Yeah, Right, Whatever

Rick Noriega was on KCRS-AM this morning, and he made sure that everyone knew that he opposes domestic drilling and gas production. Then he made an interesting comment concerning where he would drill.

“[L]et’s go ahead and start drilling. Let’s go drill in Iraq right now…Why are we going to use our resources, our limited resources that we have control over within our own nation versus what we are sitting on these oil fields over there?” (Rick Noriega, KCRS Midland, 6/24/08)

I honestly have no problem with purchasing Iraqi oil at a discount since we were kind enough to liberate them... if they make the offer. It's still their oil. But back to what Mr. Noriega had to say.

“You had asked me, Robert, last time ‘would you be amenable to drilling domestically?’ And my answer would be, I think, that we need to conserve and reserve those resources for our children or our grandchildren. Once we tap in they’re gone. What I would say immediately is what happened to the- we’re sitting on oil fields right now in Iraq and it has not influenced the supply in any way. And we’re spending $12 billion a month in Iraq, and as a result we’re not benefiting any, and they’re not paying for our efforts there as well. Our children and grandchildren on their credit cards will have to pay that.” (Rick Noriega, KCRS Midland, 6/24/08)

So... we're supposed to save our reserves for our kids, right? Wow. I thought Democrats wanted to get away from all that icky petroleum and move toward alternative, sustainable energy. I thought they wanted to be done with fossil fuels long before our grandchildren get old enough to power a vehicle. Glad we cleared that up. I guess.

Y'all know I'm in favor of responsible, common sense conservation. In this case, it means private enterprise encouraging folks to keep their vehicles taken care of, private industries working on alternative energy ideas, private companies surveying to see what's hidden under our country, drilling and refining what we have on hand, and... wait for it... government getting out of the way. That doesn't really sound like what Rick Noriega has in mind.

We honestly don't know how much oil we have buried underneath us. If the Democrats have their way, we may never know.