This past Friday I uploaded the latest Brutally Honest audio rant, which talked about the high price of gas and the questions that are not being asked by people. The rant basically touches on two of the key causes of our high gas prices that I mentioned in the previous week's column, specifically the lack of refineries and the fuster-cluck of refining standards by the EPA.
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan briefly touched on the lack of new refineries as being a cause for concern, but very few news services even mentioned it.
Now Newsweek has a quote from Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who came right out and said the very same things I said last week in my rant!
Here's what Newsweek said...
Bush's aides like to say the problem is one of supply and demand: faced with rapidly growing economies in Asia, they say, suppliers cannot keep pace in the United States, not least because drilling is not allowed in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. But that view isn't entirely shared by Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who will travel to the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, toward the end of this month. The Saudis believe there is plenty of supply in the world, not least their own, and blame the high gas prices in the United States on bottlenecks inside the country, especially the complex state-by-state regulations of gasoline blends and a lack of new refineries. (Bush's aides say the problems of refinery capacity will be addressed in the new energy bill.)
In the meantime, the president will look like he's addressing the problem simply by talking to the Saudi leader. "And come September," says one official planning for the meeting, "prices will inevitably drop when the driving season is over."
Now compare that to what I said last week... did I or didn't I call this one right on the money?
The part that pisses me off, though, is what the White House says about it.
First: Bush Junior's people are saying that the President's drop in the polls have everything to do with gas prices and nothing to do with the political BS that was played over Terri Schiavo. Sorry, Darth Rove, but you only got it PARTLY right. The low poll numbers came because you had your boy Junior get involved with the Schiavo case INSTEAD of dealing with gas prices.
Second: Bush Junior says that this COULD have been resolved if Congress passed their Energy Bill three years ago instead of playing THEIR BS games. True, but Congress could have ALSO spent their time on passing the energy bill instead of dicking around with local politics where they had no business getting involved with in the first place. If House Majority Leader Tom DeLay wasn't looking for an issue to divert attention from his scandals... IF Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist wasn't trying to impersonate a nerve and brain specialist... and IF the GOP wasn't eager to pander to the bible-thumpers and freedom-haters... THEN maybe they could have spent some time to pass a new energy bill and make themselves look like they're up on current events.
Third: Bush Junior's people then turn around and say, "well come September this thing will blow over anyway and it won't be an issue."
THAT is what the Bush Junior White house thinks about the problem of high gas prices. First they say it's a problem, then they say it's the fault of Congress for not doing something about it, then they say it's just a phase and it'll go away. The first is an understatement, the second is a lame excuse, and the third is just inexcusable!
Memo to Darth Rove: Remember what brought down Bush Senior and the GOP in 1992! Remember what triggered the 2000 recession. Your empire is in danger of collapse because your people fail to deal with gas prices! Get your frigging heads out of the sand and DEAL with the matter instead of just passing the buck! You guys are supposed to be better than that!
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