If I was Reid I would craft the package to include only the minimal drilling provision, the one Hutchison said "does not have significant drilling", couple that with the oil corporate welfare stripping and the renewable credits, and force the Reps to vote against that.

Then if I was any Democrat, but especially Obama, I'd hammer away at the message - "They said they wanted drilling, but they voted against it. Now you see how they were lying to you all along, how it was just partisan political game-playing with them, while we actually tried to do something about energy imports and prices."
(It's unfortunate, but the way things are, I'd feel I didn't have the luxury of being overly scrupulous about that last piece of demagoguery.)

For once we'd put them in the position of having to try to make a "nuanced" argument: Yes, we do want to vote for drilling, but this bill was flawed, it didn't enable enough drilling, blah blah blah......

The only way it's going to be possible to enact a truly constructive energy bill is by electing Obama and extending the Dem majorities. That's why the Dems' only legislative priority pre-election should be to position themselves for the election.

After a victorious outcome will be the time for substantive legislation.

As should be mentioned every time we talk about Congress.

As we are now,
Democrats need atleast 33% of Senate Republicans to cooperate to pass any laws.

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Therefore, if Democrats want anything to happen (i.e. Reinstating the Renewable Energy Tax Credit for Solar/Wind/Geo/Hydro), they are going to have to give atleast a third of Republican Senators something they want (i.e. More Offshore Oil Drilling).

-David Ahlport

The Oil drilling ban ends in January.

Republicans can get their renewed offshore oil drilling merely by default.

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So it seems like the goal of the Republicans isn't anything substantive.  Instead it's merely to take a swipe at them for the election.

-David Ahlport

The Oil drilling ban ends in January.
Republicans can get their renewed offshore oil drilling merely by default.

Not if the Democrats remain in control and gain seats in the Congress.

It's parta the reason why they're tryin' to push this befor the November elections.