The Triumph of the No-Brainer

House Dems to Allow Vote on Energy Bill:

Hoyer, holding his weekly session with reporters, would not discuss details of the new Democratic energy bill — which was first outlined by caucus Vice Chairman John Larson (D-Conn.) over the weekend. But Hoyer did outline the process for bringing the bill to the floor, and said it will be brought up under regular order.

“[Republicans] will have the opportunity to offer their alternative, yes,” Hoyer said in response to a question about how the energy bill will be introduced. “We understand that their motion to recommit will be their Republican alternative.”

There are plenty of contentious issues revolving around energy policy. Why increased drilling in the OCS wound up as one of them could only happen if you have a Democratic caucus that's in thrall to the most extreme and irrational environmental interest groups.

No intelligent person thinks that drilling even comes close to solving the problem. But no intelligent person thinks that drilling won't take the edge off of oil prices for a while. I suppose you could argue that the American public isn't smart enough to understand that drilling is first-aid, not a cure. Personally, I think the American public is smarter than we give them credit for.