GOP Blocks Bill to Rein In Speculators Effect on Higher Gas Prices, and That’s OK

Disaster capitalism. You’ve got to love it, if you’re a Republican. While the public screams bloody murder over gas prices, the party of crooks feeds off that fear to help their buddies in the oil industry. What will drilling do for us right now?

The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration [EIA] said that .... 'Because oil prices are determined on the international market, however, any impact on average wellhead prices is expected to be insignificant.' "The EIA Annual Energy Outlook 2007 report: "access to the Pacific, Atlantic, and eastern Gulf regions would not have a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030. Leasing would begin no sooner than 2012, and production would not be expected to start before 2017."

But this information won’t stop the Republicans from taking as much land as possible and handing it over to the oil companies. How can they get away with it? A fearful compliant public.

According to Dow Jones, “As oil prices continue to trade at economy-damaging levels, U.S. Senate Republicans blocked a vote on legislation to rein in speculation in the energy markets. Instead, the minority is calling for a series of votes that would expand domestic petroleum production and new nuclear power."

"There's clearly nothing more important in the country for Congress to deal with...than the price of gas at the pump," said Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. His party would continue to hold up business on the Senate floor until Democrats allowed them to offer a series of amendments on expanded offshore drilling, oil shale development, nuclear power and other energy solutions."

The GOP isn’t shy about taking as much as they can grab. But why is it they can be so obvious and still not turn the public against them? After everything they have done to destabalize the global markets, along with rising food and gas prices, now people are allowing these criminals to take them for another fleecing.

Maybe we need four years of Sen. John McCain’s economic vision for “a nation of complainers” before we truly understand what Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine is all about. Watch for yourself.