Maybe you're right. I mean, how many Republicans oppose ANWR drilling compared to Democrats? And what about the respective party platforms in 2004 (and before) with the Democrats having a plank called "We cannot drill our way to energy independence" while the GOP platform called for more domestic production and easing regulations to increase refining capacity to meet demands? Or how about Democrat platforms across the board that oppose drilling and exploration, e.g., the platform of the North Carolina Democrat party:
OFFSHORE DRILLING: We recognize that our coast is an outstanding natural resource that must be protected for future generations of North Carolinians. We oppose any offshore exploration for oil or natural gas adjacent to this State.
https://www.ncdp.org/platform

I venture to guess there were throngs of right-wingers opposed to expanding refineries but they just don't get the same press, even if it would be more newsworthy to see someone from a conservative think-tank opposing increased refining capacity. Maybe it's just coincidental that Rahm Emmanuel and Dick Durbin are leftists and led the charge against expanding that BP refinery in Detroit last year:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec07/oil_09-19.html

Oh yeah, and I suppose you're correct that opposition to nuclear power has historically been bipartisan -- notwithstanding leftwing/Democrat opposition to nuclear storage facilities in Nevada and west Texas (though they had vast GOP support) and blanket opposition to new plant construction that's led to no new nuclear power plant construction in the US in, what, 20 years. Never underestimate the clout of the GOP no-nukes crowd, eh?

I guess in the whole scheme of things it doesn't matter that the "left" gave President Bush authority to go to Iraq, just that he actually did it and followed through on the stated official policy of the Clinton Administration of changing the regime in Iraq. Tut tut. Shame on him for erring on the side of caution.

FWIW, the price of oil would be about what it is irrespective of any Iraq regime change. The same period has seen maturing of (free market) economies in eastern Europe, India, and China. The global demand for oil has never been greater and it isn't going to decrease.

You don't want an honest left-right discussion of the issue? Fine. But while you "progressives" are trying to massively subsidize one unprofitable industry ("renewable energy") at the expense of a profitable industry ("big oil"), the rest of the real world continues to need petroleum. Your policies ARE increasing prices at the pump. The Democrats are driving up the cost of energy by unwise, unenlightened policies that #####-slap those offering what we need *now*. They did this again yesterday with the new oil company taxes that will be passed along to consumers; and the leadership admitted we'll be the ones paying the higher costs at the pumps. You go ahead and give them a pass. I can't and won't.

There's no problem about oil drilling. The problem is the Congress and the state legislatures (Florida and California are the worst) who keep stopping it. The Alaskan oil will be recovered, regardless. It's just a matter of time. In the lower 48, the Texas Railroad Commission (go figure!) rules over oil extraction and production in that state. They limit oil well production to a very small minimum per day.

Painting left or right politicals with a broad brush seems to be the fad these days. I don't know a single person alive who isn't an environmentalist - in that they don't want the natural wonders of the Earth destroyed. I know as many Republicans who have donated to The Nature Conservancy as Demos and Greens. Roger Clemens is in the proverbial Deep Doo-doo. He lied many times in the hearings. They have a video of him at a party he swore he did not attend, for one. But Congress would do well to investigate the ease with which drugs are obtained instead of slapping the cuffs on abusers who were too damned dumb to know the difference between right and wrong.

William F. Buckley died? Dang. Didn't know that. As for Roger Clemens, well, someone will finally be throwing at HIM for a change. The guy is as big an a--hole as I always thought. I read in an article once where he threw at his own kid during a father/son game. Really.

reguards
yer Congress has nothing better to do than investigate steroid use? pal
bugg

Good post. Plus, you gave Vlad something to do...

That was great.I loved that.Love the one on Roger and Hillary.

Inflation isn't "runaway." From the NYT this morning: "the core rate of inflation — which excludes food and energy — remains closer to the Fed’s target of 1 percent to 2 percent." Energy costs won't come down any time soon because the developing world has needs that are comparable to or exceed our own and because we've had too many pissing matches over energy development versus environmentalism.

Those two areas driving up costs -- food and energy -- are interconnected now more than ever because of the Left's demands for biofuels that increase demand for crops like corn and divert them from the food supply into the fuel supply. The result is higher costs for everything in the food chain -- bread and beef -- and in the fuel supply because demand isn't waning.

Until the Left can get off its extremist and dogmatic high horses about pollution, its Luddite objections to nuclear power, and its immature bleatings for immediate transitions to "green" sources, we're stuck in the same hamstrung position we've been in. They've limited refining capacity, the inability to do oil exploration in our own country or on our own coasts, and all but killed the growth of the nuclear power in the US. Unfortunately, that's not about to change -- nobody wants drilling in their own backyard, nobody wants new "toxic" refineries even if they get to use them as campaign props about how polluted Texas and Louisiana are. Everyone just wants to whine when the consequences of environmental extremism are detrimental to the economy while denying that the economy is slowing specifically because of these backwards environmental policies.