Harry Reid Knows How to End the Energy Crisis

Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films at 7:26 AM on July 26, 2008.

This week's Meet the Bloggers was practically dripping in oil.  It's an issue affecting all of us, from the exorbitant price of gas to the war in Iraq, from the billions in subsidies for oil companies to the catastrophic environmental destruction brought on by Big Oil.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) sat down with Meet the Bloggers host Cenk Uygur and FOX Attacks blogger Jonathan Kim to discuss ways to combat Big Oil and reach energy independence.

Sen. Reid emphasized the need to cut off government subsidies for oil companies and talked about how speculation has led to us paying up the "you-know-what" at the pump.  Uygur and and Kim also directed Reid's attention to the Republicans' overt lies about how unsafe offshore drilling is for our environment.  For instance, conservatives, led by John McCain, have been claiming that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused no oil spills, when the truth is that those two spills alone caused 124 spills for a total of 743,700 gallons, according to some estimates.  

In part 2 of this interview, Sen. Reid explained ways to get off big oil and invest in alternative energy sources.  He fielded questions from the audience, and then praised bloggers for framing the energy debate and using their influence to combat Big Oil and conservatives alike. 

That cued our featured bloggers: Kevin Grandia (DeSmogBlog), Nico Pitney (Huffington Post), and Matt Stoller (Open Left).  They discussed the oil framing game; who will truly benefit from offshore drilling; the biggest Republican flip-floppers on oil; the need to nationalize the oil industry; and the disastrous consequences of Republicans getting their way.  All told, it was a truly inspired discussion and hopefully it will prompt politicians to pay attention to this incredibly important issue.

You can check out the full show at http://meetthebloggers.org/.  Meet the Bloggers airs Fridays live at 1pm ET.  

Tagged as: oil, energy, gas, john mccain, harry reid, anwr, offshore drilling, cenk uygur, meet the bloggers, elizabeth dole, matt stoller, nico pitney, kevin grandia, jonathan kim

ZP Heller is the editorial director of Brave New Films. He has written for The American Prospect, AlterNet, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Huffington Post, covering everything from politics to pop culture.