LIBERALS: THE REAL CAUSE BEHIND HIGH GAS PRICES
No blood for oil! Bush, Cheney and Haliburton are evil!
You’ve seen the signs and heard all the protests blaming blaming Bush, Cheney, evil oil companies and Republicans for high gas prices but the real cause of rising gas prices and the faltering U.S. economy are liberals. Liberal agenda’s against refineries, oil exploration and drilling and Democratic votes in congress have taken America out of the oil production business and put it in the oil brokerage business.
Back in May oil industry executives were called before a Senate committee to testify regarding oil profits and the state oil industry and gas prices. It was basically a bunch of politicians trying to appear like they were doing something.
What was intended to be a television commercial for why big oil is bad turned out to be a lesson in world economics for anyone who cared to watch it. Consider some of the following statements made at the hearing.
John Lowe, Executive Vice President of Conoco/Phillips:
Access to resources is severely restricted in the United States and abroad, and the American oil industry must compete with national oil companies who are often much larger and have the support of their governments. We can only compete directly for 7 percent of the world’s available reserves while about 75 percent is completely controlled by national oil companies and is not accessible.
Stephen Simon Senior Vice President -Exxon Mobil
With respect to petroleum reserves, we rank 14th. Government-owned national oil companies dominate the top spots. For an American company to succeed in this competitive landscape and go head to head with huge government-backed national oil companies, it needs financial strength and scale to execute massive complex energy projects requiring enormous long-term investments.
To simply maintain our current operations and make needed capital investments, Exxon Mobil spends nearly $1 billion each day.
A BILLION DOLLARS A DAY! That’s a chunk of change, but don’t be fooled by the phrase, “record profits.” It’s just flat out misleading.
The average price of gas last year was near $2.80. Approximately 58% percent of that was the direct cost of crude oil. 17% went to federal, state and local taxes, 4% represents oil company profits. That figure is relatively unchanged from the previous decade. The point is, if oil companies gave up half of their profits, that’s 50%, the price of a gallon of gas would drop about a 5 cents. If we lowered taxes by half, we could all be saving 23 cents a gallon. John McCains gas tax holiday would save you and me almost 50 cents a gallon. Obama might scoff at that as a gimmick, but my truck has a 23 gallon tank and that would save me about $11 ever fillup, which I have to do at least once or twice a week. That’s real money.
The moratoriums on off-shore drilling, insurmountable restrictions on building refineries and the daily battles that liberals wage against research and exploration for new reserves here in the United States continue to make us dependent on the likes of Hugo Chavez and OPEC for our oil. It doesn’t even make sense!
Don’t blame big oil for high gas prices. Blame liberals and Democrats for the mess were in today.
Tyra Says: June 19th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
I’m glad you exposed this misconception. Kuddos.
The Other Side Says: June 19th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
the main cause of the high price of oil is the speculaters. they base the price on what it could be in the future, like they can read minds. the oil market is globalized and venezuala and opec have a lot of oil to give. and we acutally get a lot of our oil from mexico and canada. so there is some bad reason for the high price of oil.
buck blames everything on the fact that there isn\’t enough supply of oil. how about taking the other half of the equation and try and reduce the demand. the gimicks of the gas tax holiday or the off-shore drilling will keep the demand high and never ween us off of oil. also, the amount of oil in america pales in comparison to the rest of the world. we want to risk destroying our environment for the possibility of oil. and it will take years, or even decades, to actually turn the oil into gasoline. but the people touting these ideas never mention that part.
all of these short term solutions are pointless, but they make good politics. spending money on alternative fuels and conservation is boring science. we’ll just leave the big decisions to our children when they have no more oil. oil isn\’t going to be around forever.
and buck, george h.w. bush is the person that enacted the off-shore drilling moretorium. a closet liberal i guess. and how about you trade in your truck for a more feul efficient car.
Geoff Says: June 20th, 2008 at 3:30 am
You forgot to mention that this offshore oil (and even the ANWR oil) is really just a drop in the bucket. Tapping into these could help keep oil prices down a bit for a couple of years, but then what? We continue to consume more, and we’ve got new competition with new mega-oil consuming countries like China. You offer blame here but no real solution.
