Cheney's oil rigging II
Every now and again (or, as it's been going, every week or two...) when another instance of the pathological lying and blatant anti-democratic nature of the administration comes to light, I wonder what supporters think of it. And so do AlterNet commenters.
As my esteemed colleague Matt Wheeland points out in his post, the 2001 Energy Task Force that Dick Cheney headed was, as everyone suspected, attended by the heads of the major oil companies.
The Supreme Court upheld the administration's right to keep the consultants to American energy policy a secret -- a decision they made after the Vice President went duck hunting with one of the justices. I'm not saying they were related.
Nor will I say that the massive subsidies for the already bursting pocketbooks of the oil, coal and gas industry that resulted from the meetings have anything to do with the amount of money they donate to the Bush/Cheney and Republican campaigns.
I'm just saying that it all doesn't look too good. And that, in the case of the subsidies at least, it amounts to shitty policy when the world's oil supplies are dwindling, when we're at war partially because we don't have even the slightest bit of energy independence and when we're buried under piles of debt.
This isn't even to mention the bankrupt values of those who line the pockets of wealthy executives while continually cutting programs that help the poor. Jesus and I are pissed.
But I thought I'd check out the arguments of those who support the administration. You know, for kicks.
Mostly what I found in the right wing blogs was, well, nothing. No mention at all. Save one, via Cold Fury (who, to give you an idea, calls the pro-war Washington Post "nothing more than a propaganda organ for the Left"). Bill Quick of Daily Pundit writes:
"Here's what I think: If an 'energy task force' did not meet with the companies that produce most of the energy we use, it would have been derelict in its duty. I see no reason to meet with environmental groups, since the raison d'etre of 'environmental groups' today in the United States is to block energy production in every way possible. When you're trying to raise more chickens, you don't invite foxes to discuss how best to kill and eat your flocks."Boy is Quick is gonna be pissed when he finds out that raison d'etre is French. That aside, the point isn't just that oil companies were invited and that environmental groups were not -- although that is a big problem (see above).
No, what's sad here is that Americans have been lied to. The point is, if your policy is to meet only with oil companies that line your war chests whom you then lavish subsidies on in return, at least have the courage, the balls, to own up to it and tell the public. It's not an acceptable way for our leaders to lead in any case, but to block the public from making decisions based on all the available information is simply undemocratic and wrong.
I'll remain open to opposing viewpoints, but if this is the best the right wing can do by way of explanation, it's more bankrupt than I thought.
