A Doubtful Quest for Senator Mary

Budget Vote Revives Bid for Arctic Oil Drilling

By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 18, 2006; Page A05

A last-minute deal to secure the vote of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) on a $2.8 trillion budget plan has given new life to the Republican drive to open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.

The budget blueprint for fiscal 2007, which will begin in October, includes a $10 billion Gulf Coast restoration fund that would be financed from the leasing of arctic refuge drilling rights, revenue from new drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico and further sales of the broadcast spectrum. With that provision in hand, Landrieu cast the only Democratic vote for the budget resolution, which squeaked through Thursday night, 51 to 49.

"It's not easy being alone on anything. I don't relish this position," Landrieu said. "But, at times, it's necessary."

Republicans, who have been trying to open up the refuge for well over a decade, hope that by explicitly linking oil drilling to Gulf Coast restoration, they can prompt some Democrats to drop their opposition. Under the Senate plan, the funds from oil leases could be used for coastal restoration projects in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama that have long been sought by environmentalists. The fund could also be tapped to rebuild levees damaged last year by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

But it is not clear whether the political equation has shifted at all since December, when moderate Republicans -- led by Rep. Charles Bass (R-N.H.) -- forced their leaders to take arctic drilling out of a 2006 budget-cutting measure to secure their votes. Bass has warned House budget writers that nothing has changed.

"We are all aware of last year's effort and outcome, and I don't see any reason why this year would be different," Bass told the House Budget Committee last month. Using the budget process to pass drilling "is a gimmick that must be resisted," he said.

Come on Senator Mary, you of all people (caught as you are in the middle of the party which is the hotbed of Liberalism) should know that Liberals don't care about doing that which is right, only that which they believe will give them political advantage.

Drilling in ANWAR is terribly unpopular with the moonbats on the Left-in both parties-and they will sacrifice your great state (my home state too) if they believe they can gain some political capital with their extreme left constituency.

The only thing Liberals care about is gaining control of the government, and to that end, they will sacrifice anything, including your state, or even their souls to achieve that end.

Senator Mary, turn away from the dark side and embrace the light of Conservatism.

Full Story: Northeast Liberalism Doesn't Care About the Gulf Coast

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