August 18, 2008 -
With Congress out of town for August recess - save a few Republicans who remain in Washington to protest Democratic energy policies - the battle over offshore oil and natural gas drilling has shifted to congressional campaigns across the country.
64% of voters are more concerned with increasing oil and gas supply than with conserving energy - ABC poll, July 2008.
House Republicans see the issue as a boon to them in this November's elections, because polls consistently show that voters support more offshore oil and natural gas production.
"The Democrats seem to be anti- American energy," said Representative Virginia Foxx, a North Carolina Republican. "Why don't they want us to increase the supply of American energy?
On balance, polls bare Foxx out. An ABC poll conducted late last month showed that 64% of voters are more concerned with increasing oil and gas supply than with conserving energy.
A Rasmussen poll released in the week ended August 15 found that 77% of likely voters considered the drilling issue "important" in choosing which House candidate to support this November.
Polls still show a generic Democratic candidate has an advantage in House races, but some show that gap narrowing.
Drilling seen as 'wildcard' issue
Scott Rasmussen, a public opinion pollster and founder of Rasmussen Reports, said the drilling issue was "a potential wildcard in the race in a way that we haven't seen any issue be in a long time."
The National Republican Campaign Committee, which is responsible for helping to elect House Republicans, is promoting an energy message this year.
The committee sends its candidates around the country regular memos, advising them to focus on offshore drilling in their campaigns.
"The evidence is clear," said NRCC spokesman Ken Spain.
He pointed to the "dozens of Democrats trying to change their votes" so they can appear to favor offshore drilling.
"We knew it was a good issue before they told us," said Amy Goldstein, a spokeswoman for Pete Olson, who is challenging Texas Democrat Nick Lampson for his seat.
Lampson won his seat in 2006 when former Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay resigned after he was indicted for corruption.
Lampson also served in the House between 1997 and 2005, and currently represents a district in the heart of Texas' oil country.
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Goldstein called Lampson's record during those years "extremely anti-energy," saying he repeatedly voted against developing the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in his earlier tenure in Congress.
Had Lampson voted the other way, oil from ANWR could be online now, helping to bring down pump prices, Goldstein said.
"Our stance is that Lampson helped create this problem," she said.
Goldstein also said that Lampson helped Democrats defeat a bill (H.R. 2279) earlier this year that would have facilitated the construction of new oil refineries on closed military bases. Lampson in fact voted for that bill in May as an alternative amendment to another bill.
Anthony Guitierrez, a spokesman for Lampson's campaign, called Goldstein's assessment "a distortion" of the congressman's record.
"Congressman Lampson does have a record of being an independent voice on energy issues in general," he said.
Most recently, Lampson helped draft a bill that is touted by pro-fossil fuels representatives, including some in the Republican leadership, as the House's best chance for a bipartisan compromise on energy for this year.
The measure (H.R. 2784), sponsored by Pennsylvania Republican John Peterson and Hawaii Democrat Neil Abercrombie, would make investments in alternative energy while expanding oil and gas industry access to restricted areas. It also incorporates Lampson's proposal to switch light, sweet crude oil out of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and gradually replace it with heavy crude to provide an immediate boost to supply.
Advocacy groups playing role
Olson's and Lampson's campaigns have not made substantial expenditures on energy-related television advertisements, though others have on their behalf.
Olson has convened a panel of energy industry advisors to help develop his energy platform, said Goldstein, while Guitierrez said Lampson is talking about the need for more supply at town meetings in his district.
Freedom's Watch, a conservative group independent of the Republican Party, launched a television ad last week that painted Lampson as a recent convert to the energy production cause.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ran a radio ad of its own that hit back at Olson for supporting the so-called "fair tax," which would replace all federal income and payroll taxes with a national retail sales tax.
This approximately 23% new retail tax would apply to gasoline purchases as well, tacking on an additional $1 per gallon at the pump, the ad said.
While it may be no surprise that oil is a big issue in Sugar Land, Texas, this year voters are hearing an energy message further afield.
Another freshman Democrat, Representative Carol Shea-Porter of New Hampshire, has also been defending her positions on energy issues in the face of attacks by pro-drilling groups.
Shea-Porter's name appears on a list provided by NRCC of freshman lawmakers the committee says have been telling voters they support offshore drilling, but campaign manager Pia Carusone said her boss had not made any such declaration.
She didn't rule out that Shea-Porter might support offshore drilling in the future, however, as part of a package that includes renewable energy and energy efficiency provisions.
"We're in a crisis, and anything is worth taking a look at that brings us closer to a long-term energy solution or provides immediate relief" from high gasoline costs, said Carusone.
She said that with another New England winter on the way, the congresswoman was touting her support for more low income heating oil assistance to help strapped constituents heat their homes.
Shea-Porter has been the target of a Freedom's Watch telephone and radio campaign in recent weeks, painting her as an anti-energy member of Congress.
"Common sense dictates that to lower fuel prices, we need more supply of oil," said the radio spot. "But Carol Shea-Porter opposes drilling in Alaska, says 'no' to off-shore oil exploration. She's voted 16 times against environmentally safe energy production. If we followed Shea-Porter's 'just say no' plan, America would remain dangerously dependent on oil from countries that hate us."
Shea-Porter is not the only one running for her seat who has been knocked by opponents for being insufficiently pro-energy.
Republican primary candidate John Stephens has complained that his primary opponent, former Representative Jeb Bradley, also voted against opening ANWR to drilling when he served in Congress.
Neither challenger returned calls for this story, but Stephens told the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune that more domestic drilling would cause OPEC to immediately put more oil on the market.
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