.. less than 24 hours after McCain proposed this to a cheering audience of Texans.

Governor Crist of Florida has also, just now and miraculously, come out in favor of lifting the moratorium on off-shore drilling. This is the next Gas Tax Holiday, folks. Only bigger. They're going to tie it to National Security. The oil industry is NOT going down without a fight. Talking points below.. right wing sites were ready for it.

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/06/...

As Americans pay more for gas than ever under this Congress--
Democrats continue to vote against drilling and oil exploration.

Over the past 30 years:

Democrats have blocked the development of new sources of petroleum.
Democrats have blocked drilling in ANWR.
Democrats have blocked drilling off the coast of Florida.
Democrats have blocked drilling off of the east coast.
Democrats have blocked drilling off of the west coast.
Democrats have blocked drilling off the Alaskan coast.
Democrats have blocked building oil refineries.
Democrats have blocked clean nuclear energy production.
Democrats have blocked clean coal production.

67% of Americans support offshore- 64% say it will lower gas prices.
Rasmussen reported:


A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey—conducted before McCain announced his intentions on the issue--finds that 67% of voters believe that drilling should be allowed off the coasts of California, Florida and other states. Only 18% disagree and 15% are undecided. Conservative and moderate voters strongly support this approach, while liberals are more evenly divided (46% of liberals favor drilling, 37% oppose).

Sixty-four percent (64%) of voters believe it is at least somewhat likely that gas prices will go down if offshore oil drilling is allowed, although 27% don’t believe it. Seventy-eight percent (78%) of conservatives say offshore drilling is at least somewhat likely to drive prices down. That view is shared by 57% of moderates and 50% of liberal voters.
Barack Obama opposes drilling for oil.

In related news... Al Gore’s home consumed 10% more electricity this year than last.
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(This is no coincidence coming the day after Al Gore Endorsed Obama)

Bush Began Hinting at this Prior to Leaving for Europe

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page...

"The United States has an opportunity to help increase the supply of oil on the market," thereby easing gasoline prices for hard-working Americans," President Bush said on Monday.

He reminded Congress that he has proposed opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Continental Shelf to domestic oil drilling -- something that would "help us through this difficult period."

Citing concerns about the environment, the Democrat-led Congress has so far refused to go along with domestic oil drilling.

"We remind our friends and allies overseas that we're all too dependent on hydrocarbons, and we must work to advance tech that help us become less dependent on hydrocarbons," Bush said on Monday as he headed out to Europe.

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List of Big Oil Lobbyists Funding McCain's Campaign: http://mccainsource.com/corruption?id=0014