That’s Elbert With An E

In the last post I mentioned the Democrat-controlled congress having an approval rating at 9%. Much is discussed about President Bush’s low approval ratings. According to this web site, over the month of June 2008, depending on the survey his numbers are between 28% and 32%. So who’s got the real problem, Bush or the Democrat-controlled congress?

(I didn’t count the LA Times/Bloomberg poll which is an anomaly on the page, reporting Bush’s approval at 23%. The LA Times has also been reporting polls showing Obama beating McCain by double digits, inconsistent with anyone else’s polls.)

The idea started by Newt Gingrich has taken hold. No doubt that all the discussion surrounding the need to utilize our national resources got it’s start by the “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less” campaign.

From a recent Gallop poll:

A majority of Americans (57%) interviewed in a mid-May Gallup Panel survey approve of expanding drilling for oil in offshore and wilderness areas considered to be off-limits.

A Rasmussen Reports telephone survey from June 13, 2008, states:

67% of voters believe that drilling should be allowed off the coasts of California, Florida and other states. Only 18% disagree and 15% are undecided. Conservative and moderate voters strongly support this approach, while liberals are more evenly divided (46% of liberals favor drilling, 37% oppose).

Rasmussen also shows that Americans across the spectrum favor drilling:

85% of Republicans are in favor of offshore drilling as opposed to 57% of Democrats and 60% of unaffiliated voters.

One result in their survey bothered me:

Voters also believe 61% to 22% that oil companies should be required to reinvest at least a portion of their profits into alternative energy research. On this question, liberal and moderate voters are strongly supportive of the proposal while conservatives are more evenly divided (47% of conservatives in favor, 35% opposed)

I highly disagree with any government telling my business how to spend it’s money. In this case, ultimately it will be Americans who will take the hit on this. Remember that stock in “big oil” is owned by pension plans and other retirement funds. Less money made by “big oil” means less money in your pocket at retirement.

In the short run we may not see a drop in gas prices, but in the long run I believe the market will demand that it happens. In addition, I see gas production as a surer thing than alternate energies, because they are not ready for mass production. Ethanol sounded like a great idea to me initially, but now see how much it has put a hurt on our food supply, creating higher prices on anything with corn. Throw that in there along with $130+ barrels of oil and your food budget shrinks.

In addition to allowing drilling, we need do something about our refineries, such as making it easier to build them. I have heard that a new refinery has not been built in the US since the 1970s. We need newer and more efficient refineries. All that oil has got to be processed somewhere, why not here?

The Gallop survey quoted above is at this link. The Rasmussen report quoted above is at this link. Don’t forget to sign the Drill Here Drill Now Pay Less petition here.

Here are opinion poll results from the American Research Group taken between 1/31 and 2/1: McCain 41%, Romney 35%, Huckabee 7%, Paul 5%, Undecided 10%.

Hat tip to The Campaign Spot.

Delaware residents that are Democrats or Republicans can go to their assigned polling places and tell their party which candidates they prefer for the general election. Howard at Delmar Dustpan has already covered much of this, but I’d like to be redundant and put the Laurel spin on it. Laurel is in State Rep. District 40, and the polling places are at the following locations:

• North Laurel Elementary School
• Laurel Middle School Field House
• Laurel Fire Hall
• Laurel High School

If you are registered to vote, you can find out exactly which polling place you should go by going to this web site.

Here’s the lists of candidates on the ballot. I have put in bold the candidates that are still in the race.

The Democrats:

• Joseph R. Biden Jr
• Hillary Clinton
• Christopher J. Dodd
• John Edwards
• Dennis J. Kucinich
• Barack Obama

The Republicans:

• Rudy Giuliani
• Michael D. Huckabee
• John McCain
• Ron Paul
• Mitt Romney
• Tom Tancredo

Go and vote! And remember, just say no to John McCain.

More reasons not to vote for John McCain: McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Bill. Here’s an opinion piece from the Washington Post about this:

The presidential campaign has confirmed that, under the guise of “campaign finance reform,” Congress and the Supreme Court have repealed large parts of the First Amendment. They have simply discarded what were once considered constitutional rights of free speech and political association.

More from Newsbusters.

Another ad from the Romney camp:

Here is the results of the most recent Presidential election survey conducted by the Wilmington (DE) Republican Region:

All Respondents
1. (3) Mitt Romney 27%
2. (2) Rudy Giuliani 22%
3. (1) John McCain 21%
4. (4) Mike Huckabee 14%
5. (5) Ron Paul 12%
6. (6) Tom Tancredo <1%

The results by county:

Sussex County
1. (2) Mitt Romney 32%
2. (3) John McCain 20%
3. (1) Mike Huckabee 19%
4. (4) Rudy Giuliani 18%
5. (5) Ron Paul 9%
6. (6) Tom Tancredo <1%

Kent County
1. (1) Mitt Romney 31%
2. (2) Rudy Giuliani 18%
3. (4) John McCain 17%
4. (3) Ron Paul 16%
5. (5) Mike Huckabee 13%
6. (6) Tom Tancredo <1%

New Castle County
1. (3) Mitt Romney 25%
2. (2) Rudy Giuliani 24%
3. (1) John McCain 22%
4. (4) Mike Huckabee 14%
5. (5) Ron Paul 12%
6. (6) Tom Tancredo <1%

I put in the candidate’s position in the poll last in parenthesis. In the two previous polls (12/7 & 1/11) and with this one, it seems that the participants have been more influenced by whoever is winning at the opinion/real polls in other states. Are we really examining the issues? As I noted last week, Fred Thompson, Alan Keyes, and Duncan Hunter are not in the list because they are not on the ballot in Delaware. Shame. Tom Tancredo is on the list despite the fact that he dropped out.

From the press release:

The Presidential Poll was conducted via e-mail between January 16, 2008 and January 17, 2008 with approximately 500 respondents. The majority of respondents are registered Republicans in Delaware, some Democrats, Independents, and those registered with other parties also participated.

Anyone interested in participating in future polls should send their e-mail address to tomross_de@hotmail.com.

The Wilmington Republican Region’s web site for these polls is here.

John McCain has done many things that have bothered me over the years, enough that I think he’s more of a RINO and certainly not a good candidate for President on the Republican ticket. Hot Air has some links here that is a good place to start making my point. Michael at Monoblogue uses a point system to evaluate candidates, and he puts John McCain at the bottom of the list of Republican candidates (look at the bottom of this post).

Currently my choice for the Republican Presidential nominee is in flux. I have previously supported Mike Huckabee. I feel I can safely say this: if John McCain is the nominee, I’ll be voting for the Constitution Party candidate or maybe the Libertarian Party. No doubt.

As far as my choice in the primary, I’ve got a few more days to think on this. Delaware votes on February 5th.