ANNCR: Gas prices - $4, $5, no end in sight, because some in Washington are still saying no to drilling in America.
No to independence from foreign oil.
Who can you thank for rising prices at the pump?
CHANT: Obama, Obama
ANNCR: One man knows we must now drill more in America and rescue our family budgets.
Don't hope for more energy, vote for it. McCain.
JOHN MCCAIN: I'm John McCain and I approve this message.
I spent Netroots Nation obsessed with gas prices, chatting with various operatives and politicians about polling on the subject. The best framing came from Van Jones, who said that we can't 'drill and burn' our way out of this problem. The public is there with us; they don't believe that gas prices are coming down, even if we open everything to oil company leases. Yet the public - even liberals - supports drilling anyway for three reasons.
Calling for drilling looks like leadership. Someone is doing something, finally.
Calling for drilling is understandable. Put drill in ground, oil comes out.
Calling for drilling has an enemy, the environmentalists.
I don't think McCain's attack will work on Obama, since it is saying something that Americans fundamentally don't believe. The ad suggests that prices are rising because of insufficient drilling, and that more drilling will lower prices. That isn't true, and polling suggests people know it isn't true. An ad that says something along the lines of 'this isn't a total solution, but it's a start' would be much more credible as an attack on Obama.
The energy question is the question of our generation. If you drilled everything there is in the US tomorrow and oil started coming out of the ground tomorrow, gas prices would drop by about three cents. Gas prices went up one cent a day last month. Van Jones made the following critical point about the oil economy versus the renewable economy: When more people use oil, the price goes up. When more people use solar, the price goes down.
The environmentalists have their big moment right now, and it's time to begin organizing around a new economy. There's a lot of education to do on energy.
If you have a moment, go and Digg the gas tax scam email David Alpert put up earlier. Yglesias noted that the public is well-aware that the gas tax is a bad idea, even as Clinton runs more ads on the issue hitting Obama (h/t Ben Smith).
This is a great organizing opportunity to build awareness around our failed transportation policies oriented around cheap gasoline. It's a Presidential contest where fake promises around cheap oil have come to the fore. Next year, the internet-enabled smart planners are going to mount their first real attack on our cheap oil-centric policies through lobbying on the transportation bill.
Fighting on the gas tax is the an organizing step to rally a base on behalf of that fight. So if you can, Digg the GasTaxScam Petition.
This draft email by John McCain and Hillary Clinton was recently leaked. Read more and sign the open letter at GasTaxScam.com.
CONFIDENTIAL/URGENT POLITICAL PROPOSAL
Dear Sir
First we must solicit your confidence in this issue. This is by virtue as being utterly confidential and "top secret".
We are SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON, the wife of the former United States head of state, PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON, and also SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN, friend and associate of current head of state PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH. We got your contact through business inquiries as we were searching for contacts of a citizen who can help save our and our family's political careers since our country has been frustrating us.
We are top officials of the United States Senate Government who are interested in importation of oil into our country with funds that are presently trapped in the FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION TRUST FUND dedicated to improving transportation. We wish to send this money to overseas accounts in the MIDDLE EAST but cannot due to restrictions in Congress Transportation Equity Act requiring that this money must be spent to build roads, bridges and high speed trains.
If you accept we will deliver to your a sum of 30 DOLLARS in the summer 2008 in form of a "GAS TAX HOLIDAY". You will then deliver this money to accounts of our friends in Middle East by taking it to your nearby gasoline station where they have information to forward the money. Please supply your bank account, social security number, address and your vote in DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES AND NOVEMBER GENERAL ELECTION.
But bear in mind that this transaction requires absolute confidentiality. Do not visit WWW.GASTAXSCAM.COM where there is information about dangers of our proposal and a petition to stop us from this diversion of funds.
PLEASE NOTIFY US URGENTLY OF YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THIS PROPOSAL
Awaiting your rapid response
Yours truly
SENATORS HILLARY CLINTON AND JOHN MCCAIN
You can express your outrage at McCain and Clinton's shameless scam for votes at GasTaxScam.com.
Barrie's fairies are dependent on the belief of others to survive. In one famous scene, she [Tinkerbell] is dying, but will survive if enough people believe in fairies. In the play the characters make a plea to the children watching to sustain her by shouting out "I believe in fairies," and clapping, an example of "breaking the fourth wall."
Dday over at Digby's place takes note of the latest squirming in McSame's futile attempts to wriggle out of his "100 years" comment about staying in Iraq:
The unstoppable whine from the RNC over Democratic message dominance on John McCain's "100 years in Iraq" comments has now morphed into "you stole footage from a terrorist Michael Moore!"
Seems they used the same stock footage!
Q: What's better than seeing the GOP on defense?
A: Seeing how bad they are at it.
That's just beginning, of course. But doesn't get much better for the GOP. Sure the media is totally in the tank for them. But it's all just more gobbledygook, and it's all defense.
Until quite recently, those who focused primarily on energy and global warming issues could see reasons to be supporting Hillary Clinton and/or Barack Obama. In this arena, both have plans and records with strengths ... and weaknesses. Both could learn from each other and strengthen their own programs. Thus, with real legitimacy, an "environmentalist", those concerned about Peak Oil or Global Warming or related issues, could easily defend their position supporting either (or neither) of the candidates. And, again, their platforms/records are certainly light years ahead of this Administration's and of McSame McCain's, but have weaknesses and are 'reasonably good' but not the best that they could be. Thus, many of us were 'sitting on the sidelines' when it came to the Presidential campaign.
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