Senator Cardin - the sequel

I've really got to hand it to Ben Cardin. He'll stand in and take his cuts at the plate, even after I posted a less than flattering analysis of his last response to me.

A little background first. Senator Cardin's first response letter to me was the product of my having voted in one of those dopey Congress.org polls about whether we should drill for oil in "pristine" ANWR or in coastal waters. His reply, in over-simplified summarization was, "no drilling, higher CAFE standards (for 2020!), and alternative fuels". I lampooned Team Donkey's version of "alternative fuels" as "hydrogen, wind, solar, fairy dust, unicorn farts, the aura of Brittney Spears, and healing thoughts." It wasn't a very nice post. Nor should it have been! Let's be adults here, people! Yes, we can look at alternative fuels - great idea! But let's also start building some energy independence (read: tap our OWN oil) rather than depend on our "friends" in the Middle East, Venezuela, and Russia.

Fast forward to now. Another Congress.org poll. Another "Yes, damn it! Drill already!" vote from yours truly. And, amazingly, another reply from Senator Cardin! (Note: the hyperlink takes you to an HTML copy of the letter, recreated as-is, without alteration).

It looks like the Senator is crawling out from under Majority Leader Harry Reed's skirt. Ms. Reed would NEVER tolerate this kind of language!

Our nation's dependence on foreign sources of crude oil is largely to blame for the recent spike in gasoline, diesel, and heating oil prices. Gas and diesel prices in the U.S. are closely linked to prices in the world crude oil market, which has been strained recently by unexpected supply disruptions, increasing worldwide demand, and other factors over which the U.S. government has little or no control. Because the U.S. imports over 65 percent of its crude oil from foreign countries, we are deeply vulnerable to global forces beyond our control.

Many of the foreign countries and regimes which supply us with our oil are openly hostile to our government and the American way of life. Consequently, American consumers have been unintentionally financing anti-American regimes and extremist groups when they pay for gas, compromising our national security one tank at a time.

Rock on, Senator! Spoken like you get it!

Unfortunately, the letter then returns to predictable Team Donkey talking points.

At the same time, American consumption of carbon-rich oil and other fossil fuels is permanently altering our environment. Recently, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report stating with 90 percent certainty that carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases (GHGs) released through burning oil , coal , and other human activity have caused substantial global warming since the 1950's. Many energy and environmental experts believe carbon dioxide concentrations in our atmosphere will double by the middle of the 21st century , due to human influence. This could cause a climate-wide temperature increase of 3.5 to 8 degrees Fahrenheit, and a wide range of other disconcerting consequences, including ocean acidification, melting Arctic ice caps, species extinctions, and rising global sea levels.

Where are my boots? It's getting deep in here! Can we stop already with the faux science Big Global Warming hysteria already? The UN is your source?!?!? C'mon! Those asshats will say anything to bring us one step closer to the Glorious One-World Socialist Utopia!

Then, in yet another plot twist, the Senator returns to reality.

Selling new leases for oil exploration and drilling in areas of the United States that are proven to be rich in oil, such as the Outer Continental Shelf and in the Gulf of New Mexico , may help displace some of the oil we currently import from abroad. This is why I support new lease sales and increased oil and natural gas drilling on the public lands and the parts of the open seas that the government has opened for drilling and where it is possible without great environmental loss . With the price of oil at an all-time high, the economic incentive for oil companies to explore for new oil and gas, drill in untapped reservoirs, and extract more from the wells already built, is higher than ever.

Yes! Drill! Drill!! Drill!!!

The letter ends, predictably, with a rundown of legislative steps Senator Cardin supports that he believes will lead to a solution. There's the predictable "you can't drill your way out of this" paraphrase that is, I suppose, required by DNC mandate.

But, overall, I'd say that Senator Cardin's second reply letter to me was W-A-A-A-A-Y better than his first. At least now he's acknowledging that we need to drill. Now we just have to make sure that he holds to that.

I know he's a junior Senator in his first term. I know that there's a certain amount of "tow the party line" that goes with being a first-term Senator. I get it. But the Senator needs to be his own man. And, most importantly, he needs to do what's best for America, not what's best for Al Gorebells, Richard Branson, T. Boone Pickens, General Electric, and Nancy Pelosi.

One last thought: where is Senator-for-life Barbara Mikulski? She can't be bothered to weigh in with her "solutions"? I guess that's what happens when you've been a Senator since Reconstruction. You can't be bothered with the little people.