Cheney Blames Democrats for Gas Prices

[RamboLiberal]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&u=/ap/20040803/ap_on_el_pr/cheney_4&printer=1

Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) said Tuesday that rising consumption and decreasing domestic production have led to high gasoline prices but also blamed his Democratic opponents and their opposition to the Bush administration's energy policies.
The Bush-Cheney campaign accuses Senate Democrats of blocking a Bush energy plan that would increase petroleum drilling and energy conservation and provide new tax breaks and other incentives to spur exploration and production.

"John Kerry (news - web sites) and John Edwards (news - web sites) voted no," Cheney said. "It's another area where I think there is a significant difference."

Cheney advocated increasing domestic oil production in wildlife areas in Alaska and other regions that are off-limits to development.

"We have put ourselves into a box. The only thing I can think of to do is to keep pushing for a comprehensive energy policy," he said. "We are at the mercy of those international oil prices."

[wicket]

1. What a DESPERATE bastard!!!!

[cthrumatrix]

20. I blame HIM for 1000 military deaths and over 10,000 Iraq deaths

game on....fuck head.

[saigon68]

45. He's a war criminal all right

What a DRAFT DODGER TOO

[ozymandius]

47. Desperate indeed!

Vice President Asshole must have forgotten about Jeb Bush orchestrating that federal buyout of oil companies leases for drilling off the Florida coast. Say -- isn't Jeb Bush a Republican? What gives?

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Yeah, "we have put ourselves into a box"...how about

giving tax breaks to all those gas-guzzling SUV buyers?

[Parche]

9. SUV

SUV's waste over 1million gallons of gas each day
That is where it is going to
Cheney is grasping at straws

[Claire Beth]

3. LOL yeah, blame it on the democrats

he is a pathological liar. :kick:

[w4rma]

4. The AP didn't solicit a SINGLE response from Democrats for this story.

The AP just allowed Cheney to go off on his extremist rant, without rebuttal.

[SOS]

48. Here's a rebuttal, courtesy of RFK Jr.

"President Carter passed CAFE standards in response to the second oil crisis in 1979. Those standards were directed towards getting our country up from 20 to 40 miles per gallon by 1990.
Within six years, we had raised average fuel economy by seven-and-a-half miles per gallon. That efficiency caused an oil glut in this country, collapsing the price of gasoline to the lowest levels in decades. Oil companies went to the Reagan administration and persuaded them to roll back CAFE standards. The Congress subsequently made it illegal for the government to pass them.
In 1986 we doubled imports from the Persian Gulf and they've been going up ever since. If Reagan hadn't done that we would not have imported one drop of Gulf oil into this country after 1986."

[54anickel]

49. Great post! I had forgotten all about Reagan rolling back the CAFE

standards, I just remember they were suddenly gone. I need to refresh my memories of ALL that went on during the Reagan years.

[54anickel]

5. I'm reminded of may DU posts that called for just such an announcement -

I'm afraid this will play well with the "Joe Sixpack" crowd that haven't been following the Cheney Energy Taskforce story.

[xchrom]

32. as usual you muddle the issue

of course with no analysis by the majors about what drilling here really means -- this issue plays to the 6-paks.
the truth -- which you conveniently leave out of your assertion -- does not.
the fact that there isn't more than 6 months of reserves in the untapped national fields -- and the consumer will have to off set the failure of these fields -- stays out of the conversation.
you have managed to sound more like dick cheney than dick himself.

[54anickel]

44. As usual? Thanks for the stereo-type.

I know full well about the limited reserves as do most all the folks here at DU. I did not think to state the obvious.

I have managed to sound like Dick Cheney? Give me a cheneyin' break!!!

[dave29]

6. Repubs own White House, Senate and House of Reps (and SOTUS)

How the Cheney could we be responsible for high gas prices????

Because we won't endorse his (formulated in secret) Energy vision of oil drilling everywhere at all times???

A better title would be "Cheney blames Dems for failing to line his and the pockets of his friends with billions more dollars"

[Tsiyu]

7. Actually, It Is Clinton's Penis' fault

according to Sean Hannity. But the Pope disagrees. The high price of gas is due to feminism according to the Vatican. And Jerry Falwell says that escalating fuel costs are God's punishment for homosexuality.
These goons never cease to amaze, do they? And what the hell does Cheney care about the high price of gas? He doesn't seem to give a shit about anything else. Why start caring about your fellow Americans now?

[cal04]

8. Is he kidding

REPUB President, REPUB Congress,and REPUB courts and he blames dems
Cheney, you need to stop stealing the money along with your halliburton buddies

[gasperc]

10. they control all three branches of government and they blame us

are they nuts???????????????????

[Lizzie Borden]

22. Yeah, pretty much...

actually, who we are at the mercy of is Bush/Cheney. Assholes.

