If you were watching tonight’s debate, you saw Barack Obama stumble from answer to answer trying to explain away his “spread the wealth” policies - higher spending, higher taxes, more government, less for you. John McCain presented a positive, forward-looking vision to bring jobs to America, solve our energy crisis, reform health care, and act like a responsible adult in office.

Joe the plumber may be the undoing of the overconfident Obama campaign…will he be coming to a city near you?

Update: Learn about Joe the Plumber here!

Does that count as a pun?

Anyway, the College Repubicans in Minnesota did a masterful job of demonstrating to Minnesota voters (and evening news viewers) what Obama’s energy plans are: a couple of inflated tires and a tire guage.

While Barack Obama’s plan encourages everyone to inflate their tires, turn down the temperature, and turn off your lights early, John McCain is proposing an “all of the above” solution to our energy crisis: drill now, invest heavily in alternative fuels, and get off foreign oil.

The video of the news broadcast is below and the here’s story from Politico.com.

…ask Obama routine questions about his past voting record.

 Once again, Barack Obama has proven unwilling to face any tough questions from the press.  A reporter recently asked the Senator to explain a contradiction between an Obama attack ad and his own voting history.  Obama’s first reaction was to hedge, and when the reporter pressed the issue, he got downright hostile.

REPORTER: I guess what the American people want to know though Senator, is what is the real difference between you and John McCain. You are running this ad tying him to the industry saying that he has taken all of these contributions, but as you well know there is a story out today about how you supported the Dick Cheney bill and he opposed it. That bill gave subsidies to the oil and gas companies, John McCain opposed the bill saying those are tax breaks for those companies, Barack Obama favored it.

 

SEN. OBAMA: Hold on a second Jon, I thought I was talking to you instead of debating John McCain…

Energy policy is proving to be a weak spot for Obama.  An overwhelming majority of Americans support drilling as one method to reduce energy costs, so much so that he recently amended his opinion on the issue to appear closer to the mainstream.  This weakness is clearly a touchy subject for Obama.  When the McCain campaign handed reporters metal tire gauges inscribed with the words “Obama’s Energy Plan,” Obama snapped:

“It’s like these guys take pride in being ignorant. They think it’s funny that they’re making fun of something that is actually true.”

Meanwhile, the McCain campaign responded to the insult by saying:

“Instead of calling on his party’s leadership to return to Congress and carve out an ‘all of the above’ approach to America’s energy crisis, Barack Obama would rather tell commuters to inflate their car tires.”

Yes, to counter the GOP’s successful efforts at exposing the truth the liberal Democrats don’t want you to hear (namely that Dems don’t want to vote on oil drilling or anything that would bring down the price of oil/gas), MoveOn.org is planning a counter-protest (read: astroturf) tomorrow afternoon at the Capitol.

So, while Republican leaders in DC are demanding that we actually debate the American energy crisis and try to solve some problems for Americans who are suffering daily at the pump…MoveOn.org will help their Democrat friends by creating a distraction by waving their hands frantically in a nearby location.

Hopefully, they will behave with some dignity, but their history suggests otherwise.

Here’s the email they sent out to their membership in the DC area (names of spies protected):

—— Forwarded Message
From: “Noah T. Winer, MoveOn.org Political Action” <moveon-help@list.moveon.org>
Date: Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:11:__

To:

Subject: URGENT: Emergency rally in DC

Tomorrow (Tuesday), we’re organizing an event at the Capitol to highlight the GOP’s extensive ties to Big Oil. We’ve invited the media, and having a good crowd is critical to show them that voters don’t want oil industry gimmicks, they want real solutions like alternative energy to solve our energy crisis. Can you make it at 4 PM?
<http://pol.moveon.org/0805oilrallyrsvp.html?id=13396-9767871-GTosdix&amp;t=1> Click Here <http://pol.moveon.org/0805oilrallyrsvp.html?id=13396-9767871-GTosdix&amp;t=2>
Dear DC-area MoveOn member,

Republicans have been escalating their attacks on Obama and the Democrats over oil drilling, and we need to push back hard. Will you come to our emergency rally outside the Capitol tomorrow (Tuesday)?

