Federal Energy Policy Upsetting Some Republicans

Charging RINO covers the dissatisfaction many traditional Republicans in the Western states are feeling about the drill, drill, drill energy policy coming out of Washington.

I think the Bush administration may be forgetting that many Americans, while not environmentalists, are conservationists. Conservation is about balancing the need for progress with the needs of the land and the rights of property owners. Conservation is best handled by communities and property owners working with businesses to balance land use. But, under Bush, the federal government is superseding local concerns and advancing an aggressive and often one-sided energy policy.

It’s not surprising that this major use of federal power is upsetting Western Republicans who like their government small and their land big. Here again, we have a great opportunity for Centrists to move in and provide better government. As Charging RINO concludes:

If this isn’t the perfect opportunity for a grand centrist coalition of property rights advocates, energy independence proponents, and conservationists, I don’t know what is. There is a niche here to be filled, a political vacuum just begging for leadership. Who will fill the void? Who will stand up for the responsible use of resources balanced with calls for renewable and alternative energy sources as well as a respect for property rights and the preservation of our wilderness areas?

Who indeed?