[catmandu57]

11. Right

and just whose nest is being feathered by these high prices?

[Doosh]

12. they're blaming us when we're not in power

imagine how bad it'll be when Kerry is president.

[Endangered Specie]

13. OK, this is so stupid, Im not sure whether to rant or to laugh.

If you want to look at whats causing gas prices to soar, it sounds a lot like Iran.

[nolabels]

14. Man............., that's just all Cheneyed up

First they Ignore you, then.........



http://cagle.slate.msn.com/news/HighGasPrices2003/main.asp

[Endangered Specie]

15. Looks like Cheney got into some of Shrub's blow stash.

[hatrack]

16. Yes, and that $75,000 business tax break for Hummer owners . . .

That's an example of the vision Republicans display when it comes to national security and energy policy.

What a fucking JOKE!!!

[Flint-oid]

17. He's shameless

The worst VP ever

[HuckleB]

18. Oh, my. I can't stop laughing.

This guy is stuck in junior high school, isn't he?

Anyone with a dash of sense knows that the oil that could come out of Alaska wouldn't make a dent in oil prices at any time, and it certainly wouldn't do so now, since no oil would be in production yet.

Nevermind that an incredibly small increase in gas mileage would go much farther than increasing our Alaskan output ever could.

Oh, and Dick, increasing oil production isn't the only option available, especially since it's not a very good option, anyway. I know you don't want to be honest about it, because it would cost you and your oil buddies money, but increasing and improving the infrastructure in the US for mass transit and alternative travel options (walking, skateboarding, inline skating and cycling) in cities would also go a lot farther than simply increasing production ever could.

But we can't have a common sense, holistic energy and transportation plan, can we? After all that would defeat the purpose of the reason you wanted to get into a position of power, wouldn't it?

:mad:

[pa28]

19. OK - time to dig up this gem once again . . .

WAYNE, Mich., June 27 -- Gov. George W. Bush of Texas said today that if he was president , he would bring down gasoline prices through sheer force of personality, by creating enough political good will with oil-producing nations that they would increase their supply of crude. "I would work with our friends in OPEC to convince them to open up the spigot, to increase the supply," Mr. Bush, the presumptive Republican candidate for president, told reporters here today. "Use the capital that my administration will earn, with the Kuwaitis or the Saudis, and convince them to open up the spigot."

http://www.bushwatch.com/gas.htm

:crazy:

[Trajan]

24. this is a prize ....

bookmarking ...

[Swamp Rat]

21. I blame Cheney for theft, rape, torture, murder, genocide

so THERE!!! :P Tbtbtbtbtb!

[Trajan]

23. They do all they can to RAMP UP Oil prices ...

Of which their friends own and sell by the billion barrels ... and are raking in huge profits hand over fist ....

This is 73-74 all over again ....

They are reliving the glory days when windfall profits went through the roof ...

DONT BE FOOLED: Oil companies LOVE when supplies are disrupted ... and so does the George Bush white house: they could give a CHENEY what happens to the little guy driving the car, or the grannie paying her electric bill, or the right wing knucklehead truckdriver shelling out 150% more in fuel costs, or the corporate big wig airline director who's fuel costs are driving the whole business into the ditch ....

They are in heaven ...

[Career Prole]

25. "We are at the mercy of those international oil prices."

No, fucktard, we're at the mercy of oil, period!
And that glaring fault belongs exclusively to the GOP.

[stickdog]

26. Renewable energy and conservation.

What will it take to drill the only possible solution into Cheney's head?

[TahitiNut]

27. Yet the GOP blocks CAFE standards for SUVs and try to scare voters.

Posted 6/10/2004 4:45 PM
Poll shows CAFE standards a low factor in presidential race
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — State Republican leaders have argued for months that Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's call for higher fuel efficiency standards is bad news for Michigan's automakers and their workers.

But a new poll released Thursday says most Michigan voters aren't very concerned about that threat, and a large number say they expect Kerry, if elected, would reduce those standards if they would have a negative effect on the auto industry.

Asked if Kerry's support for higher fuel efficiency standards has influenced how they would vote in the November presidential election, 67% said the issue has had no effect on their decision, while 15% said it has made them more likely to vote for Kerry and 13% said it has made them less likely. Five percent were undecided.

