I'm A Big Environmentalist, But I'd Drill In Alaska
Some anecdotal evidence - today i got my hair cut, and was talking with the woman cutting my hair. We complained about high gas prices. I told her that we don't drill in the US, and haven't built a refinery in 30 years. She hadn't heard that, and wanted something done that would actually lower prices.
I went to Schnuck's and purchased some flowers for the wife - they've doubled in price in the last year, and have gone up 25% in the last 3 months. I pointed this out to a woman behind the meat counter, and said it was probably the cost of gas. Without being prompted she said, "I'm a big environmentalist, and even I say it's time to drill in Alaska."
I often try to draw people into discussions like this when I'm out. My goal is to simply find out how informed the average Missouri citizen is. If you're careful, you can get into a discussion of healthcare, the economy, the war, and guns, crime, and taxes without getting someone overexcited and reflexively Democrat or Republican.
What I'm seeing everywhere, from people of all types, in many separate areas, is a focus on gas prices. And they want someone to so something about it. This holds true even in Missouri, where we have the cheapest gas at $3.82 a gallon.
Enter Roy Blunt, who seems to be thriving in the minority. He pulled a chart the other day comparing the energy plans of the Republicans with that of the Democrats.
\Energy security is a winning issue, and it isn't just about gas prices. The public has been lied to about rich oil men in the White House. It's time that the average person start hearing that Democratic power brokers whose campaigns are flush from cash from environmental groups have actively been blocking drilling, refinery expansion, nuclear power, and even alternative energy sources like wind farms because they don't want more energy. These radical environmental groups want us poorer, because they think that humans are a cancer on the planet. The question, is how far the rest of the country will go along with that interpretation. There's a difference between recycling and not wasting water, and agreeing to cut carbon emissions by 80%. There's a difference between wanting better gas mileage and clean air, and deliberate policies to drive the price up gas up to $5 A gallon. How many Americans know that Al Gore said that $5 gas is the solution to our energy habit? Now that Al and the rest of the far left Democrats have had their way, are they happy? Shouldn't Al Gore be out there congratulating the American people on successfully implementing his ideas? Of course not. The only way rabid leftists get into power is to lie about their intentions, and then use the courts, executive orders, and bureaucracy to get their way. $4 gas and $5 diesel. It's what the Democratic leadership wants. Do you?
