Democrats would have their Republican colleagues completely on the run if it weren’t for one thing — gas prices. The surging cost of filling the tank has warmed the hearts of the general public for oil drilling in new areas, but Democrats aren’t playing along.
Instead, they’re playing defense on energy. They’ve all but shut down the appropriations process for fear of a drilling measure passing. They’ve tossed out substitutes to traditional drilling targets like the Outer Continental Shelf and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and focused on the hard-to-grasp issue of speculation.
“People go to the gas station every week. And they believe drilling will help,” said Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.). “You know their members are screaming.”
One of those members is Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), who is pushing Democratic leaders to be open to drilling, saying everything is going their way in November except energy.
“There’s only one thing that can bring us down,” Abercrombie said in a recent interview, “this energy-independence question.”
The Democratic victories also come at a price that won’t be paid for years when the costs are simply added to the debt. The GI bill is expected to cost a staggering $50 billion; unemployment insurance $12 billion; the original portion of the housing bill is “paid for,” but the Congressional Budget Office figures the rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost $25 billion if the companies tap the line of credit.
“In 18 months, this Democratic Congress has to go down as one of the most fiscally irresponsible in history, and they’ve had some real competition,” said Rep. Jeb Hensarling (Texas), chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee.
But Democrats say they can justify the expenses. The GI bill, says Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), is “a cost of war.” The others were economic emergencies needed to stimulate the economy or keep it from sliding further, and offsetting with taxes would be counterproductive.
“Stimulating and depressing at the same time is not good policy,” Hoyer said. Rep. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.), the leader of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, stressed that the House passed the GI bill with the cost offset by taxes.
The Democrats’ aggressive posture will likely continue next month, when they are expected to bring up the popular State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which Bush vetoed last year, as well as a stimulus package currently estimated at $50 billion.
The SCHIP vote could present a difficult choice for nervous Republicans who want to support the program but originally backed Bush’s veto.
“Any Republican who flips on SCHIP under the panic of an election looks very, very weak,” Davis said.
Jessica Holzer and Sam Youngman contributed to this report.
|
