GOP Strikes Out Drilling In ANWR From Platform

[Emit]

And Palin advocates drilling in ANWR. Another flip-flop for McCain in the making?

The Republican Platform Committee decided on Wednesday to omit support for drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) out of concerns that it could undermine the campaign of Sen. John McCain, (R-AZ), the Congressional Quarterly reports.

McCain reversed his position against lifting the 27-year moratorium on offshore drilling in June but continues to oppose exploration in Alaska's protected region.

A Tuesday draft of the platform's energy section did not mention ANWR. It expressed support for "accelerated exploration, drilling and development" of coasts nationwide, particularly those in Alaska, Montana and North Dakota. A proposal from a Platform Committee member from Alaska, David Boyle, to include drilling in the protected region was voted down by other members the next day. ...

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7012089462

McCain's Veep Pick Palin: Open ANWR to Drilling

... She is ... an advocate of drilling offshore as well as in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

"We are ready for that gas to be tapped so we can fill a natural gas pipeline," Palin said during her state of the state address in January 2007. "I promise to vigorously defend Alaska's rights, as resource owners, to develop and receive appropriate value for our resources."

She added: "The amount of oil currently flowing through the Pipeline is less than half of what it was at its peak. We must look to responsible development throughout the state. . . . From further oil and gas development, to fishing, mining, timber, and tourism, these developments remain the core of our state. We provide stability in regulations for our developers.

...

McCain, an opponent of opening ANWR, earlier this year said that he was willing to "go back and look at it again," setting off waves in the enviro world.

“My position has not changed,’’ McCain told The New York Times. "People have said to me, ‘I’m going to bring you new information about ANWR, how environmentally we can make it safe. I’ll be glad to(accept new information, but my position has not changed.’’

McCain did, however, switch gears on offshore drilling.

“One reason why I’m now far more in favor of offshore drilling is the price of oil,’’ he told the Times. But he said he did not believe the price was high enough to justify changing his position on drilling in ANWR.

http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=mccains-veep-pick-open-anwr-to-dril-2008-08-29

[Catch22Dem]

1. Yeah, they were talking about this on NPR Friday morning

Taking the ANWR part out. It was a pretty interesting story about the pukes developing their platform for the CONvention.

[zbdent]

2. ESPECIALLY when the VP choice would more than benefit from the drilling

they all get their annual bribe, er, check from the oil companies ...

[Emit]

3. Palin believes

that the GOP Energy Plan is the only way towards energy independence...

The GOP agenda to ramp up domestic supplies of energy is the only way that we are going to become energy independent, the only way that we are going to become a more secure nation.

...Yet, in the very next breath, she states, as her 'crowning achievement in office so far':

We have protected our state sovereignty by taking on the big oil industry interests, making sure that there is not going to be any undue influence on the oil industry, that our state administration and our state lawmakers will be making the decisions we will be making... based on sound, solid, unbiased information, not being corrupted by, in the case that I'm speaking of now, oil service company's undue influence that has corrupted some lawmakers.

Audio here, at Matt Iglesias' site: http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/08/palin_on_iraq.php

That's a tough balancing act in and of itself in her role as Governor and with her ties to Big Oil. I think she's in way over her head on this.

[redqueen]

4. Can you say "Clusterfuck"?

They can't run anything... if not for the M$M propping their crooked, lying asses up... and the taxpayers bailing their incompetent asses out, they'd be nothing. A footnote in history.

[redqueen]

5. ...

:kick:

[Emit]

6. She touts taking on the big oil industry interests and encourages drilling

she can't have it both ways, can she?

[redqueen]

9. Depends on the audience...

McDirtyOldMan's been having it both ways on lots of issues and hardly anyone in the M$M says anything about it.

And most of the audience just blindly follows along.

[BlooInBloo]

7. Trying to achieve by theft that which could not be obtained through honest toil....

As one smart fellow once said.

[nc4bo]

8. Good God he's soooo transparent. It's right there in front of everyone's face what he intends

to do. His VP pick is also transparent and just emphasize how serious he is to DRILL DRILL DRILL. Now, there's an entire ticket singing the same song, from the same book and at the same exact pitch.

The bastard's gonna get his homegrown oil from somewhere.

Why are we surprised?