Why isn’t reducing oil use a rallying point for the Right?
This is something that has mystified me about conservative thinking in the United States.
The Right is in love with drilling more oil in the United States to reduce our dependency on foreign sources. But even if there is enough domestic oil to satiate our thirst, it will be many years before the production can actually come on line.
Meanwhile, because of the United States’ great oil consumption:
* The United States economy is dependent on potentially unstable regions
* American money is flowing into places like Venezuela and Islamic Middle Eastern countries, some of the Right’s favorite foils
It seems that advocating reduction in oil use and developing oil alternatives would be a natural fit for a mindset that highly values national security. But I’ve never heard a conservative talking head say “Those gas-guzzlers are helping us give Chavez more money”. It’s more like “Hybrids LOL” or “The government can’t tell me what to drive; I have my rights.”
(Alternative energy sources are routinely derided by some conservatives as well, even ones who say they have faith in the ability of humans to make great technological advances. I can’t help but think some on the Right belittle alternative energy simply because the Left likes it.)
there was a newsweek article about racism and babies. one of the sections talked about an experiment at a grade school where kids were randomly selected to wear a red or blue t shirt. over the course of a few days (or was it hours? i don’t remember) the kids with the same shirt color sat together and when asked “which color is better” they picked their own color.
I wonder what would happen if we simply did away with the political party labels. as you said, party members go along with an idea because it’s expected based on their “position” on the political spectrum. what happened to processing each idea as an individual entity? *sigh*
Reply to annieDon’t forget that the right also tends to favor big business so they’d rather support Big Oil.
I find it funny that Conservatives that are so against the “bailouts” have nothing against the farming subsidies, particularly the subsidies we pay to farmers NOT to grow food. That sounds like paying someone not to work… isn’t that the argument used against welfare?
Reply to AllenI saw the CEO of Exxon-Mobil go over to Rush Limbaugh’s mansion with a set of kneepads. True story.
Reply to The Mascot@Annie: Yes, I remember reading that article! It always makes me wonder how I ever found non-white friends.
@Allen: Ah, yes, protectionism. The free market is great…until Americans actually lose jobs because of it.
Reply to Donnie