<more>

---

July 30, 2003
Senate GOP defeats tough fuel efficiency
By James G. Lakely
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Senate Republicans turned back amendments to an omnibus energy bill yesterday that would have forced automakers to build more fuel-efficient cars and trucks.
"This is still America, isn't it? Is Congress going to mandate that people drive these things?" asked Sen. Trent Lott, Mississippi Republican, pointing to a car the size of a golf cart.
"In the back road of my state, that will get you killed," Mr. Lott said. "Don't make the American people drive this little runt of a car."
An amendment offered by Sen. Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, would have required the automobile industry to build vehicles averaging 40 miles per gallon — nearly twice today's mileage — by 2014. It also would have closed the "SUV loophole," ending the exemption that popular sport utility vehicles enjoy from the federal Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) standards.
The Senate voted 65-32 against Mr. Durbin's amendment.
<more>

---

February 7, 2002
GOP Senators Speak Out Against Arctic Drilling
Senators Collins, Chafee, Snowe Cite Better Alternatives

Washington - Three Republican senators this morning stated their opposition to drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. "We could do far better to reduce our reliance on foreign oil by increasing the efficiency of our automobiles than by drilling in the Arctic," said Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, at a press conference in the Capitol.

Senators Collins, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island and Olympia Snowe of Maine endorsed a letter released at the event by Americans for Alaska, a group of prominent Americans from all walks of life who support protection of Alaska's wilderness heritage. The letter was signed by some 200 citizens ranging from former President Jimmy Carter to actor Kevin Spacey, Harvard scientist E.O. Wilson, managing director of Goldman Sachs & Co. Gene Sykes, Vice Admiral James E. Service (ret.), former commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, former Time Inc. CEO Reginald K. Brack and dozens more.

The senators were joined at the press conference by another trio of leading Republicans: Theodore Roosevelt IV, managing director of Lehman Brothers; Susan Eisenhower, a national security expert, president of the Eisenhower Institute and granddaughter of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower; and Larry Rockefeller, an attorney and co-founder of Americans for Alaska.

"Drilling in ANWR is not only contentious but inefficient as well," said Sen. Snowe in a statement released at the press conference. "The fastest, cheapest and cleanest step we could take toward reducing our nation's dependence on foreign oil would be to improve the fuel efficiency of America's auto fleet--and particularly our biggest gas guzzlers, SUVs and minivans."

<more>

[LSK]

28. GET A CLUE CHENEY YOU JERK

We want to DUMP oil as energy source. Not keep putting off the inevitable for a few more years. FIND NEW ENERGY SOURCES!!!!

GEEEEEZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

[rawstory]

29. CHENEY F*IN PROPOSED TO RAISE THE GAS TAX

BUT THE AP DOESNT REPORT IT.

GO FIGURE.

GO MAINSTREAM MEDIA!

http://rawstory.com

[number6]

30. Chuck Feney

:evilgrin:;)

[Ann Arbor Dem]

31. Oh for pete's sake...why would any sane legislator support...

Spencer Abraham's "policies." The man has never been anything more than a repuke lapdog who has never had an original thought. As for rising consumption, I have a sneaking suspicion that more repukes consume more than most people (but that's just anecdotal on my part). x(

[edbermac]

33. He'll blame Hurricane Alex on the Democrats next...

Everyone should be shocked but never surprised by the Bushies. These guys have no shame at all. No matter how low you set the bar, they'll manage a way to crawl under it.

:kick:

[Bullshot]

34. If we extracted oil from the Arctic reserve as Cheney advocates,

it would account for a minuscule percentage of our domestic consumption. The real action needs to be focused on alternative fuels to get us out from under the thumb of those inbred dictators controlling the oil reserves in the Middle East.

Right after the start of the Persian Gulf War, a spokesman for alternative fuels noted then that the cost of producing a gallon of gasoline from the Middle East cost over $5 per gallon when you factor the military costs of protecting the oil fields and tankers and the occasional wars that we engage in over there. I can't help thinking that cost has increased significantly since then.

It makes the cost of alternative fuels such as biofuels look very affordable.

As for Cheney blaming the high fuel prices on Democrats, it's another sign of how desperate these guys have become. They'll say ANYTHING.

[0007]

35. Pallas 180 - SAMPLE FLYER

Get it out folks!

COVER-UP OF TREASON

Time magazine's Joe Klein's July 5 article, page 21 revealed that Valerie Plame was "active in a sting operation involving the trafficking of Weapons of Mass Destruction components"" when her identity was exposed by the White House. It also said" Only a high-ranking official could have had access to the knowledge" that Valerie Plame was a covert CIA agent.

1) Our study group has found in news records that Vice President Cheney since 1995 as CEO of Halliburton was fined 1.2 milion dollars for illegal sales of dual use nuclear components to Libya. Shortly before becoming Vice President he bitterly assailed US policy against selling such components to Syrria and Iran, which apparently hurt Halliburton's bottom line.

2) Our study group has also learned that there is an investigation of Vice President Cheney in other countries for illegal bribery and various other offenses connected to Halliburton as well as his paying hundreds of thousands to secret Swiss bank accounts

3)The Atomic Energy Commission has said a North American company is one of 20 being investigated for black market sales of WMD materials.

Our study group suspects there is more to the White House revealing Valerie Plame's covert CIA status since the Republicans refuse to hold investigations on the Plame matter.

