President Bush asks Congress again to reconsider energy policies.

For the umpteenth time President Bush has asked the Democrats in Congress to reconsider their destructive policies. It's doubtful they will do anything he asks, since their sole mission is to oppose him on anything and everything, simply because he's President Bush. He again called for expansion of exploration and drilling for oil, as well as expansion of refining capacity. He wants a speedy permitting process for refineries. He summed up the situation nicely.

The proposals I've outlined will take years to have their full impact. There is no excuse for delay -- as a matter of fact, it's a reason to move swiftly. I know the Democratic leaders have opposed some of these policies in the past. Now that their opposition has helped drive gas prices to record levels, I ask them to reconsider their positions. If congressional leaders leave for the 4th of July recess without taking action, they will need to explain why $4-a-gallon gasoline is not enough incentive for them to act. And Americans will rightly ask how high oil -- how high gas prices have to rise before the Democratic-controlled Congress will do something about it.

On a related note, American Solutions now has about 900,000 signatures to their Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less petition. No doubt they will have over a million signatures by July 4th. The American people are getting fed up, with any luck they'll have the sense to finally place the blame squarely where it belongs.

In the meantime, the Democrats are proposing nationalization of oil refineries. That's a great idea, the way the federal government handles things we'll be paying $12.00 a gallon. Why don't we just scrap the election and ask Hugo Chavez to rule our nation?