Frist on High Gas Prices: It’s Clinton’s Fault
Frist on High Gas Prices: It’s Clinton’s Fault
This morning on the Today Show, Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist was interviewed about high gas prices. Frist argued that if Bill Clinton had not vetoed a bill opening up the Artic Refuge to drilling in 1996, prices would be much lower. Frist said, “It’s a matter supply and demand. Right now we would have increase supply if [drilling in the wildlife refuge] had not been vetoed by President Clinton.” Watch it:
Frist presents drilling in the Artic Refuge as a long-term solution to dependence on foreign oil. It’s not. The total amount of oil in the Artic Refuge represents less than a year’s U.S. supply. At peak production, oil from the refuge would only account for 1-2 percent daily consumption. In return, we would permanently damage one of the world’s last true wildernesses.
Of course, the facts never prevented people like Bill Frist from blaming Bill Clinton for their problems.
Transcript:
COURIC: Let me ask you about another aspect of your plan, because I know the $100 rebate is just one component, that it’s tied to another controversial proposal, which allows oil companies to drill for oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. That has repeatedly failed to pass Congress. Some question the Republicans’ sincerity because they know in the view of these critics that this won’t pass.
FRIST: Let’s talk about it. We passed it last month in the United States Senate. It has overwhelming — maybe you don’t support it — but it has overwhelming support. We passed it in the legislature back in 1996. President Clinton vetoed it. Unbelievable. Passed the House. Pass the Senate. And if President Clinton had not vetoed that, we would have more than a million barrels of oil coming here every single day. That’s more oil than we import from Saudi Arabia right now. It’s a matter supply and demand. Right now we would have increase supply if it had not been vetoed by President Clinton.
COURIC: I don’t have a position on it.
FRIST: Overwhelming support in this country today and we passed it in the United States Senate.
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Oh, Frist!
May 2nd, 2006 at 11:49 amAnd….we have the Clenis.
May 2nd, 2006 at 11:50 amhas there ever been an investigation into fristss’ stock dealings? I do remember that there was at one point some question regarding insider trading? Who knows and?
May 2nd, 2006 at 11:51 ambilljpa
Frist is losin’ it, kids. He’s just one stressful day away from going to the looney bin. The poor boy needs a prostitute. Let’s find him one, shall we?
May 2nd, 2006 at 11:53 amWhat else is new when all else fails blame Clinton.
Frist Clinton hasn’t been in office for what five years. The oil would go to Japan not the USA.
May 2nd, 2006 at 11:53 amWow, what a load, They are still blaming Clinton. So how come it took 5 years for the prices to go up Frist?? They are just using this as an excuse to open up Alaska, and make even more money for the oil companies. Go To Hell Frist.
Check out a giant page of political comics featruing Bush, Dick, Frist, Condi, and the whole gang. Very funny
http://www.thehollywoodliberal.com/comic_feature_links.htm
May 2nd, 2006 at 11:54 amThe Radical Right’s answer to everything:
Mommy!! It wasn’t me. It was Clinton!
May 2nd, 2006 at 11:55 amIt’s ALWAYS Clinton’s fault!
The Repubs really have just completely collapsed.
May 2nd, 2006 at 11:55 amthat is comedy gold.
if cars ran on frist’s shame, we’d still have an energy crisis.
May 2nd, 2006 at 11:57 amNot only that, but it is a proven fact that oil companies were seeing a surplus in oil supply in the early 90s and decided the best way to avoid falling prices and therefore profits is to start closing refineries in order to bottleneck the supply process. Then when asked why this is happeneing they either ignore the question or balme it on regulation against opening NEW refineries.
May 2nd, 2006 at 11:59 amRepublicans. The party accepts no responsibility. For anything. Period.
I’d think that if they were really interested in helping keep a viable republic alive, that they’d clean up some of the mess they themselves created.
May 2nd, 2006 at 11:59 am“…clintoed…”
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:00 pmFuneral Director Frist has been guzzling down fermaldehyde again.
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:00 pmNO PLAN EXCEPT TO ““misrepresenting and distorting the past.â€
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:01 pm“At peak production, oil from the refuge would only account for 1-2 percent daily consumption.”
We use roughly 20 million barrels a day, so the refuge could only do what? .2-.4 million barrels a day? And we represent 1/4 of world use, so .25-.5% of world supply? That can’t be more then 50 cents a barrel, if that, for an impact on the global market. Barring any speculation it would cause/ease that would have a larger effect on the price.
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:02 pmFrist, you no good, yellow bellied, two-bit snake oil salesman, you are part of the problem, not the solution. Stand aside so real leaders can take the helm.
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:04 pmIt rained yesterday. If only Clinton hadn’t gotten a bj, we would have had sun.
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:07 pm#18 It rained yesterday. If only Clinton hadn’t gotten a bj, we would have had sun.
paul,
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:09 pmThen you’d have a drought. And it would have been clintons fault.
I was watching Sen Durbin on C-Span this morning, and he was talking about this issue. He said (paraphrasing) we have about 3% of the world’s oil, but comsume 25% each year. If we started drilling ANWR tomorrow, we might get some oil in about 10 years, but it still wouldn’t be enough to make a difference. The problem is that we drive too much, we drive gas guzzlers, and the oil companies are taking monstrous profits from the sale of gas. It makes sense.
