Nancy Pelosi has proven to be a thorough disappointment as Speaker of the House. Though she campaigned with the promise of change and accountability in the federal government, the Pelosi Congress seems more dedicated to protecting corporate interests, and joining with George W. Bush and the the Republicans in Congress to do so. On issue after issue, Pelosi has helped the Republicans and blocked progressive legislation.
So, it was without surprise that I learned that Nancy Pelosi now supports expanding offshore drilling for oil. Pelosi is even willing to help Republicans in Congress rush through legislation allowing offshore drilling with a special August session.
That support comes in spite of the clear economic worthlessness of new offshore oil drilling. Most of the oil resulting from the new drilling wouldn’t become available on the market for almost a generation from now, and even then, the oil would only decrease the cost of gasoline by a few cents. That’s not just my conclusion. It’s the conclusion of George W. Bush’s own Department of Energy.
On the other hand, offshore oil drilling carries significant environmental dangers – to humans as well as marine life. It’s is almost a certainty that the enlarged zones of offshore drilling will result in millions of gallons of crude oil spilling out into waters along America’s shores. That’s what’s happened in the past, and with more oil rigs along our coasts, the risk gets even higher.
Pelosi’s leadership lies crumpled like a disregarded memo in the bottom of a wastebasket. Luckily, Pelosi is facing principled opposition in her run for Congress this year. No, not from the Republicans – from an independent candidate. You know her: Cindy Sheehan has qualified to appear on the ballot as an independent challenger to Nancy Pelosi.
Whatever you might say about Cindy Sheehan, you can’t say that she’s got no backbone. Sheehan is working to broaden the energy debate beyond the pathetic Republican-Democratic discussion about how many favors to dole out to the big oil companies.
Cindy Sheehan is proposing the nationalization of the big oil companies. She writes,
“The growing environmental and energy crisis cannot be solved under private ownership of the energy companies. We need a mass transportation system administered by public-labor-community boards throughout the United States.
This will be financed by the nationalization of the oil, gas, and other energy companies — all of which have thwarted mass transportation to keep profits flowing to their corporate stockholders.”
It’s clear as day that the private market system of providing Americans with energy and transportation has succeeded mostly in enriching a small economic elite – people like George W. Bush and Dick Cheney with roots in the big oil companies.
If we can have public energy utilities on the local and state level, why not on the national level? Why not nationalize the big energy corporations, and have them start working for the public’s good instead of investors’ profits?
i sincerely hope she replaces Nancy “turncoat” Pelosi. She should change her name to Lieberman.
Nancy Pelosi is the quintessential progressive. She passed the Health care debacle without even letting it be read. She is a liar I’ll give you that though. “I was never briefed on the torture issue” yeah right! But she’s not in bed with the Republicans, she has her own dildo.
“She passed the Health care debacle without even letting it be read.”
Gee, I guess that makes John Boehner the “quintessential progressive” too, considering how he maneuvered the passage of the Patriot Act reauthorization with far less consideration and compliance with the rules.
Or…
natinalyze the oil companies of course but that is just the start how about the ridiculous prices charged for oil drilling equipment talk about highway robery.while we are at it just because you work in an industry that is vital to the national economy does not entitle you to make ten times the national average income.if anything just the oposite should be true.you have manage the whole operation.the problem is the world is full of idiots which is why it will never be managed properly.now that the world is so much more complex we are in for some real problems.
The government collects more in tax revenue on oil than the “Big Oil” companies make. Stop the class warfare and wake up. The enemy is inside the gates.
“Whatever you might say about Cindy Sheehan, you can’t say that she’s got no backbone” she’s a nit wit, back bone or not, she has the intellence of a clam and was used like a two dollar whore by the left.
… whereas you are a classy gent.
Perhaps you mean to say she tried to use the Democratic party but Left it when she saw that it was a 2 dollar whore (having completely avoided the Republican whore of Babylon)? I say that because the Left (and the D party in particular) made little attempt to use her, preferring rather to hedge to the right. It’s not Sheehan’s fault there’s such a huge progressive leadership vacuum that attention was focused on her for calling a few things out.
I think the bigger issue here is nationalizing “Big Oil” I also think that given the size of their profits even government ineptitude will save the common man money!