Senator Nelson stating on CSPAN that we need to keep an eye on

[HysteryDiagnosis]

Chavez.... talking about the possibility of Venezuela cutting off oil to the U.S. Oh boy, are we ever getting ramped up for a confrontation. I can't believe Nelson is on top of this issue... but he is. I am not happy to hear this particular slant on it... but I am glad that he is following what is going on. They are doing a pretty good job of grilling Ms. Rice. I hope this isn't a repeat if so, please ignore....

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Venezuela has oil.

Therefore we must declare them part of the Axis of Evil and promptly invade them.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. Oh come on how... could it be that simple???? It's going to be

interesting to see how Russia and China react to our hegemony in Iran and Syria in the next few months.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. I told you all that Nelson was a conservative Dem.

Wouldn't surprise me if he voted for Bush.

[Stop_the_War]

4. isn't Nelson a Democrat?

:wtf:

[HysteryDiagnosis]

5. That's what I thought.... boy oh boy... Biden is ripping her a new one

right now! The amount of facts he is throwing in her face is unreal.

[gulfcoastliberal]

9. New Democrat /DLC - not liberal

Even though he's DLC, he does have a good voting record, esp on pro-choice items, taxes, media, and fairly good on labor issues. He was against social security privatization. He is a DLC hawk, though and supported IWR, missile shield, and easing wiretap regulations.

I only hope he doesn't march rightward after the Mel Martinez win. He's up for reelection in 2006 and right now his prospects are being painted as grim.

[morgan2]

6. its a valid concern

maybe the US should stop trying to overthrow the Venezuelan government and we could stop worrying.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

7. We have in the past overthrown a few govts that were unwilling to lick

our boots. Maybe that is a bad global policy. Maybe some people are sick of it. Maybe this policy has been more of a war on the poor of the world rather than a (dare I say it) a crusade to promote democracy... I would think so since some of the govts we have trashed were democratic in nature. Facts are stubborn things Reagan said... and they stand to remind us why we are opposed hither and yon.

[Strelnikov_]

8. What Ever Happened To The Principal Of Free Markets

that the right has raised to the level of a religion. Oil is a worldwide commodity. If Venezuela decides not to sell to us, they will have to sell to ‘others’. The oil previously sold to the ‘others’ will now be available for us to buy.

In other words, they can’t eat their oil. Up to the fall of the Soviet Union, there was some justification for the western democracies maintaining a military presence in the Persian Gulf. The Soviet Union, by sweeping into the gulf, could have destroyed the western economies. Today, I see no such threat. The only people meddling with oil supply today are doing so for short term economic gain. Eventually, they will have to sell their oil at market prices. And it is their oil, after all.

Also, aren’t costs of a commodity due to political ramifications still a cost, and if the cost becomes too high, substitutes become cost effective (efficiency measures, renewable energy sources). Nelson’s statement strikes of a foreign policy that dictates the use of U.S. military force to ensure cheap oil. What’s next, unlimited immigration? Using special forces to break strikes? A Federal maximum wage?

(Note: Transportation costs, and adjusting to the composition of the oil, from the ‘other’ sources, would result in short term price transients, but over time things would stabilize. This is what the strategic petroleum reserve should be used for. To store enough oil for short term supply disruptions.)

[gulfcoastliberal]

10. Both Sen. Nelsons up for reelection next year, both seen as vulnerable

to the repugs. If this is Sen Nelson of Florida, it may be because of the electon of M Martinez.