...when he makes such common-sense arguments concerning gas prices as he makes today:
"[Bush] charged that although lawmakers have called on foreign governments to increase their oil production, they have opposed efforts to expand production in the United States, blocking "environmentally safe exploration" for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Alaska. Bush cited an Energy Department estimate that drilling in the refuge could allow the United States to produce about 1 million additional barrels of oil a day, yielding about 27 million gallons of extra gasoline and diesel a day. "That would be about a 20 percent increase of . . . crude oil production over U.S. levels, and it would likely mean lower gas prices," Bush said. "And yet such efforts to explore in ANWR have been consistently blocked." He also attributed high gas prices to a lack of U.S. refining capacity, noting that the last new domestic oil refinery was built more than 30 years ago. "Yet in this area, too, Congress has repeatedly blocked efforts to expand capacity and build more refineries," Bush said."
Seriously, conservatives---write your congressman. There are simple things that we could be doing, that are very much consistent with our beliefs in free markets and capitalistic creativity, that could help reduce the price at the pump. Urge Congress to get at them.
