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Bipartisanship Elusive Without Realism

Bernard L. Weinstein, National JournalEvery president since Jimmy Carter, whether a Democrat or a Republican, has chanted the mantra of...

Bernard L. Weinstein, National Journal

Every president since Jimmy Carter, whether a Democrat or a Republican, has chanted the mantra of "weaning America off imported oil" as the basis of a national energy strategy. In fact, we've not had a comprehensive energy policy since the Carter years, and the laws passed in the late 1970s were based on the premise of shortages of fossil fuels and did little or nothing to increase production. Thanks to the shale gas and shale oil revolution, today we live in a world of fossil fuel abundance. Were the United States to expedite permitting in the Gulf of Mexico and open up the outer continental shelf (OCS) for exploration and production, domestic energy supplies would be even greater and we could literally approach energy independence, with all the attendant jobs and economic security that would entail. Read More