Reality check on drilling for oil

The Republicans repeatedly harp about the environmentalists, whom they blame for our high gas prices, but let’s look at some facts for a change.

George Herbert Walker Bush was the president who signed the executive order to ban offshore drilling. A son of his, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, fought hard to prevent drilling off Florida’s coasts.

For 30 years, the Big Oil folks have used “bottleneck” economics to stop any new refineries.

A friend of mine who retired from the Energy Department told me that if the Big Oil people really wanted the new refineries, 30 years ago they had enough power to get it done.

And I ask a last question: Does anyone really believe OPEC and other oil-producing nations really want us to drill for more oil here? The answer is no!