Blaming Democrats for rising gas prices is ludicrous

A record 1.6 million barrels a day in U.S. refined petroleum products were exported during the first four months of this year, up 33 percent from 1.2 million barrels a day over the same period in 2007. Shipments this February topped 1.8 million barrels a day for the first time during any month, according to final numbers from the Energy Department.

The surge in exports appears to contradict the pleas from the U.S. oil industry and the Bush administration for Congress to open more offshore waters and Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.

Add your comments: You know...I am getting sick and tired of hearing about oil..Let's just stop using it whenever we can or only using what we have to. If we don't buy it, there won't be any demand for it. Prices will go down to lure us back. If we keep this attitude instead of buying more gas they will stay down. We just plain out and out need to find new ways of transportation and use car pooling etc. I bought a motor bike to ride 11 miles one way to work and I am a 61 year old female.

The article writer sure is not Mensa material. When some one comes up with something other than regurgitated political propaganda, wake me up.

To all you republicans trying to blame democrats for the drilling ban need to learn your history. Those bans were put in place by your hero Ronald Reagan. Every time republicans get on a bandwagon, they only prove their own hypocrisy and ignorance because their outrage changes with the wind. Today its oil prices and the drilling ban, but its YOU who put an OIL MAN into the White House....and NOW you want to know why oil prices have gone through the roof? Grow a brain and perhaps you can find a clue that shows your own culpability in the predicament we're all in now. You insisted on a failure as a President whose only work history was multiple failures in every previous job he ever held...then you get what you deserve. And the world is laughing because of it. Now you want to blame everyone else for your mistakes. The thing is, enough people have become aware of your idiocy that I don't believe it will happen again. Forget the political ploys...forget the "hot issue" to get your people out to vote (like gay marriage was in 2004)...you've played that card one too many times and the world recognizes your bluff now. Sorry..bluffs only work when they can't be detected....thank goodness.

"Democratic controlled congress"?
Do any of you sheepies really believe that the democrats have absolute "control" over congress? DO you have a dictionary? Look up the word "control". Then look up the word "majority". News Flash!! There's a difference. The democrats hold a slight majority in congress, not enough to run through the halls doing whatever they want. Besides, you can't stop a snowball rolling downhill, no matter how much power you've got. The Bush admin got this thing rolling by destabilizing the middle-east with the onset of Iraq. Look no further than them for the shape our country's in. They've done NOTHING to help the Average Joe. W had his rubber-stamping republican congress for 6 long years and they address nothing benefitial to the general population of the US, just the chosen few.
"Supply and demand"? I haven't seen any shortage at the pumps. I haven't seen any rationing like the 70's. If you've got the cash you can buy all the fuel you want.
"So drill more"? Didn't we deal with the Alaksan pipeline do eliminate our dependancy on foreign oil decades ago? If we drill off the coast or in ANWAR how long will it be before somebody realizes they can make more money from it on the world market and we start exporting it too?
It is our ridiculous congress that, right now, that's the biggest problem. If they truly were "working for us" they'd already be working to get us out of Iraq, already working on the "speculators", and looking for impeachment and criminal charges to pass around on the Bush admin.

Don't do anything now because it won't have an effect until 2030???

With that logic, I guess we don't educate our kids now because they won't be employed until 2020??

How stupid are these repealers of the law of supply and demand???

if you recall nancy pelosi said that the newly elected democratic congress would reduce gass prices with legislation. in the meantime they are refusing to approve off shore drilling. just the approval would drive oil prices below $100 per barrell. how about it democrats? how about doing the right thing?

There is an old Arabic story that goes like this:
In the 7th century, the merchants all agreed to raise the price of an already expensive and sought after item, meat. So the people went to the kalif of the time to complain, his reply was "cheapin it", they asked how that would be done. He told them to stop buying it until the merchants felt the pinch, then they would ease the prices.

Part of the problem is the weak dollar. This was caused by the lowering of the interest rates due to the dot-com bust and 9-11. It is also what caused the housing boom and bust. The Feds are in a catch-22. If they raise interest rates, the economy goes down the tube but we keep inflation in check. If they keep the interest rates low, inflation goes higher but the economy limps along. You can blame everyone from Bill Clinton to Bush, Greenspan to Pelosi. That said, we should have built more refineries and allowed oil companies to drill. It was easy not to when gas was 0.99 a gallon. If we drill now, the futures market will calm down and gas prices will come down. Speculation is based on future outlook. These same people don't blink about reducing greenhouse gases now, even though it won't do anything for years to come. You cannot have it both ways people.

