An article by Americans for Limited government entitled “The Commission to stop offshore drilling” and a WSJ piece called “The Antidrilling Commission” expose Barack Obama’s so-called Commission as a technically worthless political tool which Obama will use to attack oil drilling.

Rather than anything like a “blue-ribbon commission", it’s more of a radical green group which I expect will soon fit well with aspects of Wikipedia’s description of the British Star Chamber of several centuries ago:  “Over time it evolved into a political weapon and became a symbol of the misuse and abuse of power by the English monarchy and courts.”

Obama’s commission is filled with anti-drilling activists and does not contain one person with a working knowledge of oil or gas exploration or engineering.  Not one.  As the WSJ says, “The choice of men and women who are long opposed to more drilling suggests not a fair technical inquiry but an antidrilling political agenda.”

There are a few Democrat politicians in the Gulf Coast area of the US.  As if the federal government’s response to the BP disaster hasn’t been bad enough for them, this commission could be a political death sentence, particularly if the administration is successful in forcing through a drilling moratorium despite the first such order being overturned by a judge yesterday.

Furthermore, when oil prices rise because of such a moratorium, it will be easy for Republicans to demonize Democrats as in the pocket of radical anti-energy leftists, a fair turnabout given Democrats’ constant insistence that Republicans are owned by big corporations (rather a strangely sticky complaint given how much money big coporations give to Democrats.) That particular charge against Dems has the advantage of being true – Obama’s commission is just the latest evidence.

Cleaning up the environmental disaster is one thing.  Adding an economic disaster for the region on top of it because of an ill-considered moratorium and by implementing whatever muddle-headed ideas come from this utterly worthless commission is unconscionable.  And adding even modestly to the cost of living for every American, especially during such difficult economic times, is likely to be punished harshly by voters.

I continue to believe that I’m going to win the bet I made about Republicans taking back the House in November’s election and I think taking back the Senate isn’t out of the question, though it’s obviously much more difficult.