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:09 pmREMEMBER WHEN CLINTON KEPT SAYING HE WAS GOING TO ATTACK IRAN,
AND THE PRICE OF OIL STAYED AT A REALLY HIGH PRICE BECAUSE OF THE UNCERTAINTY OF A POSSIBLE ATTACK ON IRAN
AND THEN EVERYBODY REALIZED THAT A LOT OF CLINTON’S FRIENDS WERE IN THE OIL INDUSTRY
AND THAT THOSE FRIENDS KEPT GETTING RICHER FROM THE OIL PRICES THAT STAYED HIGH BECAUSE OF A POSSIBLE ATTACK ON IRAN?
neither do i .
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:15 pmI have said it before, and I will probably say it again. My thought is, instead of finding more oil, we should start ivesting into alternate fuels. Preferably fuels we can produce here in the US. Oil as an energy source is going the way of the dodo. Why push for stop gap solutions, when we can create a workable solution, that would also help not only our national security, but also foriegn policy.
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:20 pmWe use something like 20 million barrels of oil per day; a million barrels from ANWR is hardly something to get excited about. In addition, if they voted for it today, it would be 10 years before one drop of that oil made its way into the market. It’s another snow job that will make even more money for the oil companies.
Profit is the price paid less the cost of the product. If the oil companies were just passing on to the consumer the increases in price due to supply problems, profits would be flat, not soaring to record highs. I’m fed up with the oil companies, and our elected representatives, feeding us this baloney about supply and demand.
I would like there to be a comprehensive review of oil imports and exports; the oil we produce in this country is not for our exclusive use; some portion of it is exported to countries like Japan and Britain and Spain, among others.
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:21 pmYa know, Frist is getting that weird eye thing. Likely he’s been deceptive for quite a while.
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:23 pmAnd I agree, he looks as to be not far away from blowing a major brain gasket.
Sorry - didn’t mean to make my entire post a link…
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:23 pmI must have missed that dog and pony show.
Did he mention that the Bush Administration promised not allow drilling in the Gulf oil fields off the coast of Florida until after 2007 as a favor for Jeb Bush’s support for junior’s election?
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:26 pmNot only do we need to invest in alternative fuel sources but we need to increase and expand mass transit. I would take a train to work in a heartbeat if I could. As it is now, I would need to take two trains and a bus. It would take me two to three hours just to get to work.
pgw - that was great!
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:34 pmOil Import Diversity
Some critics of U.S. energy policy point to the relatively large and growing U.S. crude oil imports. In recent years the U.S. has imported slightly more than one-half of its oil needs
from foreign sources. But, the geographical and political diversity of oil import sources help protect the U.S. from unilateral oil embargoes. The U.S. definitely does not put its “oil import eggs†in one basket.
Figure 3 gives preliminary estimates of U.S. oil imports by country in 2000. Canada, Venezuela, and Mexico each shipped almost as much oil to the U.S. as Saudi Arabia.
In addition to the OPEC countries of Nigeria and Iraq, Colombia, Norway, and the United Kingdom were all major suppliers of crude oil to the U.S. Non-OPEC sources supplied
about 25 percent and OPEC sources about 26 percent of total U.S. oil consumption. Persian Gulf countries were the source of about 13 percent of total U.S. oil consumption
in 2000 (DOE/EIA, 2001d).
III. Selected World and U.S. Oil Statistics
Since peaking in the late 1980s the U.S. has seen gradually declining domestic oil production. This has led to increases in oil imports and has fostered increasing concern
among some about the security of energy supplies. In 2000, about 70 percent of all petroleum used in the United States was consumed in the transportation sector
So its not the Public whom uses all the Fuel. But we sure PAY alot for our ’share’ [1/3] of it.
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:35 pmHigh Gas Prices? Blame Clinton, Of Course!…
Think Progress is hosting video of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist falling back on the GOPÂ’s boogeyman Bill Clinton as the cause for todayÂ’s high gas prices. The RepublicanÂ’s pathological hatred of Bill Clinton is endlessly entertaining to me, but…
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:35 pmPlease God help us get rid of this do-nothing GOP Congress in November.
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:40 pmThe price of gas has shot up because oil production from Iraq has been steadily dropping after being invaded and occupied by the US. of course, Frist doesn’t want to tell the American people that because that would again hammer home the truth that the Iraqi invasion was a big mistake.
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:41 pmLet’s nationalize the oil industry, it’s worked out very well for Mexico!
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:44 pmIn the Transportation Sector.
Well Well, I use about 15 bucks a week in gas.
Today thats 5 Gallons.
Now, I ask, who are we buying this fuel for? Me? You?
Nope. Business. The Corporate Whores of Greasy Sleaze. Exxon, Shell, BP, Royal Dutch, ABCO Swiss/Sudan, Mobil, Halliburton…
You, Public, Pay your Electric Bill.
Yet you also pay for the Fuel that Produced that Power. Wars? Sure. For Profit? Yupp Your Profit? Why Hell No.
And that. people, is what is called USURY.
The Usury Government of America
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:45 pmBUT WAIT - Drilling in ANWR has “overwhelming support” - I know that’s materially false. I would call overwhelming more than, say, 65%. And I’m not sure a even simple majority of Americans are for drilling in ANWR.
