Update: The Drudge Report headlines scream that oil prices are going through the roof. Salazar may have violated the first rule of spin, but at least now we know why. Pre-emptive CYA, Obama-Salazar style.
The first rule of political spin: when spinning, make sure your spin is believable, even if only remotely so.
Today, Ken Salazar violated the first rule of spinning when he challenged energy companies to drill more on federal lands.
“We continue to support safe and responsible domestic energy production, and as this report shows millions of acres that have already been leased to industry for oil and gas productions sit idle. These are resources that belong to the American people, and they expect those supplies to be developed in a timely and responsible manner and with a fair return to taxpayers.”
Ken, Ken, Ken.
Do you really think anyone believes that you want energy companies to drill more on federal lands?
This faux outrage on behalf of the American people for oil companies not drilling enough on federal land is about ten steps past believable.
You are the same Ken Salazar after all who doesn't even pay attention to basic facts of current oil production, making the ludicrious claim that Gulf oil production remained at an all time high during the Deepwater Horizons disaster, despite overwhelming factual evidence to the contrary.
The same Ken Salazar who has admitted spending millions on renewable energy without even doing a cost-benefit analysis.
And the same Ken Salazar whom President Clinton attacked for the “ridiculously slow” permitting process.
We understand with a 16% approval rating you are floundering, looking for someone to hit back at, but this trope doesn't even come close to believable.
Who in their right mind would believe oil companies would just throw money on land leases and not drill? If drilling on that land was economically viable and profitable, we're pretty sure oil companies would do so.
It's called the free market.
This latest volley seems to either belie Salazar's ignorance of how free markets work or shows just how desperate he is to push the blame on anybody but himself.
Salazar knows when gas prices surge, his hayseed hiney is going to be on the hotseat. We can appreciate his need to spin. But the next time he does, he should remember that first rule.
Natural resources? pfffftt… It’s time to harvest all the natural resources. Lets use fracking to extract natural gas. Let slash our parks and forests for timber (side benefit: more ski slopes). Lets mine uranium in NoCo and pollute the largest aquifer in CO.
This is America Baby!
Salazar’s “reports” have already been proven unreliable, if I’m not mistaken. Anyone else remember way back to the BP oil spill days when he made unapproved changes to a report?