Gang of 10/16/20 breaking up?

After the House passed the energy bill that doesn’t actually allow oil companies to drill where the oil is, one might expect the so-called Gang of 10-20 in the Senate to quickly pass the Nancy Pelosi-approved bill.  Comments coming from a few of the Gang-sters appear to indicate that drilling bells are breaking up that ol’ gang of theirs.  The energy bill fight may not yet be over.

First, the passage of the non-energy energy bill, as reported by the Washington Post:

The House approved a package of energy initiatives yesterday, including measures that would allow oil drilling as close as 50 miles off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and finance the long-term development of alternative energy sources.

In the first substantive votes since gasoline prices rose above $4 a gallon this summer, the House divided largely along party lines, 236 to 189, with most Republicans rejecting the Democratic-sponsored legislation because it would prohibit exploration of much of the known oil reserves closer to the coasts and in the Gulf of Mexico.

As they reversed their long-held opposition to more offshore oil exploration, Democrats said the increased taxes on oil companies in the bill and the collection of royalty payments from the drilling would yield billions of dollars to help finance the development of cleaner, renewable energy sources.

“We’re not trying to give incentives to drill, we’re giving incentives to invest in renewables and natural gas that will take us where we need to go,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) told reporters before the vote.

Pelosi offers as honest a statement as we’ve yet heard from her on this topic.  Democrats won’t stay that honest for very long, though.  They passed this bill as a fig leaf for the upcoming elections, attempting to reverse a large shift against them in the election after Pelosi adjourned Congress to go on a book tour rather than address the supply crisis in the oil markets.  Pelosi and her cohorts will talk endlessly about drilling without ever noting that they won’t allow the drilling to occur where oil actually exists.

The Senate will have to take action to correct this.  With all of the talk about a compromise coalition working on a bill with striking similarity to the House version, that may sound like an outright loss for increased domestic production.  However, all is not lost, at least not yet:

• Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC): “We’re trying to be more aggressive on drilling,” said South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham – Congressional Quarterly
• Sen. John Thune (R-ND): “If they’ve already passed the tax extenders, the sense of urgency about passing an energy bill lessens,” Senate Chief Deputy Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) said. Thune added that the tax deal increases the likelihood that no energy bill reaches a filibuster-proof 60-vote threshold.” — Roll Call
• Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL): Durbin agreed that the outlook appears bleak for Senate passage of any of the four energy measures on which Reid has said he would allow votes. “I think it’s a reach,” Durbin said. “Try to add up 60 votes on any one of these.” — Roll Call

Republicans have to continue their offensive on energy policy.  The Senate Republican Caucus has to stay tough and ensure passage of a bill that will allow drilling where oil exists, and also to push for development of shale.  The latter may soon become economically a wash, thanks to the dropping price of oil, which ended at less than $92 a barrel yesterday, but we need to start working these formations now to ensure future supplies.

Let your Senators know that you want real increases in domestic supply, not false-front legislation designed only to rescue Democrats from their own political failures.