That is: I strongly susptect Frist lied when he said Americans support drilling in ANWR. Most Americans are against it, I believe.
Does anybody have info on this? What are the survey/poll numbers on this issue?
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:45 pmGo Blow a Gasket now Mr Frist.
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:46 pmNobody believes that Arctic Refuge argument. The reserves there would be depleated in no time. That is a red herring. The real reason for high gas prices is evident…record high gas profits! The gas companies are adding mark-ups to mark up to account for the higher oil cost and create a windfall profit.
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:49 pm#21 - You really had me go’n there for a moment. I thought a troll was loose on this thread. But when I hit your punchline I realized your comments were perfect.
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:51 pm“Ah propose an new form of energy. A car that runs on the cadavers of cats experimented on by young wannabe doctors.”
-Bill Frist
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:54 pmOh my goodness.
It must suck to be a GOP member. Clinton was such a better president than the guy in office now, they just can’t swallow the fact that it’s their guy that is crappy.
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:59 pm““Ah propose an new form of energy. A car that runs on the cadavers of cats experimented on by young wannabe doctors.—
The germans already developed one, it could get like 20 miles a cat I think. It basically ran off of any kind of bio-waste or some such thing, it was in the news about 1/2 a year ago or so.
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:59 pmSo…if Pres. Clinton had authorized drilling in ANWR for 3 months supply of our oil requirements, it would have been sucked dry long before the Bush presidency. Nothing left to argue about then. The last bluefish I caught in LI Sound, back about 1970, tasted like a refinery. Go after ‘em, buddy. New oil source.
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:59 pmDumbya rattles his saber at Iran and the price of gas goes up 50 cents a gallon. More profits for his cronies in the oil business
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:04 pmWhat isn’t Bill Clinton’s fault? The neo-cons sure do consider Clinton to be a demi-god for all his ability to have so much influence over everything…
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:06 pmFrist is a sick and evil liar! Even if the entire state of Alaska was stripped bare for all its Oil, it could not supply our needs but for a couple of years! Oil Cartel CEOs want our federal government to hand over the artic refuge to them free of charge and sell the Oil to Japan! The Oil industry must be seized by the government, and nationalized, and the CEOs prison terms!
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:11 pmIt’s strange how they (REPUBS) say EVERYTHING they propose has OVERWHELMING support, where as BUSH’s Rating 33%, CHENEY 11%, CONGRESS (Republican Controlled) 29% and close to 70% of the people say we are on the wrong path…
CONVERSELY, Clinton had a higher approval rating, and sought to stabilize the price of gas by ensuring that the MAJOR oil companies could not use the lack of supply excuse to drive their profits!
But, in contrast…
It’s CLINTON’S fault for wanting to have air to breath
It’s CLINTON’s fault for trying to create a surplus to pay down the debt
It’s CLINTON’s fault for improving wages for workers and regulating health care standards and prices
It’s CLINTON’S fault for the Iraq War and OSAMA BIN LADEN
It’s CLINTION’s fault for BUSH (and the U.S.) being hated by almost EVERY country in the world
It’s CLINTON’s fault for the Katrina disaster
It’s CLINTON’s fault for the over emphasis on Global Warming
It’s CLINTON’s fault for warrant less spying on American’s
It’s CLINTON’s fault for the Voter Fraud of 2000 and 2004 Elections
It’s CLINTON’s fault for a fractured and demoralized Army
Damn! For a man who is supposed to be a DECIDER, he (DUMBYA) sure passes the blame onto others when it is convenient!!! A pathetic, bungling, ignorant, incompetent, impotent, ineffective, inaccurate, failed, and miserable excuse for a human being President that DUMBYA is, sure knows how to surround himself with people who make the previous comments look like a compliment!
BUSH IS AN IDIOT!!!
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:12 pmI am amazed that Fristy doesn’t know the estimated supply of ANWR. Or even got to where he is for that matter.
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:14 pmI hate to say it but I actually liked Trent Lott compared to this idiot, and I hated Lott.
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:15 pm#27, #37: thanks. i always have a bit of ‘comment remorse’ whenever i go the ALL CAPS route, so i appreciate the encouragement…
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:15 pmI am also amazed that Fristy is dwelling on the past, trying to fix a broken leg with a bandaid, and acting like dumbass.
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:16 pmI cannot believe that Frist thinks he is speaking for the majority of Americans! Why would we want to “permanently damage one of the world’s last true wildernesses.”?? There are other options to investigate such as alternative fuels. Why not try these methods before continually destroying the world around us and leaving a mess for our children to clean up. Not to mention devestating the wildlife in Alaska. Unbelievable. This short term solution is no solution at all!!!!
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:17 pmIt’s strange how they (REPUBS) say EVERYTHING they propose has OVERWHELMING support, where as BUSH’s Rating 33%, CHENEY 11%, CONGRESS (Republican Controlled) 29% and close to 70% of the people say we are on the wrong path…
Easy explanation for the above situation: The group of yahoos in power are completely out of touch. Nothing like a whole bunch of millionaires governing the rest of us. Because they go through a lot of what the rest of us do…. wait. No, they don’t.
GOP = Green(money) Over People
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:19 pmThe last eeny-weeny itsy-bitsy shred of belief that Frist might be sane or at least only half witless has vanished with this utterance.
