Strike two, my conversation with Steve:

Wednesday – June 23, 2010

Strike two, my conversation with Steve:

Continuing from where I left off yesterday, with my conversation with Steve, I feel it is important to illustrate each point in the discussion so that I can offer some examples on how to handle the liberal.

Steve did concede some of the lost history with the Iranian issue. He then said, “Well, what about the oil spill in the Gulf?”, and I said, “What about it?” He said, “The president is being prudent with the moratorium on drilling and it is the fault of BP and no one else!”

I said that only G.H.W. Bush can claim to be prudent. I did concede that BP was primarily at fault, because it was their rig. I went on to say that the Bush administration found all sorts of violations on that rig and the Obama administration found no violations and used this rig as an example for others to follow. We both agreed that possibly each administration might have made mistakes.

I then said that we have a common ground and he agreed. I mentioned that drilling at these depths is the problem and I explained how the oil companies did not like to drill at these depths because it is very costly and dangerous. When you drill at these depths and something goes wrong it is impossible to send a diver down. All you have is a camera and gushing oil. Even robots cannot function at 100% at these depths.

The president was mistaken when he said we use 20% of the world’s oil and we have 2% of the supply. Our untapped resources can supply this country alone with 25 years of crude. It makes more sense to drill on land than at sea. Every morning, when America wakes up, our thirst for oil equates to 20 million barrels a day. We are sending our money to many who are enemies of this country and could, if they wanted to, bring this country to a screeching halt. Steve was not aware of this.

I then mentioned that while the president wants to be prudent, we are in day 64 of this crisis. The president is using this crisis to advance his agenda with cap and tax the old cap and trade legislation. I explained what the legislation was and said the president and his party will tax every form of energy you use. Steve did not understand this aspect of the bill. I said we all agree that energy it a top priority, but without oil our way of life is threatened. I said we need to explore all forms of available sources. Wind, nuclear energy and clean coal all have applications. It is not prudent to sign a bill and say that a bill is signed and just go do it. This president is making a serious mistake with raising taxes and saying he has a victory with an energy policy. Steve understood my point and agreed that it is best to pursue domestic oil production while working towards new forms of energy.

He asked why Conservatives are so tied into big oil drilling on land. Republicans want a sensible approach to oil production. We want to drill on land where it presents less risk to the environment and is cheaper to get when reserves are found. It is the Democrats who are held captive by the environmental lobbies and who make these false arguments and cost the industry untold amounts of money, as a result of where they are forced to drill.

Oil production is not evil. It is the people who have committed crimes that make it evil. Oil is not dirty. When accidents occur and the wrong decisions are made it then becomes a mess. This is what we now have in the Gulf. The president can suspend the Jones Act and bring foreign aid in to help. The President and the administration turned down 13 countries with the technology to stop the and clean up the oil. I explained to Steve what the Jones Act was and explained how the decision’s coming out of The White House have made this situation a lot worse.

I asked Steve if suspending oil production for six months make sense while the economy is troubled and people are still losing their jobs. Steve was not aware that the president put a drilling moratorium in place in the Gulf for six months.

The decision of a Federal Judge, yesterday, to suspend the moratorium was not made when I discussed Mondays FORUM with Steve. This Federal Judge did the right thing. He said in his decision, “just because an oil rig failed does not mean they are all dangerous.”

Steve saw my point and asked why he did not know some of these facts. I asked what do you read and listen to? He said I read the papers and listen to the six o’clock news. I said that was his first mistake.

This week, I am making a point to relate a real conversation and how you can defend the conservative side with thought, respect, fact and humor. When we organize, it is important to defend your point of view and bring in the real facts when you know the other person is not aware of them. Even a liberal knows that what is happening today is not right and does not make sense. Steve is finding out. In tomorrows Forum you will see how he did.

A side bar: The events of General McChrystal and the article in Rolling Stone present serious problems for the President and the country. I do not condone the General’s comments or what he has done. He violated the code of the military. But, as we need to find out what happened in the Gulf, we also need to find out how this highly decorated General went astray, opened up and why he is frustrated with the decisions coming from the White House. This is the president’s challenge and not the General’s.

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: There are 132 days to discuss what is right and what is wrong. I hope I am helping you to do that.