It Was A Hoax!

The irony here is striking. Let's take a look. Speaker Nancy Pelosi:

Of course, as prices rose through the summer, even she fell for this supposed 'hoax', saying she would allow a vote on increased drilling. This was an almost unprecedented step for Democrats, given this history:

For decades, Democrats have blocked efforts to responsibly develop the energy resources our country possesses, transforming vast areas of opportunity into "The No Zone."

Over the past 30 years:

Democrats have blocked the development of new sources of petroleum.
Democrats have blocked drilling in ANWR.
Democrats have blocked drilling off the coast of Florida.
Democrats have blocked drilling off of the east coast.
Democrats have blocked drilling off of the west coast.
Democrats have blocked drilling off the Alaskan coast.
Democrats have blocked building oil refineries.
Democrats have blocked clean nuclear energy production.
Democrats have blocked clean coal production.

But, with two-thirds of Americans supporting offshore drilling and after gas prices soared to over $4 per gallon in July Speaker Pelosi said the Left would consider drilling.

Now, we find out what the real hoax was: Pelosi allowing a real vote on increased oil drilling and energy production.

The Leftist 9th Circuit Court of Appeals just blocked a major drilling effort off the coast of Alaska, and it is unlikely any Democrats are going to stand up to complain about it. Investor's Business Daily has the details:

Remember those 68 million acres House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the oil companies had to use or lose? According to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, they can't drill there either...

Last Thursday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a major drilling effort in the Beaufort Sea, ruling that federal officials failed to properly address environmental concerns when they granted permission to Shell Oil to drill there. The decision followed a temporary order issued last year that halted Shell's drilling at Sivulliq, 16 miles off the coast of northern Alaska.

"There remains substantial questions as to whether Shell's plan may cause significant harm to the people and wildlife of the Beaufort Sea region," the current ruling said.

It was prompted by a pair of combined lawsuits filed by environmental and Native groups that alleged oil drilling in the Beaufort Sea would disturb migrating whales.

This isn't the first instance where political correct stupidity has trumped practical economic and security concerns:

In a July interview with IBD in which we asked better questions than Katie Couric, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, before she was picked as John McCain's running mate, said: "There are even bigger sources of crude than ANWR . . . such as offshore areas like the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea."

Palin in May challenged the listing of the polar bear as an endangered species; the listing was another move designed to block drilling in these areas. She argued that polar bears were and are well-managed and their population has dramatically increased over the last 30 years. Since 1960, when the Alaska oil hunt began, only two oil-related bear fatalities have been documented, according to the federal Mineral Management Service.

The problem, Palin said, was "we frequently find ourselves at the mercy of those who think that we must be protected from ourselves. Shell is up here wanting to drill offshore, but they've been fighting various environmental groups through the 9th Circuit Court and are running into very fierce push-back."

The Alaskan Outer Continental Shelf holds 26.6 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil and 132 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas, according to recent Minerals Management Service estimates. Most of that is in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas.

The real hoax is that they say they want more oil drilling and energy production (though their own drilling bill ruled out almost all actual drilling as can be seen in the picture above), then they appoint judges who make it as difficult as possible for oil companies to actually drill. When will the American public demand accountability from the Democrats and the Left? The American people want more drilling, more nuclear power, more coal power, more wind power, more solar power...why are the Democrats always standing in the way?

Why are people still believing them when the lie through their teeth about providing more energy for America?

There's my two cents.

Source: Gateway Pundit