CSP Says: June 20th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Current oil/gas prices are absolutely due to speculators. Worldwide oil supply has increased and demand peaked last year which points to a price bubble that is going to pop not unlike the recent mortgage crisis. There has not been a large oil field discovered in over 30 years so it is time to emphasize a decreases in demand, alternative energy, and higher fuel efficiency. There is no reason to put ourselves at the mercy of oil producing nations, but instead to be as independent as quickly as possible.
tom Says: June 21st, 2008 at 4:59 am
It is quite amazing that those enamored with the republicans fail to mention the 6 years when they controlled everything and what we got was a doubling of the size of government, and NO this does not include Homeland Security and the War on Iraq.
The jackasses can be blamed for many things but the elephants have done just as much to bring this country to the brink of bankruptcy. We all herald our King of the earmark Roy Blunt, the President who couldn’t say no to spending George Bush, and the political party that couldn’t contain themselves when they had complete power the Republicans.
It would really be nice to see some truth in writing instead of the tired and faithful “the liberals” did it.
Party hacks really need to take a long look at the party they belong to as well to see there is enough blame to go around on our energy problems.
Geoff Says: June 21st, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Tom-
You are absolutely correct!
The Other Side Says: June 21st, 2008 at 10:25 pm
this article is moot because iraq is finally opening their oil fields, via no-bid contracts, to oil companies. for the first time in thirty six years, since sadaam nationalized the oil, there will be oil companies in iraq. at a time when oil prices are at an all time high and iraq is desperate for revenue, how perfect is this scenerio? maybe too perfect.
america is setting up perminent bases around iraq and iraq’s national treasure is being tapped as a result of this war. it’s too much of a coincidence that all of this is happening. people were labeled un-patriotic if they raised this issue a few years ago, but not anymore. now everything is playing out to prove their point.
Malinda Says: June 21st, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Who cares who’s is to blame. What are we going to do about it. From my viewpoint, there are 2 or 3 options. Sell your car, buy a bike and take mass transit. Drive less or buy an electric car or a car powered by hydrogen. And option 3 is buy a pair of comfortable Nike’s and get ready for some walking. Since all of these options are out of the question for me, I decided to try and do something about it. While looking around, I stumbled across GasBankUSA, located at gasbankusa.com. The site talks about fixed price gasoline and locking in at a fixed price. An interesting concept and a little better than my magic 8 ball which continually tells me “try again later” everytime I ask it where are gas prices going OR will gas prices continue to rise. Looking through this site, it looks like a way to take control over something we had no control over in the past.
all2ez Says: June 24th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
i don’t see how you can blame liberals for our mess when the neo cons have been in control for so long. the democrats have a SLIGHT majority in congress that allows them to do nothing since they can’t override a veto. so if you wanna blame the gov’t for any of our problems blame the republicans cuz they got us here.
anyway, how bout we blame the real culprit: the american people who insist on living a lifestyle of gluttony and greed! get rid of your suv and stop buying disposable plastic like tap water in a bottle. get a clue and change your lifestyle and the prices will go down.
M. Simon Says: June 26th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Plenty of oil? Sure. Plenty that current refineries can use? No. Too much sulfur.
Not to worry. A refinery in India that can clean high sulfur oil is coming on line this December.
Why wasn’t it built in America?
==
So you have to ask yourself: Is it possible that the enviros are the cause of the oil war?
No Blood For Oil or No Drilling For Oil?
powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/2008/05/this-is-stickup.html
==
How can liberals be blamed? Easy, the Rs voted unanimously to get a bill out of committee that would encourage more drilling for oil in America. Had one liberal defected it would have moved to the floor.
No liberal defections.
I think the Dems will wind up on this issue where they are with gun control. After losing an election or two over the issue.
Ryan Says: July 6th, 2008 at 1:00 am
Everytime a Liberal is on TV saying that more drilling won’t pass on his watch the price of oil goes up. That’s speculation… If the Congress would pass a bill that allowed for expanded drilling the price of crude would crash badly! Like any other commodity speculators speculate on news… If you really track the money down you would see that Liberal investors are making a killing on OIL and donating richly to Liberal Campaigns… Look at the big picture here folks. Follow the money
The Other Side Says: July 8th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
why are the oil companies not drilling on 80% of the land that they already lease? why do they need more oil fields that won’t provide oil for seven years.
why are conservatives so afraid of changing our oil-dependent lifestyles? the solution is to drill more, and delay the inevitable shift away from oil, or a gas-tax gimick. as mccain recently said, the right’s solutions are all “psychological”.
