‘If the Left Gave a Damn, They’d Drill: How the Left is Selling-Out its Entire (Purported) Base on Behalf of the ‘Green; Lobby’

Special to Climate Depot

Written by Italia Federici — Reprinted With Permission

If the Left Gave a Damn, They’d Drill: How the Left is Selling-Out its Entire (Purported) Base on Behalf of the “Green” Lobby

By Italia Federici

In his Commentary Magazine article of April 11, 2011 Peter Wehner answers the question “Why We Should Give a Damn” in response to an article that raised the question of why the US should spill American blood to help the Afghan people. Wehner’s piece addresses why ambivalence toward suffering people is unacceptable, even if those suffering people are half a world away.

As part of his case for compassion, Wehner recalls the biblical parable of the Good Samaritan and writes that “…Jesus was teaching that love and mercy are not restricted by national boundaries.” Wehner is not suggesting that the US intervene in the instance of every case of suffering in the world. He writes:

“Now this ethic is not only intensely difficult to uphold in our daily lives, it’s extremely unclear how to translate it into public policy. A nation of limited resources cannot help everyone in need. We need to prioritize our commitments, including what we owe to our fellow citizens. And the compassion we might act on as individuals should not always express itself in action by the state.”

Agreed. We should, however, absolutely expect the state to “vote with our dollars” in a way that mirrors our national values. Along those lines I have one simple policy recommendation that would not only address “what we owe to our fellow citizens,” but what we owe the rest of the world as well. The United States must drill and mine its own energy resources.

Differing World Views

Crippling gasoline prices take their toll on American families and businesses. Conservatives assert that domestic exploration will lower energy costs for individuals and employers. Democrats and liberals know this is true. But the ideological divide between smaller-government, greater-personal-freedom-advocating conservatives, and wealth-distribution-advocating, nanny-staters is un-crossable with this monetary argument.

Here is why. Liberals are perfectly happy to see energy prices rise. They believe blocking domestic exploration, and thereby forcing the rising energy costs we see today, will benefit environmental quality in several ways. First, they disapprove of the act of exploration as inherently dirty and anti-environment. Second, higher energy costs, in their own words, will force conservation. Third, they hope higher energy costs will