House Republicans have been “protesting” ever since Congress adjourned on Friday because Speaker Pelosi blocked their offshore drilling plan. Speaker Pelosi blocked their plan because it won’t help lower gas prices—but it will line the pockets of Big Oil executives, the same people donating millions of dollars to Republicans.

But Republicans are working hard to make it seem like they’re fighting for cash-strapped commuters—and not the oil companies who wrote their plan.

So tomorrow (Tuesday), we’re organizing our own protest to highlight the GOP’s extensive ties to Big Oil. We’ve invited the media, and having a good crowd is critical to show them that voters don’t want oil industry gimmicks—they want real solutions like alternative energy to solve our energy crisis.

Can you make it at 4 PM on Tuesday?

Here are the details:

What: Rally to Stop Big Oil Gimmicks
Where: US Capitol Building
Meet in front of Grant Memorial (statue of Grant on a Horse)
On the Mall, 1st    Street, between Pennsylvania Avenue and Maryland Avenue,  below the west front of the United    States Capitol Building Click Here for a Map <http://www.moveon.org/r?r=4008&amp;id=13396-9767871-GTosdix&amp;t=3>
When: Tuesday, August 5, 2008 at 4 P.M.
RSVP: http://pol.moveon.org/0805oilrallyrsvp.html?id=13396-9767871-GTosdix&t=4

Republicans have been dominating the debate around gas prices for weeks with their sham drilling plan. Oil drilling is a gimmick and the only reason they’re pushing for it is because their donors in the oil industry want it.

Their latest stunt is getting a lot of press coverage. But no one has challenged their ridiculous arguments, so we have to.

Here are few key facts about oil drilling:
It’s a gimmick. The US only has 1.6% of the world’s oil. And drilling could take over a decade or more to produce any oil.1
It won’t lower gas prices. Even after a decade-long wait, the price will barely drop a few cents per gallon.1
America knows drilling won’t work. According to a recent poll, 54% of poll respondents said they did not believe more drilling would lower gas prices. And 63% said opening up public lands to oil and gas drilling is more likely to enrich oil companies than to lower gas prices for American consumers.2
Voters are ready for real solutions.  The public overwhelmingly believes (76%!) that policymakers should focus on investing in new energy technologies including renewable fuels and more efficient vehicles rather than expanding exploration and drilling for more oil.2
Tomorrow, we’ll call out the Republican stunt and remind the media and the Republicans that voters want real solutions—not oil industry gimmicks like drilling.

Can you join us at 4 P.M. on Tuesday in front of the Capitol?

http://pol.moveon.org/0805oilrallyrsvp.html?id=13396-9767871-GTosdix&t=5

Thanks for all you do.

–Noah, Lenore, Ilyse, Nita and the rest of the team

Sources
1. “Correcting the Record: You can go to the Energy Information Agency,” Office of Speaker Pelosi, June 18 2008
http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=1390

2. “Americans Don’t Believe Bush, Industry Claims on Gas Prices, Poll Shows,” Wilderness Society poll, July 24, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/5v7mgp

Want to support our work? We’re entirely funded by our 3.2 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here <http://political.moveon.org/donate/email.html?id=13396-9767871-GTosdix&amp;t=6> .

PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. This email was sent to Tierra Warren on August 4, 2008. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here <http://moveon.org/subscrip/coa.html?id=13396-9767871-GTosdix> . To remove yourself from this list, click here <http://moveon.org/s?i=13396-9767871-GTosdix> .

—— End of Forwarded Message

Day 2 of the Guerilla Congress was today and the GOP did not relent in demanding that Dems return from their five-week vacation to allow votes on how to solve our energy crisis. While the Dems are out sitting on beaches of lying to constituents, many GOP Members have chosen to stay or come back to DC to continue the debate on offshore drilling and energy policy in general.

Here’s a video caught by College Republicans of Rep. Marsha Blackburn from TN speaking today on the House floor:

The Democrats have been using tax-free city gas stations to fill their tanks while out planning the DNC!

