Dems Once Again Reveal True Energy Stripes

Continuing their unbroken streak of opposing increased domestic energy production, the Democrats in Congress are now pushing for a permanent ban on domestic oil drilling:

Back in July, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said she was not about to let the United States drill or develop our domestic energy reserves.
Pelosi insisted: "Drilling is a hoax!"
She wasn't kidding.
Democrats this week introduced a bill that would permanently ban drilling in ANWR.

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.

So it really wasn't so surprising when the democrats opened the 111th Congress by introducing a bill to permanently prohibit drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

Governor Sarah Palin reacted to this irresponsible move.
The Alaska Report has the governor's response, Free Republic:

Governor Sarah Palin today issued the following statement after members of Congress introduced a bill to permanently prohibit drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge:

"I am dismayed that legislation has again been introduced in Congress to prohibit forever oil and gas development in the most promising unexplored petroleum province in North America – the coastal plain of ANWR, in Alaska.

The governor made the following points:

* Oil from ANWR represents a huge, secure domestic supply that could help satisfy U.S. demand for more than 25 years.

* ANWR sits within a 20 million acre refuge (the size of South Carolina ) but thanks to advanced technology like directional drilling, the aggregated drilling footprint would be less than 2,000 acres (about one-quarter the size of Dulles Airport ). This is like laying a two-by-three-foot welcome mat on a basketball court.

* Energy development is quite compatible with the protection of our wildlife and their habitat. For example, North Slope caribou herds have grown and remained healthy throughout more than three decades of our oil development. Most of the year, our coastal plain is frozen solid and thus characterized by low biological productivity.

* ANWR development would create hundreds of thousands of good American jobs, positively affecting every state by providing a safe energy supply and generating demand for goods and services.

* Development here would reduce U.S. dependence on unstable, dangerous sources of energy such as the Middle East , and would decrease our huge trade deficit, a large percentage of which is directly attributable to oil imports.

I'm sure this bill is in no small part a direct shot at Palin, too. Gas prices are comfortably low right now, but they will eventually shoot back up (especially if Obama gets his way on energy and environmental policy). When that happens, remember who it is that has consistently fought against domestic oil drilling for decades: Democrats.

There's my two cents.