Mad Voter: The political costs of oil

You hear it everywhere, preached by every Democrat and liberal political operative. Domestic oil exploration is evil. But now as gas hits $4 a gallon, Republicans have an opportunity to win back long-lost voter support—but only if they play their cards right.

Leading the charge against the energy industry in the West has been ProgressNow, a self-described "progressive" organization dedicated to promoting a socialist agenda. The organization's number one target this election season: Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer. Nicknaming him "Big Oil Bob," ProgressNow claims Schaffer is "little more than a puppet of the Big Oil industry."

But the strategy is misplaced, especially as escalating oil costs raise the cost of just about every product we buy as consumers. As Denver Post editorial page editor Dan Haley recently pointed out, "The threshold at which you begin to make lifestyle changes depends on your income level and on, well, whether or not you're a masochist. But it appears that $4 may be the threshold that begins to shift the prevailing political winds."

Schaffer, on staff with a major energy company, has actually worked to improve relationships with international energy leaders and oil-rich governments. His attempts at diplomacy, if anything, will help those like ProgressNow Chief Michael Huttner heat his home this winter.

The last time I saw Huttner he was sitting in the back of a pickup truck (let's hope it was a hybrid) leading a protest that blocked the entrance to the Denver Athletic Club, where GOP presidential nominee John McCain was speaking. Predictably, Huttner was there to paint McCain as a friend of oil and gas companies.

This isn't to say, however, that all Republicans understand this new era we find ourselves in—or the political opportunities available to the GOP. On Wednesday, Republican state Rep. Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, attacked Denver's "Bike To Work Day", an event that drew out some 30,000 Coloradans, including my husband and one of our daughters, to the city's Civic Center Park. While McNulty questioned the event as a political stunt, the fact of the matter is that conservation, together with a responsible domestic drilling strategy, is mandatory if we desire energy independence.

"Colorado families are struggling at the pump and the answer we are getting from Colorado Democrats is shut down oil and gas production in Colorado and ride your bike — unbelievable," McNulty told The Denver Daily News.

"I'd like to see how they expect a mother of three in my district to get her kids to school and to buy groceries for her family using a bicycle."

Of course, McNulty is right that Democrats, including Gov. Bill Ritter, have consistently supported regulations and initiatives, including a proposed severance tax on the state's energy sector, that together would raise energy costs for consumers. But McNulty should also hesitate to play politics by bringing soccer moms into the mix.

Jessica Peck Corry is a public policy analyst with the Independence Institute in Golden, Colo.

As a mother of two living in an urban neighborhood, I have the luxury of walking my kids to the store for groceries. I am rarely forced to get behind the wheel of my car. But no one assumes that a mom in Highlands Ranch should have to ride her bike or walk to a store that is miles away. Call me a liberal, but maybe she should look into getting a hybrid or cutting the number of trips she takes to the store each week. If she's smart, she'll do it. It makes sense for her pocketbook and her family's bottom line.

For years, both major parties have fought hard to win the suburban mom vote. As a former suburbanite myself, I can see a manufactured political attack coming a mile away. The temptation to blame opposition for the rising cost of oil is extremely tempting, especially at the state level.

But for savvy Republican candidates, they should remember this: Voters this November want a responsible energy policy that will balance our energy needs with reasonable protections for the environment. They are starting to see that off-shore drilling—already done in green nations like Norway—may become inevitable here. While once Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was too sacred for exploration, we may just want to take a second look.

Likewise, we all may just want to bike to work—especially if it means we can save a couple bucks along the way.

Editor’s note: Jessica Peck Corry's weekly blogs are part of a feature on PoliticsWest called "Diary of a Mad Voter." The group blog, published in partnership with NewWest.Net/Politics, is intended to give a glimpse into the hearts and minds of several independent-minded voters and thinkers in the Rocky Mountain West in the 2008 election year.

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