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:19 pmAt the risk of sounding like my favorite ‘ol 45 I keep playing over and over……..
ANWR drilling is not about the trifle of oil under the surface, it is about the coastline it represents as the Arctic ice sheet retreats. Canadians, and assorted Scandinavians are all aware of the scramble to claim their piece of the Northwest Passage as it emerges due to the effects of climate change and global warming.
Oily Dick and his Big Oil Band already have extensive long term engagements to the north and west along that shore, and they are pressuring thru profiteering the American public into paying for their quest to control the worlds resources.
King Dubious the Decider can do nothing about the price of gasoline, unless the true rulers of “the free world”, the corporations, let him believe he can affect such. Neither can the spineless Legislature have any effect, as they are owned by Big Drug, Big Oil and Big Money as well.
Yeah, right … it has nothing to do with all the refineries being closed so the people that line his pockets can withold gasoline production. Like we can’t find out for ourselves that there’s plenty of oil to go around. Frist banks on the people being uninformed. This is the same guy (a medical doctor, mind you) who said he didn’t know if people could get AIDS from tears or not. A shill for the oil companies. A shill for the red state vote. Wake up Tennessee. Take this do do nothing pandering shill OUT in November.
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:22 pmIT’D BE NICE IF THOSE IDIOT NEWS READERS WOULD CHALLENGE THESE “FACTS” WITH THE TRUTH EVERY ONCE IN AWHILE.
THE CORPORATE MEDIA SUCKS.
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:34 pmon a positive note, i reviewed the video footage of frist for an hour or so in my office, and he certainly seems to respond to visual stimuli.
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:36 pm(so we definitely should not remove his feeding tube)
I guess that Frist is using the opportunity to rev up for his 2008 bid, there’s no way that’s more effective in rallying rabid Republicans than by attacking Clinton.
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:37 pmMy cake fell in the oven last night.
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:39 pmIt was Clintons fault.
I COMPLETELY AGREE with you bobcat_grad (#51)…
If anyone is in the area, there is a site Thank You Stephen Colbert that shows support for his routine…
I just watched it, and it is classic!!!
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:41 pmYet more predictable blatehr from the right. Is there anything that isn’t “Clinton’s fault”?
http://www.lcoliberal.blogspot.com
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:41 pmWhere’s Monica?
Why is everything Bill Clinton’s fault? If he was still in office, we’d be way better off than we are now. The really sad part is that all of the ignorant conservative wack jobs (apparently they make up 33% of the country based on recent polls) out there believe this crap. Bill Clinton was one of the best presidents this country has ever had, and that drives conservatives crazier than they already are.
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:48 pmLol the pic of Frist on here is very weird! He looks like he wants to bite the head off a cat and eat it too! Somebody stuff a smelly sock in his mouth to gag that dumb fool!!!
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:54 pmAw god dammit, 3DStudio MAX just crashed, and corrupted the file I was working on. DAMN YOU BILL CLINTON, why did you make 3DSMAX crash!!
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:55 pmFrist is always good for a laugh, but this takes the cake. The Iraq war and impending war with Iran have as much to do with rising prices as the high level of demand. No one believes Clinton is responsible. It just makes Frist look silly.
It makes you wonder how Frist ever managed to get into medical school, or elected to Congress. Thick as a plank with zero charisma, it’s a mystery.
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:55 pmThe congress since 1947, neolibs and most recently the neocons, have voted for all war all the time and have spent their lives building up the American war machine. Cheney and his cabal have been especially pathetic, denying the even the chance of alternative fuels or peace after the cold war. He and his type remind me of Goya’s painting of Saturn eating his child. His lust for war and oil have gone hand in hand and he has plenty of followers. Both Iraq wars were fabricated by this man. He feels no remorse in ordering out the death squads and has even been instrumental in making ties that still bind with the Afghan “freedom fighter”. He and his ilk see no problem in using others to an end of profiteering and grabbing power by lying, cheating and stealing from all people in all nations around the world including his own, the USA. He is at the pinnacle of the Military Industrial & Government complex of America. Death and misery for money and power are the motto for people of his ilk. In any other country, he would have been a leader condoning genocide to line his fame and fortune, just as many other leaders around the world like that are our friends until they are not needed.
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:57 pmPost 63 > Frist’s family owns the Humana Hospital chain > his parents basically bribed a medical college to give him credentials to become a doctor! Thank goodness he did not practice medicine long as a surgeon, since he would probably saw off the wrong parts of patients > lol. Then his family paid to get him into the Senate as well > he retires in January, but he can do lots of damage till he leaves!
May 2nd, 2006 at 2:02 pmDr Death…….awwwwwwwwwwwwww SHUT UP! What do you have to say about fuels that use NO oil? Then drilling won’t be required….DUH.
May 2nd, 2006 at 2:07 pmCan anyone imagine getting a check-up from this guy? I bet you if you’re a DEMOCRAT, you will pay higher fees than a REPUB and probably be pronounced with an incurable disease requiring medication for the rest of your natural life!
Well, he did take the HYPOCRITICAL OATH, right? Or was that Hypocratic Oath?
I always get those confused when I see him!