Brandon Brown Says: July 9th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
The Other Side, forgive me here, but I could really care less about the polar bears that live in Alaska…if that’s what you’re talking about. By what I have read today, I am in one of the businesses that will for sure will come to a crashing halt if oil was to hit $200 a barrel. I have a wife and 2 kids that depend on my income. F the environment. How’s the environment going to be afected anyway. Nobody will be drilling in anyone’s back yard. Offshore drilling means just that, OFFSHORE.
It’s easy for someone like yourself, who probably sits in your mothers basement, to make comments like this. Hard working people like myself livelihoods are on the line here and you are screaming, “Oh no, don’t destroy our environment!!” Give me a break
Zack Says: July 10th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Having worked in the oil field, I can tell ya, if there was oil in the leases currently held by oil companies, THEY WOULD BE DRILLING! As everybody knows, oil companies like money! The stockholders like profits. Can anyone (who believes oil companies just don’t want to drill in the current leased fields) tell me WHY they are not drilling there? What is your reasoning behind this thinking? The leases are limited in time. “Drill it or lose it”, has been the rule since leases started. They can’t drill off the coast of Florida, so….the Chinese are drilling the same fields and taking the oil home, laughing all the way. Thanks Congress! BTW, the latest polls show the approval rating for Congress at 9%! Yes, WE’RE wrong, they’re right. HA!
The Other Side Says: July 10th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
ouch brandon, i’m going to have my mother write you a strongly worded email.
you never addressed my questions rather you showed your disdain for the enviroment that will lead to a wall-e-esque world. i don’t want to risk oil spills for oil that could be there. and again, why haven’t the oil companies drilled in the land that they already lease?
fyi, oil is a finite resource. as a result, it will run out and we will need to find alternative energy sources. we also need to change our habits to become more energy efficient. the days of cheap gas are over and we need to adjust.
mccain wants to drill more, which will lead to no immediate or long term relief. obama, on the other hand, wants to provide some immediate relief to middle class families who are suffering (with tax cuts and lower health care costs).
The Other Side Says: July 11th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
no drilling=less supply
less supply+increasing or stagnant demand=higher prices
john doe Says: July 12th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
WRONG! WRONG WRONG!!!
OIL PRICES ARE ASTRONOMICAL $4.50 GALLON (CALIFORNIA)
BECAUSE WE DONT BUILD MORE REFINERIES!!!! ITS NOT A SHORTAGE OF CRUDE ITS A SHORTAGE OF PROCESSED BALCK GOODNESS.
SECOND WE WILL NOT WEEN THE MODERN WORLD FROM OIL BECAUSE……EVERY THING!!! IS MADE FROM OIL = ROADS PLASTICS, CARBON FIBER, CLOTHES, PLASTICS AND PLASTICS (GO ANYWHERE TODAY AND TELL ME IF YOU DONT SEE PLASTIC I AM TYPING ON IT RIGHT NOW!!!!)
WE MODERNIZED THE WORLD ON OIL UNLESS YOU PLAN ON GOING BACK TO THE STONEAGE SHUT THE HELL UP ABOUT OBAMA AND A NEED FOR CHANGE - IN GENERAL THIS WAS DIRRECTED AT LIBS!
rob Says: July 15th, 2008 at 1:44 am
How the h*ll is thinking theres a need to find ways to decrease the demand and/or finding alternatives to oil wanting to return to the stone age?
Nothing should be done to decrease the strain on the middle class(the people that live in their moms basement)because the economy is booming right now(sarcasm)
The Other Side Says: July 16th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
so bush lifted the executive moratorium on off-shore drilling. he admits that gas prices won’t see any change for a decade. he will, however, say that it will have a psychological affect on the speculators.
what a joke. why do conservatives base many of their positions on assumptions (tax cuts equals more jobs or more drilling will shift the speculators’ pricings or america will turn off their air-conditioners when their not home)? i guess they assume that people will regulate themselves but that is being too optimistic. just look at how the last eight years have crippled the economy.
conservatives like buck may blame democrats for everything, but that misses the point. but i guess that’s the philisophical difference between me and conservatives: i’m not that optimistic enoug about america for them to make informed decisions.
Zach Says: July 17th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
otherside…i love how you cant llok at the “Tho Other Side” you are trapped in a little box of hate and all you do is Bi%ch. Shut up..maybe listen to the other side once in your sad meangingless life. Thank you john doe….look around you other side…everything is oil and it wont change no matter how hard or much you or any liberal complains…plus america wasnt built by the liberals….it was the repubs who did…we work hard and dont bi%ch about every little thing that happens to us.
