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The Hill reports:
Likely GOP presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty is using rising gas prices to poke holes in President Obama’s energy policy.
The former Minnesota governor, like other GOP hopefuls, said Monday that the Obama administration should ramp up domestic oil drilling to reduce prices at the pump, which are approaching $4 per gallon on average nationally.
“This is a president who has sat on his hands as it relates to drilling,” he said on WLS Radio in Chicago. “You know, we’ve got a country that’s got some enormous energy assets that are not being exploited or leveraged to the benefit of our country and to our people.”
Meanwhile, the White House has announced it is taking action to help tamp down prices — Obama on Thursday ordered the Justice Department to probe whether speculation in oil markets is contributing to rising prices.
Press secretary Jay Carney said Monday that high profits by oil-and-gas companies expected to be announced this week will make the case for ending federal subsidies for the industry.
Increased domestic drilling will do nothing to lower prices at the local gas station. There are so many reasons for that, and this has been covered so many times. This is such shallow, hollow pandering.
As with a lot of other Republican positions these days, the facts don’t figure into their positions. They just reflexively ‘know’ that more drilling is the answer, the same way they ‘know’ that Obama wasn’t born in Hawaii.
Almost 50% of the party are stupid birthers, you think they really understand that drilling today won’t affect prices in the slightest. All these numskulls want to hear is drill baby drill.
Why doesn’t someone in the media or anyone ask T-Paw how exactly will increased domestic drilling results in a decrease in the price of gas at the pump? I would like to know the answer myself, as T-Paw would have discovered something new in the way world oil markets work.
By the way according to the Department of the Interior oil production increased by more than a third on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf — from 446 million barrels in 2008 to an estimated 600 million barrels in 2010. There are also millions of acres of land and miles of sea that have already been approved for drilling and the industry is not using it.
So T-Paw with such a large increase in domestic production over the last two years, why has the price of oil continued to go up?
T-Paw’s comment:
““This is a president who has sat on his hands as it relates to drilling,” he said on WLS Radio in Chicago. “You know, we’ve got a country that’s got some enormous energy assets that are not being exploited or leveraged to the benefit of our country and to our people.” “
…makes no sense, given the huge increse in domestic oil production in the U.S. in just the last two years. Morons like T-Paw should be questioned and held responsible for their ridiculous comments.
I believe we used to call them lies.
1) Will oil drilled within the United States be solely refined and sold in the United States or will it go into the world “supply”?
2) Will the oil drilled in the United States be sold to consumer in the United States at a set price that is under the market price to ensure that we actually drive down prices?
3) If the oil just goes onto the open market – can we drill enough to put so much supply onto the market that it will essentially increase it so much that oil prices will drop?
4) Do we have assurances that if we can oversupply the world market that oil companies and OPEC won’t cut back on production to keep prices high?
Rob,
Someone should ask T-Paw those questions. I would like to know how he gets to lower gas prices with more drilling in the U.S.
The former Minnesota governor, like other GOP hopefuls, said Monday that the Obama administration should ramp up domestic oil drilling to reduce prices at the pump
Thereupon proving that anyone who supports Pawlenty really has no regard for basic economic facts.
Pawlenty is awful. I cannot recall another Republican, ever, who pandered as shamelessly as he does.
The saving grace is that, unusual for sociopaths like him, he has no charisma and can’t be elected.
more than Romney?
He makes Romney look authentic and charismatic, IMO. I mean at least Romney never tried to change his accent the way that Pawlenty has tried to adopt a Southern accent in Iowa (which isn’t even a Southern state!!!).
And Pawlenty’s flip-flopping on climate change/the environment is at least as bad as Mitt’s gymnastics on healthcare.
I’m with you – Romney looks like a profile in courage compared to Pawlenty.
With Exxon-Mobil set to make 50% more on year over year profits, outpacing the profits of 2008 which held the previous record for profits, what reason would Exxon-Mobil have to go on a drilling binge right now. In truth it takes billions and years upon years to bring in a well. That’s why the industry has so many leases that it’s not explored yet. Then once a well is brought in, the oil needs to be refined. Last I heard refineries were pretty much at full capacity and no new refineries had been built in over 10 years (probably much longer).
By the way, I read today that most of the sudden price hikes have been because of speculation by non-users types (WS traders hoping for a killing) as a result of the unrest in the Middle East.
Maybe T-Paw needs to learn a few facts. Or someone should have the guts to ask him what he does know on these facts.
The FED needs to start withdrawing money from the economy and gasoline will come down.
Isn’t Pawlenty supposed to be the one Republican primary contender with ideas that hold some real weight? Folks, I’m seeing the exact opposite so far with all his flip-flops on environmental and energy issues. When does he start showcases some of his good ideas?
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