Lots of energy buzz in the news, part one

Starting with this incredible whopper from Nancy Pelosi yesterday in the wake of her failed attempt to raise taxes on oil companies:

Senate Republicans have once again shown themselves to be unwilling to break free of the costly, failed Bush energy policies of the past. They have again adopted President Bushs drill and veto policy that is driving up the price of oil, diesel, and gasoline and leaving us dangerously reliant on Middle East oil.

President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Senate Republicans have shown no leadership on energy issues for seven years, which is why we face a growing energy crisis. If Republicans will not lead us to a cleaner, more independent energy future for America then they should at least get out of the way.

If there are among you that actually buy this, please sober up and do a little research on why we face a "growing energy crisis". I guarantee it isn't because President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Senate Republicans have been drilling, because they haven't - primarily due to Democrat obstructionism.

In the very same press release, Pelosi touts halting deliveries to the Strategic Oil Reserve "to increase oil supply in the market" as being helpful for gas prices. But when applied to Republicans, suddenly the result of drilling for more oil equals "driving up the price of oil, diesel, and gasoline and leaving us dangerously reliant on Middle East oil"?

Which is it, Nancy? Does increasing supply lower prices, or raise them?

Equally dishonest is the second part of the above quote, but only because of the framing. The Republicans have been failures on energy, but only because they couldn't get around Democrat obstruction to increasing domestic oil production. It's Nancy and Democrats in Congress who have refused to get out of the way for thirty years.

It occurs to me that you anti-war Democrats are missing an opportunity. After all, you've been insisting for years that the Iraq war (and any interest in Iran) is all about oil. If you really believe that, then supporting domestic production would eventually result in denying future administrations a reason to start wars in the middle east. And imagine how catchy the bumper stickers would be with messages like "Drill For Oil, Not Blood For Oil", or "Drill For Peace". Just think about it, guys, okay?