Oil, What is it Good For?

by: stepwinder

Tue May 09, 2006 at 04:03 PM CDT

Presidential speechifying (thank you K-T for including this graphic in yesterday's Round-Up).

Nixon rallied against Big Oil while Ford declared high prices on foreign fuel stood between Americans and their destiny. Jimmy Carter dutifully insisted "the energy industry should not reap large unearned profits," while George H.W. Bush preached of a future based on diverse energy sources. Could he have predicted his son's confidence in switchgrass in 2006?

Talk, talk isn't enough and our politicians know it. Today it's all about the photo op. Dennis Hastert was on top of his game before lunging for his SUV and the security only it can provide .  Let's also give Congress credit for the new ideas they've brought to the table. There was the $100 rebate decried as insulting until a wild-eyed Dem proposed a $500 rebate (that's insult x 5). If the public insists on more than words and pictures (this time), our representatives are prepared to buy votes! When is the last time Washington was that honest with us?

In the days after September 11th, our patriotic duty required shopping. Today it demands we step on the gas. If Congress can keep us driving, perhaps we won't ask questions about our foreign policy and how it relates to this current crisis at the pump.

Our elected representatives are serious....seriously concerned their campaigns for re-election can't run on empty. What do Kay Bailey Hutcihson, Tom DeLay and Rick Santorum have in common? Besides being three people I hope I don't meet in heaven, they're at the top of a list that might explain our being stuck in nuetral for over 30 years:

 Oil & Gas: Money to Congress
Election cycle:  2006
List:  Top 20 Members (only posting 10)

• Hutchison, Kay Bailey (R-TX)  $140,911
• DeLay, Tom (R-TX)  $112,490
• Santorum, Rick (R-PA) $110,050
• Barton,Joe (R-TX)  $109,450
• Burns Conrad (R-MT)  $101,575
• Allen, George (R-VA)  $92,500
• Hastert, Dennis (R-IL)  $92,000
• Cornyn, John (R-TX)  $86,000
• Pombo, Richard (R-CA)  $66,200
• Bode, Denise (R-OK)  $63,700

from opensecrets.org

So, the talk isn't cheap. This would be funny except we're going nowhere.  Do we blame Washington? Do we blame big oil? Dreaming of an energy policy with substance , I've decided to adopt one of my own. Anyone interested in an Acura Integra with low mileage? It's one of the more fuel efficient vehicles on the road. I'm going to take the bus and invest in solar panels for the house. It's a win-win-win.

That's the energy policy of one patriot fed up with cheap tricks and hollow rhetoric. Check out these No-Cost and Low-Cost Tips for Saving Money & Energy to create your own policy and make a difference.