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Offshore Drilling "Shift"
Shifting a position involves moving to a different position from one that was previously taken. Obama was against offshore drilling and he is still against it. He is considering voting for a bill that would include offshore drilling if it is part of a much larger energy compromise. Did he ever say that drilling was a deal-breaker for any energy bill, or that he would vote against any bill that included drilling? The media appears to have been going along with the "shift" narrative, but I have not seen any evidence of any switch. If anyone knows of any, by all means, let me know, but to me this looks like lazy reporting.
I wish that the media would try to grasp at least the most basic nuances of being a legislator. Voting for or against a bill doesn't mean that you are for or against everything in that bill. By including something that one may be against, they may be able to get the votes for something that they feel is more important. It's all about working with people and choosing your battles, which Obama has shown he can do.
Comments (1)
He did say on 6/20/08 in Jacksonville that when he is president he will continue the moratorium on offshore drilling and prevent drilling off the Fla coast.
http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2008/06/obama-no-offsho.html
The whole speech is on YouTube. He first lays out the facts showing how long it would take to see anything from offshore drilling and how little it would help. Good job on that. The statement on maintaining the moratorium is close to the end.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8fkbEuCQss
August 3, 2008 7:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
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