In my neck of the woods, someone is showing a real green thumb (actually, perhaps green hammer) as there is green sprouting all over. Green signs with a gas pump are appearing with the words “Drill Now! Pay Less! Vote GOP!” Now, other than the direct linkage of a gas pump and the Republican Party (the Grand Oil Party), it is hard to see any honesty in this poster. It is a continuation of the concerted Republican efforts to mislead and lie to the American people about critical energy issues. It is, in fact, impressive that this sign can be deceptive and simply dishonest on so many levels at the same time.
1. A green sign? A green sign associated with a gas pump, drilling, and the Republican Party? Am I the only one to see the irony of this? And, well, this greenwashing cannot be considered accidental. No, this is part and parcel of a systematic attempt to greenwash the McCain campaign and Republicans into something that they are not.
2. Drill Now? Reality is that the world does not have the drilling rigs to expand offshore drilling in the next few years. Opening up new lands (ashore or at sea) to drilling, as the Republicans are demanding, will not lead to more drilling for at least five more years and not significant amounts of production for over a decade … at the minimum.
3. Pay Less? Okay, the analysis suggests that opening up drilling would contribute to a to about a 1.2 cent reduction in gasoline prices … twenty years from now.
4. Vote GOP? If you want “green”, if you want to be “paying less” for your (overall) energy, it is clear that voting for the GOP won’t get you there. And, as noted above, they can’t deliver drilling now. Oops, perhaps this isn’t fully dishonest, as it is the Graft-ridden Grand Oil Party, after all.
So, at least four major truthiness elements in one sign with six words. Unlikely to be a record in stretching credularity and creating confusion, but this sign is definitely in competition for the most misleading elements with so few words as the Republicans continue to press forward with Drillusion.