assets. They knew that if we squander all the oil by giving it away and using it up, we will soon be 100% dependent on foreign oil and the despots who control it.
Giving away domestic oil is not only bad for our national security, it doesn't solve the problem of high prices because there is no guarantee that supply would increase, nor could those reserves have been tapped anytime soon.
Recently, the debate on domestic drilling has become somewhat moot. Since the beginning of the economic crisis, the market's willingness and ability to speculate on oil has decreased dramatically, and we're seeing a corresponding decrease in the price of oil and gasoline. Just today, a gas station that was selling gas in the $4.30s a few months ago is now selling gas for $2.77.
Voters, please take note of those who tried to pander to you by touting this "Drill Here, Drill Now" solution to our nation's energy crisis, offering you this cheap gimmick in place of sound policy. Republican Rep. Judy Biggert and Democrat Scott Harper both supported gimmicky domestic drilling proposals that would have disastrous long-term consequences for our economy and national security.
Meanwhile, the Green Party's Steve Alesch is the candidate who correctly identified the problem and offered a viable solution -- no more domestic drilling. Instead, build a sustainable, fuel-efficient future by increasing CAFE standards, offering substantial tax rebates on hybrid and electric cars until they make up 55% of the cars on the road, increase mass transit funding and put a moratorium on new highways.
Steve Alesch is the one candidate who knows that by resisting knee-jerk reactions and gimmicks, and insisting on smarter planning, we can overcome any crisis today and prevent them in the future.
Voters, please reward responsibility in public policy-making and cast your vote for Steve Alesch and other Green Party candidates this Tuesday, Nov. 4.
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