Bush Sets Up Dems For Losing Energy Debate

When the Dems say we've got to cut our reliance on foreign oil, they're thinking of course of draconian laws to force changes we don't want -- like mass transit -- down our throats. President Bush is teeing up another approach that should lead to an interesting debate.

The Interior Department will announce a proposal Monday to allow oil and gas drilling in federal waters near Virginia that are currently off-limits and permit new exploration in Alaska's Bristol Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, according to people who have seen or been told about drafts of the plan.

The department issued a news release yesterday that was lacking details but said that it had finished a five-year plan that will include a "major proposal for expanded oil and natural gas development on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf." Department officials declined to describe the plan.

Congress would still have to agree to open areas currently off-limits before any drilling could take place off Virginia's coast.

Greenies, who think the internal combustion engine -- not al Qaeda -- is the biggest threat to America, were lining up to rant about the proposal, the most interesting concern coming from Richard Ayers of Virginia Eastern Shorekeeper, who told WaPo he's worried that drilling might cause boomtowns.

Horrors! People would be able to work! Improve themselves! Contribute to society! What are the Bushies thinking?!

There is no place suitable for oil drilling in the Greenies eyes. We're working on residential development projects on land that has been oil fields for 100 years, and the Greenies continuously refer to it as "pristine." If an oil field is too "pristine" to be developed, then where can we develop oil?

The answer, of course, is that Greenies want no more oil produced. They want no more jobs, no more commerce, no more growth. They feel America just can't stand any more capitalism.

Never mind that only about 6% of America has anything built on it.

The timing of Interior's proposal is perfect. The matter should come up for debate this summer, just as gasoline makes its annual price jump. The Dems will puff up about the risks -- ignoring the fine record turned in by offshore operations in the Gulf -- and basically demand that we keep shipping our Middle East-bought oil half way around the world in tankers instead of simply dipping the straw a few miles off the coast.