The “independent” Senator Bernie Sanders from the People’s Republic of Vermont, had this to say regarding Judd Gregg’s vote against amendments to the Heating aide Bill.

“Do we vote to keep the old, the sick, and kids alive when the weather gets cold or very, very hot, or do we spend money on people who make huge campaign contributions?”

Bernie, I’m going to go see who donated to your campaign and then compare it to your voting record, and I bet, I just bet, we’ll find some interesting relationships there. 

Bernie’s idea of a competent legislator must be one who, after failing to solve a problem, (or by ignoring it) makes good by bilking taxpayers and playing the poor, old, sick, kids card.  (And I heard he was something of a maverick). Unfortunately, it’s a real problem we need to deal with.  But the problem is based on the cost of energy.  Bernie, you could actually affect that cost by voting to drill.  That would actually deflate the cost almost immediately and save the old, the sick, and the kids, without a massive influx of tax payer dollars.

I know, I know, you must be part of that, “it wont change the price of gas or fuel in time” crowd aren’t you.  Well, here’s the thing.  Looking back at all the “pronouncements” made by the left, and by independents who carry water for them like yourself, they have all been wrong.  All of them.  And you know oil used to go up and down all the time based on production statements, long before production hit the market, even when George Bush was not President.  So why should we believe you or them, about anything now, when history is against you.  Carter (and even Nixon and Ford) tried this same shtick back in the 70’s.  We got screwed, Bernie. Big time.

Just say you’ll drill.  If it will make you happy, start by drilling the existing leases, and then say you’ll drill the new available reserves, and then we can watch what happens.  They can spend some of those profits you’ve all been whining about to get at it.  If it doesn’t work, congress can easily release emergency funding on a dime.   They do it all the time.  So why not wait and see.  We have a few months, do something meaningful today, because if we simply toss out the cash without solving the actual problem that makes this funding even necessary, we’ll just have to do it again next year, when it will cost even more.  Handing money out now just looks like some kind of band-aid political pandering.  Solving real problems however takes courage.  Got any of that handy, because we could use it.