Editorials

Record gasoline prices have put a painful crimp in the average American's budget and also have awakened widespread public awareness of the importance of a national energy policy.

Most Americans have taken a Rip Van Winkle-type doze while the argument over a national energy policy has taken place the past few decades following the last big oil crisis in the 1970s.

During that period the environmental purist ideology prevailed as legislative action from Congress tightened regulatory controls on oil exploration, development and refining. It also placed and kept huge areas of potential oil reserves off limits for drilling.

A sensible energy policy tried to emerge in the 1990s as a Republican Congress passed a bill to open drilling in the Arctic, but President Bill Clinton vetoed the measure, keeping a tight lid on domestic oil production.

The result has been a steady decline of domestic oil production coupled with an increasing dependence on foreign oil imports. Gasoline prices tracked the upward trend of foreign oil dependence. Price increases came in moderate steps until the recent surge that hit the $4 a gallon mark in most states, pulling prices of food and other goods up, too.

That set off the alarm that finally awakened many citizens. Their movement supporting new drilling reached Congress, but not quite soon enough to prevent Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi in the House and Harry Reid in the Senate from adjourning their respective bodies for an extended late summer vacation without allowing a vote on the issue.

For many members of Congress the "vacation" actually is a period for heavy campaigning in their home districts to retain their seats in the November election. They should have to face up to their constituents on their energy issue stands. Reality is that the nation's dependency on oil as its primary energy source is not likely to change significantly, very soon.

People often complain there is little difference between candidates representing different parties on the important issues. The energy policy issue offers at least one case where that generality doesn't apply, and there are others.

The Democratic Party has toed the environmental purist line, blocking oil exploration in offshore and Arctic areas, and others declared "off limits;" and supporting more regulations and mandates on "big oil." Growth in domestic oil production was effectively stalled, increasing foreign oil dependency.

Ms. Pelosi kept her pledge to use all her power to keep the House from voting on new oil exploration, refusing to let the issue even come up for debate. She has made no secret that she expects a larger Democratic House majority in the next Congress that will solidify her dominant position.

Democrat Barack Obama also released his "New Energy for America" plan which was rated "mostly bad" by some respected political analysts.

In the "mostly bad" column were ideas for an immediate emergency energy rebate, tapping the strategic petroleum reserve, cracking down on speculators, "capping and taxing," renewable fuels mandates and higher fuel economy standards.

He gets better grades on his position shift in favor of off-shore drilling and the notion of increased nuclear power use. It is noted, however, the drilling idea is only briefly mentioned in his eight-page energy plan, and he calls for rejection of the only present usable nuclear waste repository Yucca Mountain as "not usable," leaving a big disposal question unanswered.

George Mason economics Professor Don Boudeaux said the plan would, "Subsidize gas consumption and more heavily tax its production."

Republican John McCain appears to be enthusiastically on board with offshore exploration and the "drill now" movement as the most significant action presently available to help ease the oil price situation. He also champions increased use of nuclear power as an essential part of an effective national energy policy.

Public opinion supporting "drill now" clearly has created some visible movement among national candidates now making their case for election to office in November. November voters should not forget the failed energy policies that already have produced today's painful results, and be certain they know how the candidates on their ballots really stand on the issue.

Continuing to follow the environmental extremist "no drill" policies on domestic oil is a certain path to far darker days for America's energy future -- literally.

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