While regular Americans are doing double-takes at the pump and are scraping under the driver’s seat for some extra cash, the elitist Democrats have been accessing their cheap gasoline. Of course, these very same Democrats oppose legislation in Congress that would lower the price of gasoline for American consumers by drilling for more domestic oil, lessening burdensome regulation on oil refineries and nuclear facilities, and eliminating the federal gas tax.

But for now, I guess we’ll just have to live in the “Two Americas” the Democrats have setup.

Here are a couple of great videos/ads coming out in the last few days that I haven’t had time to post on (been moving apartments):

The Obama Iraq Documentary: Whatever the Politics Demand

Troop Funding Ad - Played during the run-up to the “Great Obama Overseas Adventure”

“Pump” Ad - Placing the blame for high gas prices where it belongs - on the shoulders of Democrats who oppose drilling for more oil WHILE also pursuing alternative energy sources.

Talking with Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams at the Hertiage Foundation Bloggers meeting.Just found out there is more miles of pipeline than highway, who knew.One of there new major focuses is the competitiveness council: how do they keep Texas competitive in terms of job growth into the future.  One of the most important answers is energy.  Their purpose is to move towards a private/public partnership that can create zero emission power at lower costs.One of the creative things they’re able to do is use CO2 more effectively then any other nation in the world.  As Commissioner Williams put it “CO2 makes old wells come alive,” creating new returns from old production facilities.We also talked wind power, TX creating more win power then any other state in the nation.  The question becomes how do we capture that energy rather then distribute it immediately. 

Obama is holding a “Change That Works for You” event today with students in Taylor, Michigan. Sigh…

I feel like I’m beating a drum here, but when does Obama start to feel bad about all this hypocritical pandering? Look, just because we’re youth voters doesn’t mean that we will fall for anything and everything you tell us. Sometimes we do our own research, and it seems like Barack Obama is continuing to live in two separate worlds. There’s the one world where he has been a bi-partisan reformer, taking stands on unpopular issues for the greater good of the country…and then there’s reality where he simply toed the partisan line, or ducked an issue and cast his vote the way everyone else seemed to be voting. Meanwhile, John McCain has demonstrated his ability to bring about dramatic change in our government on issues of great importance to youth voters such as energy policy and the environment.

Listen, I get it. Having only one year of experience in the US Senate before you start running for president puts him at a little bit of a disadvantage in that he doens’t have much of a record to run on. But seriously, just making stuff up isn’t the way to run a campaign either.

Here’s one of my new favorites from his speech last night in Detroit:

“When Bush assigned Cheney to create energy policy, he met with the environmental groups once, the renewable energy groups once, he met with the oil and gas companies 40 times. Washington has become so dominated by the powerful, by the well-connected, that the voices of the American people are no longer heard.”

Ah yes, that horrible, evil energy bill that has led our country into this oppressive energy crisis…er, what? Oh? Oh, Barack Obama voted for the 2005 Energy Bill that he just referred to as the root of the problem in the energy crisis America is now facing. Well, I mean everybody was voting for it! It certainly wasn’t an issue anyone would want to take a stand on - do you know how risky those types of things are? Oh. You say John McCain voted against the 2005 Energy Bill…because

“This bill does little to address the immediate energy crisis we face in this country…I cannot in good conscience, vote to pass legislation that does not adequately address issues related to energy efficiency, security, and energy independence.” Sen. McCain 6/28/05

Obama has again tried to fool students on his record today in Michigan as he continues to live in two worlds. The first where The other world is full of the real results and actual voting record of John McCain as he’s fought for over 24 years in the Senate to enact dramatic change and real reform in our government.

Obama keeps telling students how “Washington has become so dominated by the powerful, by the well-connected, that the voices of the American people are no longer heard,”and yet he voted against the interest of the “American people” he cites in 2005.

His hypocrisy knows no bounds.

If Barack Obama really believes the stuff he says on the campaign trail about how our energy policy was formed, he should apologize for his vote for the 2005 Energy Bill. He won’t though because Barack Obama doesn’t represent anything new in Washington - just more of the same liberal games being played on a new generation of voters.