More Regressiveness From Progressives As Oil Prices Skyrocket

As Americans continue to shiver from the cold, they will continue to pay more to heat their homes and power their cars.  Sadly, yet ironically, the culprit is the man-made hoax of global warming.  For years, the left has attempted to demonize oil and energy producers with their hateful rhetoric.  Now, they are turning their vituperative rhetoric into action.  Oil prices surged again yesterday following the release of the recommendations from the President's Oil Spill Commission.  Bloomberg News reports:

Crude advanced 2.1 percent after the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill recommended exploration in U.S. deep waters be overseen by an independent agency in the Interior Department. Producers suspended most output from Alaska’s North Slope after a Jan. 8 pipeline leak.

“The market took off after the release of the presidential panel’s report,” said Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFGBest in Chicago. “There’s concern that it will become more difficult to develop resources and there will be less oil available.”

Oil for February delivery gained $1.86 to $91.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Jan. 3. Futures have risen 10 percent in the past year.

They recommended to ostensibly lock up all Gulf coast drilling with new and duplicative regulations, red tape (or more appropriately, green tape), and global warming "science".  Keep in mind that 85% of coastal waters are already off limits to domestic oil exploration.  The new regulations would tamp down oil drilling in the remaining 15% of coastal areas that are open to drilling leases.  Here is a sample of their new regulations:

The panel's recommendations included increasing the liability cap for damages when companies drill offshore; increasing budgets and training for the federal agency that regulates offshore drilling and lending more weight to federal scientific opinions in decisions about drilling. (emphasis added)

Let's analyze this for a minute.  There is a sharp increase in demand for oil due to global cooling, yet the government will decrease supply as they "lend more weight to federal scientific opinions in decisions about drilling" a.k.a. global warming science.  Now, the "working class" whom the liberals purport to endear, will be forced to pay more for their vital needs!

The "findings" of this commission were a forgone conclusion from its inception.  The seven member panel was comprised of Democrat politicians and environmental activists, not oil and energy experts.  We all understand that the Macondo spill was an isolated disaster amidst 60 years of successful drilling and exploration in the Gulf.  This was the type of successful drilling that has helped keep energy prices in America lower than those of Europe.  If the commission's recommendations are implemented and the moratorium on drilling permits continues, we will permanently suffer from a European style energy shortage.  Then again, that is exactly what Obama and his minions have desired from the beginning.

The House Republicans must embark on an aggressive media and legislative campaign to fight the administration, while simultaneously promoting a policy to explore, drill, mine, and build (refineries).  Energy policy must be a cornerstone of any presidential campaign platform for our eventual nominee as well.  Energy policy must be one of the litmus tests in deciphering the true conservative among the flock of presidential candidates.