Drilling Down
When John McCain announced last week that he would push to lift the federal moratorium against offshore drilling, he put several fellow Republicans, many of whom represent coastal states and are in tight election contests, in a tough spot.
McCain’s move forced some senators to moderate their prior positions, while others opted to oppose their party’s presumptive nominee rather than miff environmentally-conscious constituents.
Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-NC, has been against drilling off the coast of the Tar Heel State, but her spokesman, Brian Nick, told On Call she’s now flexible.
“She has opposed drilling off the state’s coast in the past but would certainly be open to looking at future proposals closely to gauge effects on NC economy, particularly tourism,” Nick said in an e-mail.
Kimberly Collins, a spokeswoman for Sen. Gordon Smith, R-OR, left a terse message for On Call, saying only that Smith does not support McCain’s proposal.
And former Rep. Dick Zimmer, R-NJ, a candidate for Senate, said he, too, wouldn’t back McCain’s plan, which was seconded last week by President Bush.
“I oppose the efforts by President Bush and the Congress to suspend the ban on offshore oil drilling,” Zimmer said in a statement. “In the U.S. Senate, as I did in Congress, I will support a ban on oil and gas leases off our coast because of the risks they pose to our environment and our economy. I am strongly against any drilling or exploration off the New Jersey coast or in any area that poses a risk to our beaches.”
Others are sticking with party leaders. Despite his state’s scenic rural tradition, Sen. John Sununu, R-NH, stood firm with McCain and Bush. “He is supporting offshore drilling,” said Sununu spokeswoman Liz Chamberlain. “As far as whether the senator supports Sen. McCain’s proposal to lift the moratorium on offshore oil drilling, he does.”
Not only does the issue reinforce the environmental schism within the Republican Party, but McCain’s announcement provided an opening for Democrats running in moderate states to agree with the GOP contender, thus appealing to swing voters, the business community and big oil donors.
Former VA Gov. Mark Warner, a Democrat running for Senate this year, once vetoed a bill allowing offshore drilling. But Kevin Hall, a Warner campaign spokesman, said Warner’s decision turned on a technicality and that the candidate is now open to exploration.
“Mark Warner stands with Republican presidential nominee John McCain in opposing drilling in ANWR, and he stands with Republican U.S. Senator John Warner and Democrat Jim Webb in supporting bipartisan legislation to allow exploration for natural gas only 50-miles off the Virginia coast,” Hall told On Call.
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-LA, issued a statement last week after Bush announced his support for McCain’s proposal, headlined: “Welcome to the Offshore Energy Fight, Mr. President ... We've Been Waiting For You.”
“Throughout her Senate career, Senator Landrieu has been a staunch believer that the U.S. needs to expand domestic production and pull back on counterproductive moratoria both onshore and offshore,” Landrieu spokeswoman Stephanie Allen told On Call today. “She plans to soon introduce legislation on this topic. She also authored legislation signed into law in 2006 that opened in the Gulf of Mexico the single largest area to development – more than 8 million acres – in more than three decades.”
So did McCain, eager to seem proactive in trying to solve the nation’s energy crisis (if not also making a play for the affections of wealthy oil industry donors), raise a matter that could potentially hurt a number of his Republican colleagues and hopefuls in the fall?
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
McCain is a slick polilitician indeed. He supports drilling (and why not? The Chinese are allowed to drill in our waters but we are not!?) but go to his website and all you see is global warming nonsense and all you hear in his speeches is support for the NAU and melding the three countries.
Enough of this nonsense. Give us a REAL Republican! We need to drill offshore as well as ANWR, and the Rockies. And we need to start NOW. People need to rise up and demand this unless they want to be paying $10 per gallon in the future, which is basically a tax to the UN.
"Yeah, give us a real Republican, we need to drill"
Yeah, we need a real Republican who is going to drill. Not like George W. Bush or Dick Cheney. Not like John McCain. A Real Republican.