Emanuel Asks McCain to 'Clarify' Stance on Great Lakes Oil Drilling

[babylonsister]

Merciless! I love it!

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/06/20/emanuel_asks_mccain_to_clarify.html

Emanuel Asks McCain to 'Clarify' Stance on Great Lakes Oil Drilling

By Michael D. Shear
Democrats are not about to let Sen. John McCain's support for offshore oil drilling go unnoticed.


In a letter to McCain, Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Chicago asks McCain to "clarify" his position on drilling in the Great Lakes, which, Emanuel points out, are bordered by "Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin."

"As you are undoubtedly aware, in 2005 a bipartisan majority in Congress enacted a permanent ban on drilling for oil and gas in the Great Lakes," Emanuel wrote. "Drilling in the Great Lakes would adversely affect millions of Americans in the eight states that border these lakes, further endanger the ecological web and threaten the beauty of our shores."

He continues: "Seeing as you signed a pledge to preserve and restore the Great Lakes during your primary campaign, I hope your newfound stance on offshore drilling will not be followed by support for drilling in the Great Lakes."

McCain's position on drilling is actually to lift the federal ban, giving states the right to do what they want. Presumably, the states around the Great Lakes are not likely to drill anytime soon. But that is a distinction that Emanuel ignores in the letter.

In an interview, Emanuel said that he listed the states that surround the Great Lakes because "I just want to help, in case geography wasn't where he got an 'A.'" He said that 30 million people get their drinking water from the Great Lakes, and said that public opinion is firmly against drilling.

Despite the ban on drilling in the Great Lakes, Canada allows drilling from its beaches into the oil reserves under the lakes, he said.

[MiniMe]

1. Not to mention another country