The Thrill of the Drill

Guess what? Mike Rogers has an energy plan!

No, the other Mike Rogers (AL-03), who shares a name (and talking points) with Michigan Mike. Alabama Mike's campaign blog describes his energy plan thusly:

Known as the Furthering Renewable Energy and Exploration or FREE Act, the bill would immediately lift the ANWR drilling ban to help increase domestic supplies. [snip] Of course, we won’t drill our way to energy independence. That’s why Mike supports a comprehensive approach to energy - including increased domestic energy production, strong Federal support for American-made renewable fuels, increased use of nuclear energy, and strong support for clean renewable like solar, wind and hydrogen.

Being good Republicans, both Rogers' energy plans have happy words about American-made renewable fuels and research funding... without actually giving specifics on how this will be accomplished.

On the plus side, Alabama Mike's bill is roughly 3 pages long (as opposed to Our Mr. Rogers' 116 page extravaganza)... and it doesn't have a cartoon.

There's no question that The Mikes enjoy the thrill of the drill. It's an issue that they'll squeeze until Election Day, since it's way more fun to talk about than the kajillion-dollar Wall Street bailout.

Speaking of which, a piece in this morning's TheHill.com neatly analyzed the GOP's strategy of pushing the energy issue:

House Republicans have watched their winning issue of drilling take a back seat in the wake of the Bush administration’s $700 billion bailout plan, leaving GOP lawmakers to think of creative ways to highlight energy as they prepare to head back to the campaign trail. [snip]
Republicans have gotten a lot of traction criticizing Democrats on energy. They attracted widespread media attention for their energy protests on the House floor during the August recess, which played a role in forcing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to agree to a vote on a bill that called for offshore drilling.

It would be swell if a little of that media attention could focus on Republican votes that allowed the financial industry to create the mess we're in today. For example, the MSM could discuss Michigan Mike Rogers' "no" vote on last week's Commodity Markets Transparency and Accountability Act , which created tougher regulations for energy commodity markets and cracked down on energy speculation.

Heck, they could even point out the incongruity of Michigan Mike Rogers being shocked, shocked, to find Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae being bailed out on the taxpayers' dime... when he has received $22,750 in campaign contributions from Fannie and Freddie, making him the top dollar guy in the Michigan Congressional delegation.

Seems to me that's something worth reporting.