With love. PFC Tanner
The Other Side Says: July 19th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
so the republicans’ solution for the energy crisis is to drill more. they want the congressional and executive moratoriums on off-shore drilling to be lifted. the oil companies already have an abundance of drillable land at their disposal. the democratic led congress tries to get the oil companies to drill on already leased land but cannot reach the super majority to further the bill. so when given the chance to drill more, the republicans block the bill.
why would the republicans turn down an offer to drill more? why do congressional republicans and president bush yearn to drill on un-leased land but not on leased land? because of the length of time it would take to actually get oil, ten years, and the little effect on the market, oil is traded on the world market, the republican’s adiment position on off-shore drilling can only benefit one group: the oil companies.
it is looking more and more like iraq was a war fought for oil, mccain hinted as much. now the republican solution for the energy crises is to drill ourselves out of it. the gas-tax holiday and other gimicks put more money into the pockets of big-oil and will have no significant affect on drivers. as bush and mmcain say, the republican solutions for this mess is only “psychological”.
Tay Says: July 21st, 2008 at 9:18 pm
The World will eventually run out of oil believe it or not. What we need to do now is find something else so there will still be enough to make plastic products for everything that we use every day.I hate speculators and economists who tell oil countries what we are willing to pay. higher prices will increase what begins to be developed for the future of transportation which should have started years ago.The main reason for the eonomey going to crap is the world is just over populated.How long will we wait before taking action as a generation?
mike Says: July 22nd, 2008 at 11:36 pm
First off the article is wrong….as said before, it’s speculation. I like to think of it like this though. Our country is addicted to oil (obviously). Because oil is getting pricier the rest of our economy is hit since almost everything uses oil. So we need to just stop being so dependent on oil. Quick solutions don’t work.
You don’t try and get a crack addict off crack by giving him more
rob Says: July 25th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
ZACH lmao don’t complain okay Im glad someone has complained over the years because if not be more like a 3rd world country. If you don’t agnolige theres a problem it cant be fixed so with your mentality you should start practicing saying yes masser.
The Other Side Says: August 4th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
its amazing to watch the desparate childish behavior of the republican party. they finally found an issue that both they and the american people agree and the republicans want to take advantage. america is hurting from high gas prices, but drilling isn’t the answer. this might be a rush to judgement for the american people since more drilling doesn’t gaurantee significanly lower prices or even any effect for ten years.
but lying republicans don’t care. they want to score political points. they whined when congress adjourned for the summer and today they held a press conference to complain. now they are threatening to hold congress hostage until a vote is taken for drilling (like that would be any different than the record obstructionism they already acheived). this is a pathetic display from a withering party.
Buck Says: August 5th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
I’m just amazed at how people like the Other Side just take anything that some Democrat throws out there and says it’s truth.
The truth about drilling is you can have a major well up and running in less than a year.
Refining on the other hand will still create a bottle neck because liberals have been fighting new refineries for over 30 years.
Everywhere you turn you can see a failed liberal policy behind this current energy crisis.
I don’t think drilling for oil is the only solution to our problem. We will still have to pay the going rate for oil drilled domestically. What it does do is help us step further away from our dependence on idiots like Chavez and OPEC.
The Other Side Says: August 8th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
does the one year timeline include exploration, building the well, drilling the hole, pumping the oil and refining it into gasoline? that process takes longer than one year. and, again, why can’t the oil companies drill in the other 78% of already leased land? they need more places to drill? its crazy.
republicans finally found an issue that they share with the american public, no matter how reasonable it is. they’re embarassing themselves.
rob Says: August 21st, 2008 at 8:02 am
It takes longer than 1 year to get a rig running and producing oil from what Ive read it takes 2-3 years to build an offshore rig, not counting setting up all the equipment needed to drill for a hole up to 6 miles deep or deeper let alone everything “the other side” mentioned plus finding and training a crew, or the fact there may be on a waiting list if there more contracts for offshore oil rigs than companies can handle.
Offshore drilling is expensive $150+million to upwards of 1/2 a Billion$ for a new rig let alone the operating costs which can be several times that of an onshore rig. Where are these oil companies gonna stick this added cost it takes to pay off these rigs probably over several decades?????
I’m not opposed to offshore drilling I just think they should drill where they can instead of getting other leases that they have the right to sit on like they do the ones they have now, to fix the problem within a few years and drill offshore to fix the problem in 10-20 years