2 Freshman House Ds From Fla. Ripe For Defeat

U.S. Reps. Ron Klein (left) and Tim Mahoney (right) join Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill. for 'Let's go Communist' bill to be introduced by Rahm Emanuel, Maurice Hinchey, Ed Markey, and Nick Rahall as co-sponsors. This is what Maurice Hinchley said on the House floor June 19, 2008:

We (the government) should own the refineries. Then we can control how much gets out into the market.

On Ron Klein's website he writes:

I am working to pass legislation
that gives the oil companies an ultimatum: “Drill It or Lose It.”

On Tim Mahoney's website he writes the following:

The Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act of 2008 employs a "use it or lose it" tactic that will compel oil and gas companies to either produce or give up the federal onshore and offshore leases they are stockpiling by barring the companies from obtaining any more leases unless they can demonstrate that they are producing oil and gas, or are diligently developing the leases they already hold.

Rep. Cong. John E. Peterson has an excellent smackdown on this insane legislation in a New York Post op-ed piece

Since 1982, Congress has passed laws banning the production of oil and natural gas on our Outer Continental Shelf; the last three presidents went along. But the US Minerals Management Service estimates (conservatively) that the OCS holds 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas - the equivalent of 35 years of imported oil from OPEC and an 18-year supply of natural gas.

The United States is the only country in the world that prohibits exploitation of such offshore resources.
Make no mistake, this mess is the result of Washington's foolish policy of restricting domestic energy production and discouraging investment in it.

All too often, Washington's energy debate revolves around the notion that support for increased domestic production of oil and natural gas means opposing renewable energy, conservation and sound environmental policy.

In fact, these shouldn't be competing priorities, but complimentary ones: America must produce more, conserve more and invest more in renewables.

For this country to remain a world leader in the global economy, Congress must develop a national energy policy that considers all means - including increased domestic production of oil and natural gas, on and offshore.

America depends on fossil fuels for 86 percent of our energy needs; wind, solar and geothermal power cover less than 1 percent. Renewable energy won't be available in sufficient quantity and at affordable prices for decades - so we have no other choice than to produce more of our own oil and natural gas - or further increase our dependence upon foreign sources.
And producing our own energy will create tens of thousands of jobs - and bring in hundreds of billions of dollars in royalties.

Look. I don't live in Florida, and I especially don't live in CD-16 or CD-22, but I know that folks that do live in these districts are paying over $4 per gallon to put gas in their vehicle. They really don't like it, and they don't believe the US Congress has ANY credible record of getting knee-deep into owning, obtaining, and distributing US oil so they won't pay so much money to put fuel in their vehicle. I spotted this news item on a Florida newspaper website PalmBeachPost,com Blog
One interesting comment from a Floridian who I don't believe is a member of RedState was this:

You know, these guys are embarrasing me. Mahoney’s worthless, not really a Dem and Klein should know better. Emanuel, needs to go away. We need better Dems, not more. Don’t these guys have research persons on staff

Anybody who lives in Florida, especially if you live in CD-16 or CD-22, please let me know if I'm mistaken in believing that these 2 freshmen CongressCritters™ are really ripe for defeat.