May 2nd, 2006 at 2:10 pm[…] This morning on the Today Show, Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist was interviewed about high gas prices. Frist argued that if Bill Clinton had not vetoed a bill opening up the Artic Refuge to drilling in 1996, prices would be much lower. Frist said, “It’s a matter supply and demand.(more) @ ThinkProgress.org , the real truth is Bush’s the “decider” wanted a regime change in iraq and know the American people have to pay the price at the pump. En: Republican, George W. Bush, Republican Party, High Gas Prices — May 2, 2006 […]
May 2nd, 2006 at 2:10 pmThe Thank You Stephen Colbert website is great (link in #58). He’s up to 25k thanks yous.
May 2nd, 2006 at 2:13 pmMighty Aphro reminded me of the following in a previous post, but I think it goes well with this topic:
1.) If you respond to any criticism of Pres. Bush with “You’re supporting the terrorists!” or “Pres. Clinton had sex!” or “It’s all Pres. Clinton’s fault!”, then you’re a “true” CON-servative.
2.) If you conveniently ignore the underfunding of the Veterans Administration and Republican Senators stealing funds for the War in Iraq for pet projects, then you’re a “war hawk” CON-servative.
3.) If you complain about taxes while the national debt ceiling is raised faster than under any other President, then you’re a “borrow and squander” CON-servative.
4.) If your idea of “conservative values” is to NOT investigate any corrput Republican congress members, then you’re an average CON-servative.
5.) If you believe that gays wanting to get married will “destory” the marriage of people who’ve been divorced more than once, then you’re a “family values” CON-servative.
6.) If you whined about Hillarys’ book deal and were uncharacterically silent about Newt’s advance, then you’re a dyed-in-the-wool CON-servative.
7.) If you believe that the Bible should apply to everyone everywhere, except for “love they neighbor” and “judge not lest ye be judged” (an any other verse that doesn’t support your policies), then you are a “holy” CON-servative.
8.) If you spout “Universities are way too liberal” but don’t mind that all FFA and shop-teachers are all Republicans, then you’re a partisan CON-servative.
9.) If you think that:
May 2nd, 2006 at 2:13 pmPres. Reagan was “fiscally conservative” after increasing the national debt by 2 trillion dollars in 8 years,
Pres. Bush (Sr.) was “fiscally conservative” after increasing the national debt by 1.4 trillion dollars in 4 years,
Pres. Clinton was “fiscally irresponsible” for increasing the national debt by 1.5 trillion dollars over 8 years,
Pres. “W” Bush is “fiscally conservative” after increasing the national debt by 3 trillion dollars in 5 years, then you’re just plain stupid.
Jay,
Thanks for the info, it makes sense that he had help getting into medical school, he seems so inept.
It sounds like he’s similar to George Bush, advanced to a position beyond his abilites, and floundering once he’s there. Sounds like aristocratic England, the system our founding fathers meant to get rid of in 1776.
May 2nd, 2006 at 2:13 pm[…] Frist on High Gas Prices: It’s Clinton’s Fault […]
May 2nd, 2006 at 2:19 pmBoth Katie Couric and Soledad O’Brien let Frist make these claims without pointing out the much smaller volume of oil expected or asking Frist to state how long Clinton has been out of office. Something else that gets lost in all of the ANWR discussion is that even if the supply turns out to be greater than expected, the oil companies would likely export quite a bit of it overseas to emerging markets in Asia so the chance of cheaper petroleum prices in the US would be approximatley nil.
May 2nd, 2006 at 2:39 pmWhat these guys doesn’t tell you is that they passed a law several years ago that allows the drilling company to extract oil at no charge if the market price is over $55 dollars a barrel. So, they get the oil that rightfully belongs to the American people ( including indigious local populations) for free. Then the oil companies may turn around and sell it on the open world market to anyone they like at whatever price they want as there are no near monopoly laws to speak of. So we loose our wildlife refuge, loose our oil, and still have to pay these crooks for what is rightfully our commodity. Where’s the justice? Certainly, no in America.
May 2nd, 2006 at 2:55 pmI love how this guy already decided that Couric isn’t buying what he is selling. You have to get that base riled up right Frist? That “liberal media and Katie Couric, they don’t agree with us, they are against America.”
May 2nd, 2006 at 3:02 pmIt is Clinton’s fault!
May 2nd, 2006 at 3:10 pmIf only he had left the gays in the military alone, kept Hillary away from health care in hist first couple of years in office, and helped Dems keep the House and Senate, then the Republicans who have controlled Congress since ‘94 wouldn’t have been able to quash every attempt at raising CAFE standards on trucks and SUVs since then.
I don’t remember why I saw this this morning, but I did. I don’t think Frist made it through a single sentence without saying something stupid, irrelevant, misleading, or riddled with lies.
The thing I found the most idiotic about it was his ignorance of the logistics of making his plan work even if we WANTED to - he said that if clinton hadn’t vetoed ANWR drilling we’d be getting 1,000,000 barrels of oil each day to the US.
Wow, major stupid.
First of all, it takes 20 years to reach peak production on an oil field…
Second of all, we consume 20 million barrels a day from the cheaper sources in the middle east and even if the ANWR stuff was free it would only drop gas prices 15 cents. Of course, it’s not free. Chevron has a stake in the mineral rights…
Does anyone recall offhand how much gas cost when Clinton left office? Fifteen cents is the difference between pumps across town. The difference between Clinton and Bush is TWO DOLLARS A GALLON.
