The time has come for AMERIPEC

The two major political parties are offering very different approaches to dealing with the high cost of energy. The Republicans are advocating measures aimed at increasing the supply of oil, while the Democrats want to punish the major oil companies. The Dems' latest attempts to stick it to big oil failed yesterday in the Senate.

According to the donkey party, high gasoline prices are entirely the fault of the oil companies, and if only we slapped a stiff tax on their "windfall" profits, gas prices would fall faster than the Democrat Congress' approval ratings. Oh yeah, that worked so well the last time it was tried, why not dig up its casket and give it another shot?

But the voters disagree with the Democrats:

Recent polling data from Gallup show the percentage of voters blaming oil companies for skyrocketing gasoline prices has dropped from 34 percent to 20 percent over the past year. At the same time, support for more drilling in U.S. coastal and wilderness areas has increased to 57 percent from 41 percent.

Quick, someone get these numbers to the McCain campaign. Energy is the hottest button of all the hot button issues right now, and the GOP's presumptive presidential nominee needs to get fully on board with the program as proposed by Newt Gingrich's American Solutions organization:

Drill here. Drill now. Pay less.

While McCain is okay with most offshore drilling proposals and is a nuclear energy booster, he still opposes drilling in ANWR. McCain has a golden opportunity here, as Larry Kudlow points out:

Sen. McCain has a great pro-growth plan to slash corporate tax rates, a move that would be a strong tonic for jobs and wages. But he must bolster that plan with a new emphasis on deregulated energy markets that can produce a total portfolio of conventional and non-conventional energy, including major new drilling. He should couple that with a strong-dollar message to curb both energy and non-energy inflation, which is shrinking consumer paychecks and damaging corporate profits.

More oil, more jobs, better wages, and low inflation. That's a winning GOP message this fall. But what if Sen. Obama gets there first? It's unlikely, but not out of the question. Either way, voters will move to the candidate who connects with their worries. Right now those worries are up for grabs

In fact, if the United States would exploit all of its considerable energy resources - conventional and shale oil, coal and oil from coal, natural gas, diesel and gasoline from cellulosic feedstock, wind, solar, etc. - in a comprehensive energy plan, it could achieve energy independence by satisfying domestic demand. But it also has the potential to go well beyond that crucial benchmark and return to its rightful position as a major energy exporter.

And this has the potential to get even better. It would be in the self-interests of an energy-exporting U.S. and its major NAFTA trading partners Canada and Mexico, both already major oil exporters, to form an oil cartel of their own to take on OPEC. After all, there is nothing better for free markets than a lttle healthy competition, right?

Yes, this would all take years to accomplish. Not only do we need to get going with oil production, we need to put infrastructure in place, including new refineries, piplelines, CNG refuelling stations and the like. But had we started just ten years ago, we would now be on the cusp of realizing our domestic energy potential. So let's get started. AMERIPEC, anyone?

- JP