Whenever you hear about a ‘bipartisan’ bill you know that Republicans are caving to the Democrats and that is never good news for Conservatives or taxpayers. It means get ready to assume the position. This can’t be good news for John McCain since his buddie Graham is spearheading the effort. Of course, none of the GOP 5 are up for re-election – Thune, Corker, Graham, Chambliss and Isaacson. This piece of garbage legislation is nothing more than tying up the US drilling and then giving away billions to Democrat environMENTAList energy groups. What a bunch of dolts.

From the Institute for Energy Research:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Institute for Energy Research (IER) today released an analysis of the New Era energy plan proposed by the self-titled “Gang of Ten� U.S. Senators. Publicly-available details on the plan are limited to press releases and brief summaries, which form the basis of IER’s analysis. The Institute’s resident economist, Robert Murphy, issued the following statement:

“Faced with the prospect of having the ban on offshore energy production expire at the end of September if Congress does nothing, this headline-hungry gang decided it had to do something before leaving town for the August vacation,� Murphy said. ““The New Era plan is the same as the era we find ourselves stuck in today – flush in subsidies, tax credits, and various other government handouts, but short on the energy supplies our economy and our consumers need to prosper. American families would be better served if the Gang and the entire Congress simply stopped trying to help, stepped aside, and let the offshore ban expire.�

IER Analysis: Key Flaws in the ‘New Era’ Plan:

* The Gang of Ten calls for additional offshore production in areas currently under moratoria, but proposes a process that fails to guarantee/deliver any new supplies whatsoever. New production on federal offshore lands is left to the discretion of several state legislatures.

* Production potential is severely limited. Only four coastal states would be granted the ability to “opt out� of energy bans. Arbitrary 50-mile buffer zones would exclude potential resource deposits, such as the Gulf of Mexico’s Destin Dome, which is some 25 miles offshore.

* The plan ignores the urgent national need to repeal the offshore energy exploration and production bans that have contributed to the very problem their plan purports to solve. It may even give the ban the force of permanent law for the first time ever. This is an especially short-sighted, as the Congressional ban is set to expire in less than two months, on October 1, 2008, which will open the entire 1.76 billion acre outer continental shelf (OCS) to energy production.

* Spending $85 billion on tax credits, subsidies, and various other federal handouts in lieu of increasing domestic oil and gas production is the kind of failed approach to energy policy that helped deliver the crisis we find ourselves in today. Government continues to be the source of the problem; government-centered ‘solutions’ will only compound our problems.

* Dedicating additional, inordinate sums to biofuel programs is especially unwise, as they represent up to 75 percent of the recent spike in food prices, according to the World Bank. They are not as “renewable� as their proponents claim, and may not even provide any environmental benefits whatsoever.

Click here for the complete IER analysis.

Way to support the efforts of the House GOP Senator Corker! Terry Frank had earlier reported that Lamar Alexander was a member of the “Gang” but I guess since he’s running for re-election he was exempted from the duty of stabbing his fellow House GOP’ers in the back. And the National Republican Party can’t figure out why Republicans aren’t supporting them? It’s this kind of ‘bi-partisan’ caving which leads to outrageous spending along with harming taxpayers. If they think this will help gas prices at the pump they are delusional. How stupid can these Senators be?

Best damn byline – The Five Stooges

Energy: If you thought Republicans were no longer “The Stupid Party,” then you haven’t met the senators who may have just destroyed the GOP’s biggest hope this election year: the drilling issue.