May 2nd, 2006 at 3:17 pmGas was around $1.00 a gal (and I thought it was too
high even then) for most of his 8 years.
Its obvious to anyone with a brain that the “war”
May 2nd, 2006 at 3:45 pmin Iraq has pushed oil (and gas) prices through
the roof.
remember that movie “cop and a half”?
also clinton’s fault
May 2nd, 2006 at 3:48 pmLittle known fact:
May 2nd, 2006 at 3:57 pmAll Cocoons, Gremlins and Police Acadamies other than the original came about precisely because Clinton got head. And yes, these movies were made before the occurence but it is also a little known fact that the Clenis is outside of time and space. The Clenis is also responsible for plague outbreaks, The Holocaust, and Pauly Shore films other than Encino Man
Bush has been in power for 6 years and they’re STILL blaming things on Clinton??? The Public won’t buy it. Back in 1999, gas was $0.99 a gallon. In fact the oil companies were actually losing money. Go figure.
May 2nd, 2006 at 4:06 pmEven if one accepts the ridiculously high daily production number given by Frist , it still just covers the decrease in production in Iraq (900,000 barrels/day) and is just a small blip in worldwide supply.
May 2nd, 2006 at 4:11 pmHow is it that the only ones NOT suffering any ill-effects from sky-high fuel costs, is the Oil Industry itself? The profits just keep on coming. As for ANWAR, they still have to find it, it’s ‘actual location’ is unknown. Why can’t Frist focus on what is going on right now, today, instead of whining about the previous Administration? Because that is OH so helpful for solving problems. Unless he knows he has zero to offer. Hmm.
May 2nd, 2006 at 4:24 pmI think Frist has shown he is incapable of being an effective and ethical leader to work on critical issues, over and over and over again.
$100 rebate is just plain stupid is so many ways where does one begin.
The diagnosing TS via video was crazy and a disgrace to the medical profession.
The guy has a problem, a personality defect, that does not work in public service.
May 2nd, 2006 at 4:31 pmDosen’t Frist remind you of Barnabus Collins? Just another vampire looking to bite some poor smuck out his life’s blood…at least Barnabus had sex appeal. Poor Frist has had to pay for it all his life.
May 2nd, 2006 at 4:37 pmGod help us if this man gets elected President! What an idiot! It’s Dick Cheney’s secret energy plan that has us in this position! That $100 thing was absurd and I was going to donate it to my favorite presidential candidate. I absolutely oppose drilling in the ANWR! WE won’t get enough oil to merit spoiling a natural refuge. Why do they hate America so much?
May 2nd, 2006 at 5:10 pmWhen Clinton took office,gasoline averaged around 106,when he left in 2001,it averaged 151 (cents per gallon).and you can find historical,weekly gasoline prices from 1993 at the EIA website. Lots of other information there as well.
May 2nd, 2006 at 5:47 pmOddly,when oil cost $10/bbl and gasoline was under 100 cents per gallon (hmmm,$10/bbl and $1 gas vs $70/bbl and $3 gas,why the formula seems skewed don’t you think?) why wasn’t there an uproar?
This overwhelming support… what a shame you can’t use it now that you have all three branches of Government on your side. And the supreme court. Damn those inconvenient American People!
May 2nd, 2006 at 6:02 pmIf Frist ever thought about what he says before he opens his mouth, he would be mute.
May 2nd, 2006 at 6:03 pmIt makes no sense to blame Clinton when gas prices were as they were in the 1990’s, and there would have been no justification for raping the environment, particularly for such a short term goal.
Where government went wrong was 30 years ago (but I can start there), when we began the CAFE standards, and cars were scaled down, Christmas lights were curtailed, and all energy use was conserved. Interest gradually faded and we are here today. A foreward thinking society does not wait for a crisis to make their decisions, they make them when time is on their side and things are good.
Long-term planning: honest assessments, long-term goals, built-in flexibility for changing conditions, contingency plans.
Frist is desperate, stupidly blaming Clinton, and looking as foolish as he did in the Schiavo matter. Why isn’t he gone yet?
Putz. Just, putz.
May 2nd, 2006 at 6:08 pmBTW, I already sent my e-mail message in. And it had to do why the CEO got a $400 Million dollar retirement package while the rest of us get screwed at the pumps.
Let’s do our part, America!
May 2nd, 2006 at 6:50 pmBig Oil and their apologists claim that rising costs beget rising prices. No one need debate whether this economic maxim is true — of course it is. The question is whether BIG OIL has, in fact, had increased costs, which justify a 100% increase in gasoline prices over the last 12 months. The answer is: of course not. When it comes to opening the arctic wilderness to drilling, let us consider these facts and compare them to the idea itself.
1. ARCO gets all their oil from the Alaska reserves and none comes from OPEC crude. Their “costs” are not based upon the OPEC crude price. Their “costs” are wholly related to their costs of extraction, piping, refining and distribution of Alaska crude - and NONE of these costs have gone up 100% in the last 12 months although their retail price has done just that. Therefore, by what measure can ARCO justify raising their prices when they have NONE of the associated costs of obtaining and refining OPEC crude? They have none of the “Middle East conflict” costs, yet they price their retail gasoline along side those BIG OIL companies that do.
