8. April 2009 by David A. Peterson.

Last November I had one topic stuck on my mind - ENERGY.

Fast forward just a few months into the Obama Administration and he has placed sustainable energy as one of his pillars to our long term economic recovery. This pillar of creating a multitude of thriving renewable energy platforms is exciting and it could be a driver for the next 25 years of job growth in this country.

There is going to be a lot of debate over the next few months and years on the energy policy. As an example the “cap and trade” policy of taxing the carbon producers to force lower carbon emissions is a very unpopular debate happening right now. Cap and trade is really a hidden tax, it’s not called a tax but if you are reading this article then you can probably read between the lines.

The U.S. economy really can’t take another hidden tax placed squarely on the dinner plates of American families .

It’s this hidden tax that I am really concerned about. In the Summer of 2008 gas prices hit $4/gallon. That increase in gasoline prices amounted to an immediate $2/gallon. That $2 acted exactly like a tax. In fact many states even waived their own taxes on gasoline becuase prices got out of hand.

If you think that it was just a coincidence that the recession started in the summer of 2008 when the hidden “gas tax” was $2/gallon - think again!

As Republicans we need to get behind the President in creating a sustainable energy policy. We need to help him shape the energy policy. We need to be standing by his side, shaking his hand, and thanking him for being progressive and diligent in putting forth something this important.

Here is why we need to help the President right now…

Without Republican help the policy will be skewed to creating long term renewable energies. This is terrific and it will create millions of new high paying jobs over the long term. However, in the short term, say within the next 10 to 15 years we still need to “drill baby, drill.”

Republican need to shape the energy policy be defining near term vs. long term goals. The President is on the right track long term but no one is speaking about our short term needs.

As Americans we can’t hold China and India back. These underdeveloped countries are going to grow and grow fast. These countries will need a tremendous amount of oil to pull 100’s of millions of their own countrymen out of poverty. This growth, that is going to happen, will put a new strain on the world’s oil supply.

Regardless if America and Europe’s economies ever recover China and India will create the world’s next energy crisis.

Republicans need to get in front of the near term energy discussion. We need to get our own committees together and bring very thought out public suggestions to the President. We need to bring bipartisanship to this discussion.

The President will listen. He may not listen today, but today gasoline is at $2/gallon. Let it go to $3, $4, and then to $5/gallon and see how quickly he changes his tune. Unfortunately Republicans are not ready to offer suggestions if the problem hit as early as this summer. Republicans would be ready for sound bites but not well thought out solutions.

Republicans have forgotten about the energy crisis that just HAPPENED! If you don’t believe me can anyone please tell me who in the Republican party is leading the near term energy discussion right now? I’m not talking about sign bites that occur when it’s topical, I’m talking about who in our party is leading the energy discussion, day in - day out?

If there was ever a time for Sara Palin and Bobby Jindal to step up now is the time. Also just as Jimmy Carter worked on foreign policy over the last 30 years it wouldn’t hurt if George Bush #43 weighed in on this very current issue and made it his own.

We need to “drill baby, drill” right now. Near term energy policy has to be part of Obama’s long term strategy. Let’s give him the bipartisan support he needs. Let’s shape the short term policy by STARTING NOW before we completely forget about the summer of 2008. Let’s stop the hidden taxes before they occur!

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4. February 2009 by David A. Peterson.

Now that we have had a few days to digest the House’s portion of the Economic Stimulus Package you have to sit back and ask… “What was the House thinking?”

I take a pragmatic view of the overall U.S. Congress. When I see something as wild as Nancy Pelosi’s version of the Economic Stimulus Package I just figure that someone within the 535 member House and Senate would stand up and say “this is nuts.”

As it turns out the Senate is doing just that. We see some economic reality setting in. But the House… “What were they thinking?”

One of the reasons that I don’t comment on an issue at that very moment is that…

• I might not understand the entire issue.
• I might be a little too emotional and my fingers may type something hellish that I might personally regret in a few days.

Again I’m a bit pragmatic in my approach, I try to be practical and I try to think about what in our recent history would have caused such an outcome. But for the life of me… “What were they thinking?”

The House vote last week was recorded at 244-188 with 11 Democrats joining all the Republicans in trying to defeat this bill. As we now know this bill is so loaded with pork that it became embarrassing for the White House. Even though it is embarrassed the White House is still saying that the differences between the House version and the Senate version are minor.

Huh?

The National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers was reported by FoxNews.com as saying that all those  against this current economic stimulus plan  “aren’t prepared to support major action to help the economy.”

Huh?

Now that is about the dumbest thing I have heard in a while. Mr Summer just indirectly said, or better yet reading between the lines… “that if you don’t agree with us in our methods then you are just flat out a villain, an idiot, and it is because of you that the national economy continues to flounder.”

That is not very bipartisan. In fact that is politics as usual. Personally I have a sneaky suspicion that President Obama would like to break the bill up into 2 parts - stimulus issues and social issues. Unfortunately he is not currently strong enough to carry this load.

The good news is that even though the Rebulican’s were getting “railroaded” last week their economic message is getting out. Normally the major news media just rubber stamps the Democratic position on these social issues. But this time the Democrats made a mistake, they rapped totally unrelated social issues up into an emergency stimulus bill.

Every American saw this happening and the major media had to report it as well or they would have missed the first major story of the Obama Administration.

Republican’s and their tax relief message are getting a tremendous amount of positive press. Even the media outlets that openly hate conservative positions are treating their competing plan with some openness.

The only people not listening is the House leadership. I think the President, a good portion of the Senate Democrats, and the American public would like to split this current version of the bill into two parts. Let’s take care of the economy and THEN go look at the social issues.

Senate and House Republicans are finding their voice and it is bringing the party together. This message of “take a look at our tax relief plan, it will save jobs, create new jobs, and get the economy moving,” is resonating across the country.

Now that is a message - our plan creates jobs - keep it up. Stick together. All of America is now taking a look at the House version and collectively saying… “What were they thinking?”

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