6-18-08, 3:10 pm
The George W. Bush-John McCain plan to lift the ban on offshore drilling will not lower the price of gas or put gas in your car, but it will help Big Oil. This was the consensus of three current and former East Coast governors, who announced their opposition to John McCain's proposed energy policy June 18 on a teleconference with reporters.
New Jersey Gov. John Corzine expressed disappointment in what he calls McCain's 'flip-flop' on offshore drilling. He noted that there is bipartisan opposition to what Bush and McCain are proposing.
'[The Bush-McCain plan] helps the stock price of Exxon and other oil companies a heck of a lot more than it's going to have anything to do with the supply and demand conditions in the oil market any time for as far as the eye can see,' the banker-turned-governor noted.
Corzine also pointed out that the environmental and economic risks outweigh whatever reward might accrue to Big Oil for this policy. He cited his own state's economic reliance on tourism and the use of its shores for other economic purposes.
'[The Bush-McCain plan] has nothing to do with the price of gas today, next month, next year, or even five years from now,' stated Corzine. He suggested also that 'this is another cave-in to a series of Bush's policies' on McCain's part. 'I don't think it's inappropriate to say that we're signing up for a third term of the Bush administration if we're to go in this direction,' he added.
Alternative fuels and technologies that will replace oil and gas are likely to come online faster than benefits, if any, from McCain's proposals on new offshore drilling, said North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley. 'We have to be honest with the people. The Bush-McCain policy is to help Big Oil seize on these [offshore drilling] leases.'
'I think telling people that's going to help them,' Easley added, 'is dishonest, and we're not going to do that.' Easley portrayed McCain's new position on the issue as 'moving with the special interests' lined up with Big Oil.
Easley pointed out that hydrogen fuel cell technology, plug-in hybrid vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and alternative fuels would be available 'before you get the first drop of oil' from John McCain's plan. Conservation and efficiency are the best short-term solutions, he said.
'This policy does not help working families at all. Any drilling would be ten years away.' Easely argued. 'The insignificant amount that we in the United States would ever be able to control of the world's oil market is such a small percentage that we would never be able to affect the price.'
'Number 1,' he stated, 'it doesn't get gas in your car. Number 2, it doesn't control the price of gas.'
Easley said, 'It's just too much squeeze for the juice' when it comes to the risks involved that may harm the economic interests that are dependent on a clean and usable coastline.
Gov. Easley insisted that even if a ban were lifted some years down the road, North Carolinians wouldn't support more drilling. The biggest danger is the potential for environmental damage that could cost states millions in economic damage and cross state boundaries, he emphasized.
Former Florida Gov. Bob Graham suggested that the Bush-McCain plan is being promoted as a quick-fix and distracts from the urgent need to move to alternative forms of energy. 'Not only is this bad policy both economically and environmentally but it is bad energy policy because it takes away our focus from the tough solutions we need to do,' he said.
'It tries to sell people the idea that there are cotton candy solutions that will bring down significantly the current price of gasoline,' he noted. 'But that's not true, and people will see through that lie.'
Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine (D) and current Florida Gov. Charles Crist (R) have also previously expressed opposition to offshore drilling for similar reasons cited by Corzine, Easley, and Graham. Kaine has vetoed Republican legislative efforts to expand drilling. As recently as last week, Crist was quoted in the St. Petersburg Times as opposing lifting the ban on offshore drilling.
Today, however, the Florida governor announced his support for the Bush-McCain plan. Apparently, Crist, who is on the short list for McCain's VP slot, has flipped his own views on the issue to boost his appeal to McCain.
Some political strategists are suggesting that McCain's position on this matter as well as Crist's shift to the Bush-McCain policy could cost McCain Florida in the general election. Already latest polls show Obama overtaking McCain there and claiming a 4-point advantage there.
--Reach Joel Wendland at
