It's Been a Full Day

I feel like I've been running non-stop today.

This morning, I came into the office and worked until about 10:30 when the campaign staff assembled and headed over to demonstrate at a speech Al Gore was giving in D.C. about "climate change." Our intrepid band of protesters arrived at the sight of the speech and walked right in amongst the throngs who were crowding at the door for the chance to worship at the feet of their master with signs reading "DRILL! DRILL! DRILL!", "Al Gore: You Can't Have My Car", and "Why is Al Gore's Carbon Footprint So Big?". We also walked through the crowd with a collection plate for donations to help offset Al Gore's carbon footprint. The purpose of this was to bring attention to the fact that Al Gore's home consumes more energy in one month than the average American does in a year. The funny thing was, we actually got some donations. A note to all the environmentalists who generously gave to the cause: the $7.50 that you donated was sent to the Arbor Day Foundation this afternoon and will be used to plant seven and one-half trees (seriously). I know that this won't do much to help offset Mr. Gore's massive carbon footprint, but every little bit helps.

The reaction of the crowd was mixed. Some saw the humor in what we were doing and, despite the fact that we disagreed on policy, were able to laugh about it. Others were not so friendly. Personally, I was cussed out 5 times and threatened at least 3 times. My favorite response came from a particularly lovely gentleman who told me that he wanted to drill into my skull, which I thought was a rather creative (yet incredibly disturbing) response to our call for more domestic drilling.

Overall, the demonstration went well. We got some considerable media attention and (hopefully) helped get the word out about common-sense, free market solutions to the current energy crisis.

UPDATE: Americans for Prosperity, who protested alongside us, caught video of the Lincoln Towncar and 2 SUVs that transport Gore and his entourage idling in front of the hall with the A/C blasting while he was giving his speech.

After the protest, I grabbed a quick bite to eat at my favorite little hot dog stand ($2.50 for a hot dog, chips, and a drink - can't beat it) and headed back to the office for a quick change. Shedding my protester gear like Clark Kent in a telephone booth, I put on my business suit and headed up to Capitol Hill for a meeting in the offices of Minority Leader Boehner and Republican Whip, Roy Blunt. The meeting with Rep. Blunt's staff was actually in the main capitol building, which is always an impressive experience given that the majority of Congressional offices are located in office buildings surrounding the Capitol rather than in the actual building.

So, now I'm back at the office finishing up some last minute work and looking forward to a relaxing evening. Enjoy these pictures:

As Promised...Some Fun

Courtesy of the folks at Jib-Jab.

Gas Price Charts

Below is a chart showing the increase in the average price of fuel in the United States from 2002 to 2008. I have divided the chart up into two sections with the dividing line marking the 2004 Congressional elections when the Democrats regained the majority. Take note of how much more quickly gas prices increased under Democratic leadership. Just click on the chart for a larger image.

Which party's policies would make more sense for easing the pain at the pump?

Enough about gas prices, fun stuff to come in the next couple days...

Drilling's Not a Hoax

Apparently not content with Congressional approval ratings falling below 10%, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) recently called drilling a “hoax.” According to The Hill, Pelosi said that “this call for drilling in areas that are protected is a hoax, it’s an absolute hoax on the part of the Republicans and this administration [designed to] punt your attention away from the fact that their policies have produced $4-a-gallon gasoline.”

Pelosi’s statement is so full of absurdities that it’s difficult to know where to begin. Maybe it would just be best to look at the facts. Currently, federal moratoria have declared 85% of the Outer Continental Shelf “off-limits” to exploration and drilling. The lifting of these moratoria could free up proven reserves as high as 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 86 billion barrels of oil. Hardly a hoax. Additionally, geologists estimate that the northern coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (which comprises just a fraction of the 19 million acre sanctuary) contains about 10.4 billion barrels of crude oil. Again, does this sound like a hoax?

This is not to say that opening these areas is the “silver bullet” that will solve all our energy woes. However, lifting the moratoria on drilling in the OCS and ANWR will provide a much-needed supplement to U.S. oil supplies until a viable economic alternative can be found and put into production.

If anything is going to be called a “hoax” it should be the energy package currently being proposed by Speaker Pelosi. Her legislation would not only punish oil companies for their so-called “idle” leases, but would force them to drill those leases as well. The terminology Pelosi uses is brilliant because it suggests that the oil companies have been given land that contains enough oil to end the energy crisis, but have refused to drill it in order to drive up their profits (curse those wicked oil companies). There’s just one tiny problem – it’s not true. Any oil field that is not producing is labeled as “idle,” meaning that there is no oil coming out of the ground. The majority of these “idle” leases are either actively being explored or simply do not contain an economically viable quantity of oil. Pelosi’s energy package would essentially force oil companies to divine oil from dry rock. I’m not sure Moses could even pull that off.

The scariest thing is that it seems that the Speaker of the House has zero understanding of basic economics. If we force the oil companies to drill for oil that doesn’t exist, then their costs will go up without yielding a product that can offset those costs. Thus, these increased costs will be passed onto the consumers in the form of even higher prices at the pump. However, if we open up lands that we know contain economically viable reserves of oil, then we can actually provide some relief from high fuel prices until an alternative can be found.

Obviously, Speaker Pelosi would rather play politics than find real solutions. And she wonders why Congress’ approval ratings are so low.

Great Video on Gas Prices

From the folks at NozzleRage - I don't completely agree with their solutions, but the video is genius.

I Can't Believe They Pay Me for This!

Two days ago, one of our staff members received an email from MoveOn.org about a protest that they were planning in D.C. later that week. The basic message of the protest: gas prices are high and it's because Conservatives/Republicans/Bush/McCain are just pawns of the evil Big Oil Companies that want to rape the planet and kill puppies.

Never ones to miss a chance to have a little fun at the expense of the looney left,* several of us decided to go and join the fun. We showed up about 30 minutes before the protest was scheduled to start and mingled in with the MoveOn folks. Once the march began, we unveiled our signs, which read: "Drill! Drill! Drill!", "Buy Local: Drill American", "Campaign for American Oil", and (my favorite) "Drill? Yes We Can."

It actually took about 20 minutes for the MoveOn crowd to realize that we weren't on their side. Once they realized that they had been infiltrated, they became confused and started a mini witch-hunt for the "mole" in their organization.

To the credit of both sides, the protest remained civil. There were no physical altercations or shouting. In fact, I had a very pleasant conversation with one of the older MoveOn protesters. It had to have been a sight for the drivers who passed by: a conservative with a sign advocating an increase in domestic drilling standing next to (and laughing with) a liberal holding a sign decrying the twin evils of conservatives and big oil. Who says diplomacy is dead?

For your viewing pleasure:





*Note for my liberal friends: I use the term "looney left" to refer to the radical wing of your ideology that reacts rather than thinks about issues. I have nothing but respect for those of you who have studied the issues and decided that you agree with the liberal viewpoint; you're just wrong :-)

trying to fit the world inside a picture frame

Photos now up at my photo blog.

More to come...