2. Specific to ARCO, we westerners also know that ARCO has, on occasion, sold their crude abroad - largely to east Asian nations at a fine profit. Their declared intent was to maximize sales by selling some crude stock at a higher, premium price to those who will pay it (where gasoline has long sold for the equivalent of $3 to $6 a gallon.) But, ARCO also did this to reduce domestic supply without increasing their production capacity to compensate for said routing of supply. This forced a domestic reduction of available crude to produce gasoline, manipulated by them, and caused a retail price jump in the Western states for 6-9 months. All of this was subsequently revealed by Sen. Ron Wyden (OR) in congressional inquiry.
Therefore, specific to ARCO we know a pattern emerges where shorting supply (as Enron did to the California wholesale electrical power market) by manipulating delivery schedules, slowing or shutting down domestic production, refining or distribution will give BIG OIL an excuse to raise retail prices. It is an artificial manipulation, perhaps instigated by one company - which allows all others (like ARCO) to adjust to the higher retail price which this manipulation was intended to incite. Any time you want to know if this has occurred, look for a large quarterly jump in BIG OIL profits. This jump in profit occurs because there has been no added costs to drive up the retail price. The retail price is artificially raised by claiming that a shortage of supply begets an increased cost of product.
And to be more specific that is not a true axiom. Supply demand does not affect cost. When there is a shortage of supply due to demand, prices rise because the consumer will pay a premium to get what they want. When a shortage of supply is created by the supplier, they look to increase sales and profit on the hopes that the consumer will pay the artificially increased price. They lie to the consumer, explaining that the price increase is a result of increased cost.
BIG OIL tells us they must charge more at the pump because of the higher cost of crude (and of increased, but unseen) demand. Assuming that the retail price rose to merely meet the need to pay the increased costs, then BIG OIL profit margins would remain the same. But, BIG OIL is having giant quarterly profits. So we know that their claim of costs are not equal to the rising retail price of gasoline. In fact, to obtain large quarterly profits, the percentage of their retail price rise exceeds the percentage rise of their alleged costs. Thus they earn an expanded profit difference.
And remember, BIG OIL can reduce profit by increasing expenditures. But investments or improvements generally warrant increased supply - and increased supply reduces their ability to obtain more sale dollars. Therefore, BIG OIL does not increase investments to bring greater oil supply to the market. That would drive the price downward. Instead, they accept quarterly profit windfalls and count on the public to be too stupid and their congressman too corrupt to fight them.
The goal, instead, is to increase gross revenue and higher prices are the quickest route to this. Let us not forget that even were BIG OIL to have increased costs, everyday that they increase their gross sales is a day they have extra cash to earn them investment income. Everyday they delay paying expenses is a day they have that increasd cash on hand to earn short term profits. Consequently it is in BIG OIL’s favor to increase gross sales, increase the margin of payment time between receipt of gross sales and their payment of increased expenses - to maximize profit.
But, BIG OIL has not had equal rising costs to the rising prices. They have had tremendous profit gains. And not just because they’ve used unsubstantiated claims of increased demand and uncertain supply, but because they’ve increased their retail price, unequal to their actual costs and increased their profit margin.
BIG OIL does not want increased supply. But, they do want to decrease costs. So when the OPEC crude price goes up, they use this as an excuse to increase the retail price. The price rise effect on consumers causes them to reconsider the governmental restrictions on BIG OIL which BIG OIL would have the consumer believe restricts them from providing price relief. As consumers demand relief, BIG OIL will demand access to untapped domestic oil fields. Were congress to approve new drilling sites, BIG OIL would have, in 4-8 years, access to lower cost crude.
Then, just like ARCO, they would set their retail prices based upon the OPEC rates, world market, middle east conflicts and increase their profit margin. Under no circumstances does BIG OIL favor increasing supply and reducing retail prices. Domestic drilling is purely designed to decrease costs and increase profit margins with no significant retail price change.
Anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool.
May 2nd, 2006 at 7:17 pmExcuse me if I missed it, but Frist is lying about the impact of ANWR oil in another way as well. He says that the 1 million bbl. per day we could be getting from ANWR is “more oil than we import from Saudi Arabia right now.” WRONG!
The last statistics published on April 28 (reflecting February imports) showed 1.418 million bbl. per day coming from Saudi Arabia. I know that Frist thinks he’s in the ballpark medically when his diagnosis is only off by 29%, but I think that 418,000 bbl per day is significant, no?
What a lying stooge. Mr. Zero Charisma. Run, Billy, run. Please, oh please, let him be the solid pick of the rapture crowd and win the 2008 Republican nomination by default. Even Joe Lieberman could beat him for President on sheer excitement quality alone!
May 2nd, 2006 at 7:46 pmAre you guys sure that Frist is a surgeon? Or even a doctor - general practitioner? Well, I’d have to guess that he’d be a proctologist - an asshole doctor. He smears the shit around and always tries for your bunghole.
May 2nd, 2006 at 8:59 pmAnd his head is freakishly small. He gives me the creeps.
May 2nd, 2006 at 9:47 pmFristenstein. Get a couple of neck bolts, and some clunky black shoes…and you don’t even need to take a spare defunct brain; his is already in the condition the monter’s was.
