Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) tore into the energy protest House Republicans have been holding for the past several weeks. This political stunt was meant to demand a vote on oil drilling and “attack Democrats for leaving town” in August “without doing something to lower gas prices.”Did you notice the smirks and grins on the faces of 'experts' in the room? Quite a moment and great bit of tape.
After listening (to) all the problems currently facing the country, Whitehouse asked the experts whether anyone thought drilling was the “number one issue” right now. Almost nine seconds went by with complete silence: Watch and listen:
The transcript.
WHITEHOUSE: Gentlemen, we’re in the middle of a near total mortgage system meltdown in this country. We have a health care system that burns 16 percent of our GDP, in which the Medicare liability alone has been estimated at $34 trillion. We’re burning $10 billion a month in Iraq.
This administration has run up $7.7 trillion in national debt, by our calculation. And there is worsening evidence every day of global warming, with worsening environmental and national security ramifications. In light of those conditions, do any of you seriously contend that drilling for more oil is the number one issue facing the American people today?
[NINE-SECOND SILENCE]
WHITEHOUSE: No, it doesn’t seem so.
Thank you Senator, for bringing a touch of sanity back to the Senate.
And so it goes.
*
Thank you for sharing that!
ReplyDelete