Senate Democrats defeat oil exploration bill

With gasoline bumping near $4 a gallon, and filling up even a compact car costing $60 or so, you may be feeling some financial pain.

Don't worry, Obama and the Democrats have said they want to bring gas prices down.

Well then! Problem solved! Next?

Not only hasn't the problem even begun to be solved, but as the soothing statements by Obozo and his henchmen were being dutifully echoed by the Democrat-loving media in thousands of stories, not once did a single reporter ask a single hard, pointed question that would have shown that Obozo and the Dems were just lying through their teeth about...everything.

Example: Most of the oil produced from offshore wells is in the Gulf of Mexico. But geologists believe the waters off the coast of Virginia, Alaska and Florida could contain billions of barrels. Lease sales had been scheduled for the first two but were scrapped by Obamites after the BP blowout.

So Senate Republicans introduced a bill that would have set a timetable for the government to open the first two to exploratory drilling.

Can you guess what happened? Yep, after "the White House" signalled opposition, every single Democrat in the Senate voted against the bill. Since the Dems control the Senate, that was enough to defeat the measure.

The bill would also have ended a dramatic slowdown in the government's sale of oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico.

For those unfamiliar with the business of exploring for (and hopefully producing) oil, a company can't drill unless it's secured a lease on the area to be explored. Assembling enough area, partners and seismic data is a long, costly process. And for every year that leasing is delayed, production is delayed by the same length of time.

Finally, the bill would have ended a dramatic slowdown in the issuance of drilling permits in the Gulf, by requiring the Interior Department to approve or deny offshore drilling permit applications within 60 days of filing.

All these logical, reasonable measures to increase U.S. oil production have been defeated by the Democrats.

"The White House" had criticized the bill, claiming that the plan would “hastily” open areas in the Gulf, Alaska and Atlantic to leasing without adequate environmental analysis.

"Without adequate environmental analysis"? Does anyone believe the government would accept anything but "best available technology" for ANY offshore drilling? Instead of alleged "analysis" why not just say "Don't pollute. Use every measure to make sure you dont have a blowout, because if you do your company is finished."

The words released by the Obamites are simply buzzwords, designed to resonate with the public while masking true meaning.

Don't get me wrong: It sickens me--as it does virtually everyone--to see the damage done by a huge accident like the BP blowout. NO ONE--including oilmen--wants that to happen. But just as we fly on jet airliners even though we know one flight in 100,000 or so crashes, oil exploration will sometimes run into a "perfect storm" that overwhelms all the safety features.

In any case, when gasoline goes to $5, then $6 per gallon, remember that the Democrats opposed logical, reasonable measures to *begin* increasing oil exploration here at home.

Even as they smirkingly, hypocritically pay lip-service to "increasing domestic production."