May 2nd, 2006 at 9:58 pmwhat’s frist gonna say when he doesn’t win the gop nomination in 2008?
ahh, right. damn that clinton. what a dick he is for ruining bill frist’s life.
May 2nd, 2006 at 10:48 pm#95 He’s alleged to be a cardiac surgeon. Personally, if I was his patient, risking death, I’d jump out of the hospital bed and jet the hell out of there.
May 2nd, 2006 at 10:58 pmIs ARCO owned by an American company? If not, then neither its oil (most of which oges to asia) or its profits benefit US.
May 2nd, 2006 at 11:22 pmDoes anyone really take this guy seriously anymore? Oh, yea.. the 33% that are waiting for the rapture to begin…
May 2nd, 2006 at 11:50 pmThe GOP mentality, blame Clinton for everything, up to and including sinking the Titanic, and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
May 3rd, 2006 at 6:09 amI’ve just been informed that super-hypocrite, cat-killer Frist won’t even allow an up-and-down vote on Senator Menendez’s proposal concerning birth control to help cut down on the rate of teenage pregnancy, which is the highest in the US among the industrialized world. Like Dumbya, this creep seems to think his position allows him to act like a dictator.
May 3rd, 2006 at 10:09 amWell, you know, if Clinton wasn’t getting that blowjob, we wouldn’t have been distracted from inventing that time machine that he could take into the future and fix gas prices in 2006.
May 3rd, 2006 at 10:48 amAnd had Reagan and Bush Sr. not gutted funding for alternative fuels R&D, we just might have had something to fall back on.
May 3rd, 2006 at 11:03 amWe should nationalize our oil industry.
May 3rd, 2006 at 11:38 amBig oil companies are getting the oil for FREE from OUR public land!
Or we should say that oil from US soil cannot be sold for more than say $50 per barrel in the US.
It is disgraceful that this administration is giving this country away to the highest campaign contributor!
Joe Sixpack and Jules (#s 26 and 27:) Did Jeb vetoe a mass transportation bill in Florida - or stop the effort to build a bullet train there?
May 3rd, 2006 at 12:21 pmThe truth is that these talking heads have no choice but to lie their back teeth out about this issue, because the simple fact is that the Oil cartels are propping up the USD.
This is not an issue of “supply and demand”, but an issue of price rigging on a global scale.
The minute the US govt puts a cap on the crude oil price, the USD will collapse and take that walking corpse of a banking system with it.
GOP = Corporate Fascists
May 3rd, 2006 at 2:29 pmThe truth is that these pathetic talking heads have no choice but to lie their back teeth out about this issue, because the simple fact is that the Oil cartels are propping up the USD.
This is not an issue of “supply and demand”, but an issue of price rigging on a global scale.
The minute the US govt puts a cap on the crude oil price, the USD will collapse and take that walking corpse of a banking system with it.
GOP = Corporate Fascists
May 3rd, 2006 at 2:31 pm[…] Don’t worry, intrepid Republicans! According to Senator Bill Frist, it’s not the GOP’s fault. It’s Bill Clinton’s [fault for why $100 rebates are a dumb idea]. Frist on the Today Show (ThinkProgress): President Clinton vetoed [drilling in ANWR]. Unbelievable. Passed the House. Pass the Senate. And if President Clinton had not vetoed that, we would have more than a million barrels of oil coming here every single day. That’s more oil than we import from Saudi Arabia right now. It’s a matter supply and demand. Right now we would have increase supply if it had not been vetoed by President Clinton. […]
May 3rd, 2006 at 5:03 pmIn response to the earlier inquiry, ARCO is a division of BP West Coast Products LLC. BP is British Petroleum.
May 4th, 2006 at 6:59 pmRebate Time, Cartoon by Mike Luckovich
May 5th, 2006 at 3:14 pmi think that he should have passed the bill because if he would of we would not have should a big need for oil now
May 30th, 2006 at 11:27 am[…] The final nail in his political coffin, though, has to be today’s televised effort to blame the current gas price mess on Bill Clinton. ThinkProgress has the segment of Frist on Katie Couric. […]
June 2nd, 2006 at 5:28 pm[…] The high gas prices are to be blamed on Clinton. Seriously. It is Clinton’s fault. Just ask Bill Frist. Filed Under: American Politics, Blogs Permalink Trackback Feed 150 Views Print This Article Email This article […]
July 1st, 2006 at 7:57 pmGood job Frist (frisk)…Blame Clinton. Good excuse. What was the gas price when Clinton was President, right, around $1.50/gallon. When your president “w” - over $3.00/gallon. And how much does the country owe now? Right, close to a trillion. Who’s fault is that?
July 21st, 2006 at 9:57 am[…] Think Progress has the transcript: […]
July 26th, 2006 at 1:57 amBush was the best president we ever had. Also bill clinton is the one who started thus war and the gas price in the US.
January 29th, 2007 at 6:36 pmAt less President Bush never lied to the people of USA even if it was his personal life like Bill Clinton.As for the prices of the gas today Bill Clinton stop drilling over seaes. So now are president Bush has to fix what Bill Clinton messed up in the first place. As for the war in Iraq if Bill Clinton would of done what was needed to be done we would not be over there today.
January 29th, 2007 at 6:47 pm