Attorney General Ashcroft has also put a gag order on FBI translator Sibel Edmonds and her testimony to the 911 Commission concerning knowledge of officials prior to 911. She has said: if what she knows is revealed, it could lead to charges of treason being leveled against elected officials at top levels of the U.S. government,
"Certain elected officials will stand trial and go to prison."

If what Sibel Edmonds says is accurate, then all those who have been involved in keeping this information from getting to the public are complicit in coverup and this treason. The same thing that brought Nixon down.

Frankly, it would appear to us that possibly Valerie Plame was stopped in her tracks and the CIA sting operation was exposed because it was coming close to discovering other violations of U.S. laws which restricted sales of nuclear components to many other Middle East and Asian countries, including Pakistan, by our own Vice President and the Hallibuton company he has awarded billions of US taxpayer dollars to in non-bid contracts.

There is a question of where the Vice President's and President's loyalty lies: to their Corporate friends and companies' bottom line or to the Constitution and laws of the United States and the security and wellbeing of the American people?

In any case, the exposure of Valerie Plame by the White House was and is treasonous. AQshcroft should take the gag order off Sibel Edmonds so that the American citizens can know the truth.

The responsibility of the Media and Congress is to expose these wrong doings, investigate and safeguard this country against this type of obstruction and threat for the American people.

We want to know WHY Congress and the Justice Department are not fulfilling your role to me, and the rest of the American people in this country and WHEN will you start ?

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

FREE FAX TO CONGRESS SENATE OR REPS

if we don't communicate to them by letter and fax that we the American public know about it; they won't be pushed to indict and bring criminal charges.

Free Fax from ACLU site, you can copy and paste any version of this letter or write your own comments but TAKE ACTION!

http://www.aclu.org/Privacy/Privacy.cfm?ID=11323&c=130

Be sure to check circle with " LETTER " and not "email"

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

FREE PHONE NUMBER TO CONGRESS SENATE OR REPS

TOLL FREE # TO CONGRESS 1 800 839 5276 -

use it to tell them what you think about their failure to allow Edmonds to talk and to investigate Cheney/Halliburton sales of WMD components across the world, endangering America and the world.


1 800 839 5276 TOLL FREE TO CAPITOL HILL

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

It's your country. You and we have to help ourselves by this movement against non stop war on other countries, on our jobs,on
our standard of living, and most of all the war on our liberties and
the Constitution.

GO FOR IT!~

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

36. What is Kerry-Edwards' Rapid Response to this bullshit that Cheney has

laid out?

[0007]

37. I don't know, but it is important to get this flyer out to the public

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

38. The online forum is back up and running on johnkerry.com. Thanks

for alerting us to the article. I posted the text on there and in all caps wrote, "KERRY-EDWARDS: RAPID RESPONSE NEEDED NOW!" Doubt they'll see it, but wtf!?

[snippy]

39. This is shocking! Cheney is a fucking liar!

Who blocked drilling in this case Mr. Go Fuck Yourself?

"Floridians have spoken loud and clear, and their voices have been heard by President Bush," Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Monday after Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced the administration would ask Congress to let oil companies drill on about 1.5 million more acres in the Gulf of Mexico. That's just a quarter of the roughly 6 million acres that the Clinton administration first proposed opening for leasing in 1997 and that the Bush/Cheney energy plan had earmarked for drilling."

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,166334,00.html

[Piperay]

40. 6 months fuel in ANWR

is not going to go very far, when they use that up what are they going to do and who will them blame then??? ASSHOLES!

[Ripley]

41. Blame. Attack. Negative. Cussing. Blame.

Gee willikers I jes luv them thar God's chosen men! They are so accountability and positive and always defending them selves against the tirade of LIEberal attackers from the left and other left!

How in the hell can these people who are in charge of the entire freaking government blame the MINORITY PARTY WITH NO POWER??

[indepat]

42. Gee, you would think Cheney would know how to deal with those who put

us at their mercy, considering his willingness to make pre-emptive strikes against those who threaten us and being the Cheneying hard-ass he is.

[philipowitz]

43. Petroleum Addiction

In a related story, Cheney declared democratic policies supporting efforts to detoxify junkies as similar to energy conservation efforts:

"In both cases these soft headed liberals are attempting to wean us from our god given right to be addicted to anything we want! In a second Bush administration, we will continue to look for more sources of heroin for our patriotic and completely subjugated junkies. Too much is not enough!"

[DemoTex]

46. Dick, bend over. I have some KY here.

My dog -Sirius - who used to shit in your mansion's yard on Euclid in Highland Park wants a piece of your ass right now. He is pissed that you keep me so pissed all the time. Bend over Dick. Here comes the red dog Cheney-ing. Asshole.

[Cocoa]

50. time to play the Enron tapes

need a reminder what the Cheney/Bush energy industry really thinks of us consumers.