The Republicans' secret weapon

"Our three weapons are fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency...
and an almost fanatical devotion to ...."

.... Dubya and all things 'neoconservative'.

John McSame is of course flogging [so to speak] the "fear the terrorists, fear Obama who'll capitulate to the terrorists, and elect us, we'll keep you safe" meme by the Republicans that's been in reruns for the last six years.

But that's losing its edge. So what to do, what to do?....

Oh, yeah, how about this kind of stuff:

"We have to open up our coasts and the ANWR and drill for oil!!!"

From the link:

Washington, Jun 20 - For the third straight week, House Republicans used the House floor to focus on lowering gas prices at every opportunity. While House Democrats scheduled a vote on legislation on the interstate sale of monkeys, they found no time help working families and small businesses deal with skyrocketing gas prices. Even as Democrats do nothing, Republican members are speaking up.

This week House GOP members gave 25 “one-minute” speeches highlighting the Democrats’ inaction on gas prices while highlighting Republicans’ “all of the above” comprehensive energy plan that includes environmentally sound exploration of oil and gas, improving energy efficiency, and encouraging investment in groundbreaking research in advanced alternative and renewable energy technologies. Full video and key excerpts of all 25 speeches follow:

TUESDAY JUNE 17, 2008 Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) – “Today, with gasoline at over $4 a gallon, $1.75 higher than when we started this Congress, and still no comprehensive energy plan, I as well as the American people seem of reek of discontent, because we know what the right thing to do is, but we can’t get the leaders of Congress to do it, in this case to declare energy independence.”

Yes, after sitting on their asses for a decade and a half, resisting CAFE standards, and investment in alternative and renewable energy resources, and saying "don't worry about oil, we've got enough to last for generations", the Republicans are now claiming to be the ones concerned about energy, and the ones that are going to take action.

The Republicans are thinking that this push for drilling is going to be a winning strategy for them in the fall: either they (and their oil buddies, like Cheney) get their oil leases, or they will hold up the Democrats as obstructionist and responsible for our $4.00/gallon gas.

Sure, they've bent over backwards to make sure that no meaningful legislation was passed for mandating fuel efficiency. They started a stoopid war in Iraq that (outside of bankrupting the country and destroying the value of the dollar) further mucked up oil supplies, not to mention adding to demand. They've ignored other efficiency and conservation standards. Their "energy policy" has been a 'policy' of benign neglect (outside of securing U.S. companies no-bid contracts in Iraq).

Now the Republicans are trying to tell you that they have the solution: Let's open up U.S. gummint property to oil leases so that the big oil companies can go make more money off of $135 a barrel oil.

Let's hope the United States voters see through this sham: Pretending to worry (now) about U.S. energy costs, as an excuse to further enrich the oil companies.

Then, to top it off, McSame is pretending to be the "far-sighted" one, the one that will lead us out of these difficulties. How, you ask? Invest in proven alternative sources right now? No. He's going to offer a prize, not to the highest pole-vaulter in the 2008 Olympics (an achievable goal), but rather, to the first that can "leapfrog" our present abilities, and vault 60 feet!!! Yes, a $300 million reward to whoever can produce a new battery that's light-years better than present technology. Yes, that's a reward he can even offer out of his own pocket (not that he actually did that, mark my words), because it's premised on moonbeams, and he knows he won't ever have to pay up in his lifetime. We might get there eventually, but all the "reward" is at the end, and he isn't going to spend a frickin' dime to help people do the little, incremental things that are actually practical. People are constructing electric vehicles right now, and are converting regular Priuses to be plug-in hybrids that can actually run primarily off the electric net. But no money for that. Only for stuff that can't be done (and that, if and when done, would be instant sellers even without the prize).

Now that's an "energy plan" we can all count on.

In the meanwhile, let the drilling -- and the politicking -- begin.