Democrats gave in to Republicans’ demands to end the moratorium on offshore drilling and open large swaths of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to oil company rigs. A bill that passed the House on Tuesday would open 400 million acres to drilling, but Rep. Michele Bachmann, for whom drilling has become a signature issue, was “outraged.” With spittle flying, Bachmann shouted over the Speaker of the House and fumed that she wasn’t allowed to add amendments to the bill.
The Democrat-backed bill would beef up renewable energy incentives and leave offshore leasing decisions to the states.
The bill would also add oversight to the agency that will grant the leases to oil companies, the Department of Interior, which has been embroiled in a scandal involving alleged inappropriate sexual relations and drug use between department employees and oil company representatives. Bachmann has not yet expressed outrage from the House floor over the “oil for sex” scandal.
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Comment posted September 17, 2008 @ 5:03 pm
Wow — 30 Republicans speaking on one issue isn’t enough for her? Funny how they had no objections to rules prohibiting amendments when they were in the majority. In this case, the Republicans wanted more leases for the oil companies to prop up the stock prices and claim political victory, and they also want subsidies to continue and no money for alternative energy. “All of the above” sounds like “separate but equal” — it means the opposite of what it implies. I didn’t want the Democrats to cave on oil leasing offshore, but when I see how livid Republicans are about the bill, I can’t get terribly upset.
Comment posted September 17, 2008 @ 5:38 pm
Bachmann displayed this same infantile behavior in the Minnesota Senate. When she didn’t get her way about her ugly anti-gay legislation not getting a hearing, she had to be gaveled down too. She’s been yapping about DRILL DRILL DRILL for weeks now, and when she has a chance to vote to DRILL, she votes no. She was hoping to ride this pony all the way to the election but it appears the Democrats have pulled the rug out from under her. Too Bad Michele. Now go to your room without your supper.
Comment posted September 17, 2008 @ 9:27 pm
Glad Tim Walz represents us the taxpayers and not big oil. He gets what needs to be done for us.
Bachmann and Kline on the other hand have been running around for months now screaming “Drill Baby Drill” and when the bill finally comes up for a vote to expand offshore drilling what do they do …. they vote AGAINST offshore drilling.
What the bleep is wrong with these two politicians.
Apparently Bachmann and Kline really do only care about the Oil companies and not the great people of Minnesota.
Their reason for voting against it: it stopped giving OUR taxpaying dollars in the form of subsidies to Big Oil and it requires the Oil companies pay the royalties to the government that they already owe to us the taxpayers. WOW the oil companies just made almost a trillion dollars in profits and WE the taxpayers aren’t doing enough for them. Or least that is what Bachman and Kline think.
Comment posted September 18, 2008 @ 5:38 am
Politically, Kline’s a zero. He does only what the Bushies tell him to do, nothing more, nothing less. He’s padded the pockets of the rich and supported every dumb wedge issue that’s come down the pike since he got in, which is why MN-2 keeps re-electing him - the rich suburbanites like the money, and the base like the way he stokes their fears about (fill in the blank).
Drill, drill, drill is just the latest Republican fear/wedge mantra to keep voters from focusing on the fact our situation now is the result of 8 years of successful Republican government. This is what life under Republicans looks like. It’s not that they failed in what they tried to do - they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams - and the country’s paid the price.
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