Merry Christmas from Senate Democrats: ANWR Is Saved for Future Generations
Merry Christmas, America, from the Democratic Party. Under your trees sparkling with lights and shiny ornaments is a priceless gift wrapped with a big, Democratic-blue bow: the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the pristine 8.9 million acre Alaska wilderness set aside by President Eisenhower almost 50 years ago to preserve and protect some of the most diverse and spectacular wildlife and wild lands in the world.
Despite the Republican drive to plunder ANWR to slake this administration's insatiable thirst for oil and oil profits....led by the shameless and cranky, oil company-friendly Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK), Senate Republicans tried every sneaky and devious trick in the legislative book to drill in ANWR. They reeked of overt desperation to please oil industry loyalists Bush and Cheney on this one.
"Destroying this wilderness will do very little to reduce energy costs nor does it do very much for oil independence," said Senator Dianne Feinstein ( D-CA) to AP.
But alas, the Democrats galloped to America's environmental rescue wearing the white hats of the good guys, and beat back one last, back-alley, rule-breaking effort by Republicans to drill drill drill in Alaska for more profits.....err, black gold.
The Senate legislative road has been long, twisted and dramatic this last week or so, and it ended by Republican leadership attaching their desire to plunder ANWR to the unrelated Defense spending bill to fuel Iraq War costs. Repubs calculated that most senators felt pressured to vote for this war bill...and would need to swallow with it the nasty-tasting ANWR medicine.
The Republicans badly miscalculated. The vote to stop a potential Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA)-led filibuster was 56-44, four short of the needed 60 votes to pass the legislation.
So Merry Christmas, America, from the feisty, principled 44 Democrats of the United States Senate, led by the exceptional Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).
Thank you donations can be sent to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
For your future voting info, here are the four Democratic senators who voted with Republicans to drill for oil in ANWR:
-- Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA)-- Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE)
-- Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
-- Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI)
And hats off to the wise, brave Republicans who voted to save ANWR for our children and grandchildren:
-- Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH)-- Senator Lincoln Chaffee (R-RI)
-- Senator Bill Frist (R-TN), changed his vote only so that the Senate procedurally can reconsider the matter
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-- Profile of US Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington, Leading Environmentalist
--Majority of Americans Oppose Oil Driling in ANWR, at About.com's Guide to US Government Info
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Comments
Why don’t you show the actual small NE segment of ANWR that the drilling was to take place? It’s less than1% of the whole park, the unscenic part.
What the Democraps gave us was a lump of ice for Christmas. Only a gullible idiot would think that the Democraps, along with their envirocrat buddies, would be saving some God forsaken strip of land for future generations, the vast majority of which would probably never bother visiting it. A strip of wasteland that could give them a warmer future. Instead, they should have given alternative energy research tax breaks- with a grant for technology that proves itself instead of the hype of ethanol.
The responsible oil companies now have the technology to drill with very little impact on the environment. One drill head could provide for and area of 100 miles. With CAFE standards the US and other energy users could have reasonable energy for decades. Alternatives will take decades along with energy efficiency for home and businesses. A sound nuclear infrastructure will take decades. A redesigned grid will take decades That extra energy will keep the economy viable so that all those alternatives can be developed properly
What is the point of having a wildlife preserve that no one ever goes to? Plenty of people go to Alaska but how many actually go to the frozen north? Since you are quoting history of ANWR and how a president has set it aside, why not tell the whole story about how Lincoln had the whole state bought so that it could be used for it’s resources? The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few…drill and drill now!
“Just an ugly strip of land”…something they can keep telling themselves to make themselves feel better about wanting to rape our REAL natural resources. President Lincoln had no idea we would want to destroy the landscape just so we could fuel our need to drive big, fat SUV’s.
Get real! Drilling in ANWR will do NOTHING for the price of gas or our dependence on foreign oil. 67% dependence from 70% and we won’t see a dime (actually it would be a couple of pennies) of that because it would just benefit the oil companies. We have to become independent with different resources because the rest of the world will not stop using oil (we have declined in usage but Japan hasn’t!) and the prices will not go down so it’s time to look elsewhere.
Wow, Michelle open your eyes to the possability that part of Alaska could be a frozen wasteland half the year! As for Lincoln do you have any idea how early Americans cleared teh land for farms and home etc? It wasn’t pretty! How about the great buffalo hunting trips! I’m sure Lincoln would worry about the country first and not some small minority with twited values.
WOW, people need to realize that the oil companies have not made a new oil refinery in 50 years for a reason SUPPLY AND DEMAND…This idea to tap into Alaska is a joke, the oil would be such a small addition to the current oil use that it would not make a difference, seriously people please investigate just how oil companies impact the environment! There will be huge consequences for allowing oil companies to plant themselves in that area…just research how they have in the past reuined places, plus this area is where the most sensitive activity for global warming is taking place, the rest of the world does not affect the planet as much as the frozen glaciers do by temperature change…hmmm wonder what impact would be by a drill site catching on fire..think about it.
if you have kids and you think you will be alive in year 2050 then think about how you will feel then and how you might have made a difference by acting now.