Repubs, do you really think GW and his oil buddies are freakin out because of the current oil situation? They're cracking open the champagne right now. If you really think they give a damn about what the average American is paying for gas, then you're seriously delusional. If they haven't built any refineries for 30 years, do you think it's really because they were stopped by the dems? Who's been in control of Texas and Oklahoma for the past 30 years? There's refineries everywhere there. If they wanted to build even one more, do you seriously think the repub governments in both states would stop them? Get a clue.

Give me a break. To both sides. The energy crisis that we are now experiencing is the result of both political parties and the collective apathy of "We" Americans.
Congress passes an energy bill that increases food prices, might as well have been a farm subsidity bill for the corn and soy bean farmers. The Dems have opposed any new fossil fuel production for years to please the enviro nuts on the left of the party and they have made it almost impossible to have nuclear power.
The Republicians have been pleased as punch just to go along with their special interest friends. They also had no interest in upsetting the mideast oil countries which they view as needed allies in the war against terror.
Who loses America and our children lose and will continue to lose unless we inject Congress with some common sense ie. get rid of these idiots.
No sense in blaming the Presidents of the last 4 decades, Congress is the body to blame, they knew it was coming and could have passed sensible energy bills that included funding for alternatives as well. Presidents set the agenda but Congress funds everything, they also have the power to override presidential vetoes and most of all they are supposed to be leaders, that's not just the job of the president at the time.
For the last 20 years, "we" the american public, have let our govt. expose us to the biggest sham ever pulled by a national govt. For 20 years, whatever party does not hold the Whitehouse blames the other party for whatever ill is presently infecting our country and NOTHING gets done.
Our political parties and the radicals on both the left and the right, have been sucessful at the oldest game in the world, divide and conquer. They have whipped the public into a frenzy with class warfare, race, religion, and now energy.
It's time that "we" Americans demand to get our govt back and make it start to SERVE our country again. Start thinking Americans, Stop listening to all the BS that comes out of the govt mouthpieces and use your commonsense.
This is our country and our govt. lets save it for our kids. Vote these idiots out. Vote for independent minded people who you can believe actually has the interests of the country at heart and if you find they don't, vote them out at the very next election.
Enough is Enough!

So they are spending a lot also. That shows in the record profits because profit = revenue - expenditure(including spending on exploring new fields)
Seems to me that spending is going down while profit is going up. After all in past three years of exploration on our taxes hasnt given us back much except soaring oil prices. In the meantime profits have skyrocketed and so has the stock price.
Exxon in 3 years from 2005 to 2008 = 60% up
Exxon in 3 years from 2002 to 2005 = 29% up
Guess what the windfall tax cut bill was passed in 2005 :) Hmmmmmmmm

I agree with common sense.Both parties are at fault and as long as those nuts in congress can stay in office till they die nothing will be accomplished. I wish congress was limited to two four year terms like the president. Independent thinking unfortunately goes nowhere in congress and most honest people usually quit in disgust or fall in line with the party and once again nothing gets done. If you think our taxes and oil is high now we will long for these days in the future if Obama gets elected.

we got to drill now so nancy Pelosi can fly her big jet to ca

What everyone iseems to fail to realize is that even if we do drill for more oil, keep in mind that oil is not necessarily "ours" to be refined and used in the US. The oil companies will sell the oil to the highest bidder, and if that bidder is China or India, guess what?? We just sold them all "our" oil. And we are just back in the same boat as before: high prices, low supply with no long term solution....

I've been steadily paying less for gas since Bush rescinded the executive order on drilling To the tune of 80 cents a gallon and still falling. I blame Bush for this. How much more can we stand from these damn repubs? Demos were so mad about this latest fiasco, why, they went home for 5 weeks. Serves him right.

If you are a democrat, you have no right to any oil that is pumped up as your political party has blocked any advancements for years. Now we need more oil production and where the hell are the dems? On vacation again! Whats next another raise? From the continental shelf to tar sands to anwar, all available resources and they wont approve! Do they know that there are more moose in alaska now than ever? Thats due to the clearing for the pipeline!

OPN Eric,
It dosent matter who the oil goes to! What matters is that we pump to increase supply, which drives the costs down! Oil is a global market and the more of it there is, the less its gonna cost! Speculation drove the price of gold through the roof in the 70's until the government stopped it!

Can our present refineries process our oils? I thought ours was too thick and therefore we sold it and purchased from overseas. I also heard that our refineries have not been upgraded in the past 35 years! Therefore, they are unable to process more oil then they currently are capable of doing. So what good does drilling do if you have no place to take the liquid gold. I think there are a lot of ideas out there but most of them are pretty screwed up and I don't think drilling will help us. I'd say lets all start to walk, ride bikes and get horses and buggies! Those are feasable solutions and not the nightmares proposed by many posters and ...the Government?