John McCain Myth Buster: John McCain and Oil Drilling

June 23, 2008 -- When John McCain is in California this week he will no doubt try to tie himself to Gov. Schwarzenegger and distance himself from President Bush. But when it comes to offshore drilling, an important issue to coastal states, like California, Senator McCain is on Bush's--not Schwarzenegger's--side.

When McCain announced last week he wanted to lift the moratorium on offshore drilling, President Bush and big oil were quick to side with him, even though the idea has been met with much criticism and would do nothing to solve our short-term energy crisis. Just as bad, Senator McCain himself campaigned against off-shore drilling in states like Oregon, Maine, and even California in the run-up to the 2000 election.

Senator McCain's new Bush-like energy policy announcement might have worked in front of oil executives in Houston, but it's not going to work in front of the people of California this week.

McCain and Bush Call For Lifting Oil Drilling Moratorium. "President George W. Bush was to call Wednesday on Congress to end a decades-old ban on offshore oil drilling, as a way to tap new energy sources to combat soaring gasoline prices…Bush's statement comes one day after Republican presidential candidate John McCain called for the federal government to scrap the 27-year-old US moratorium on offshore oil drilling. In his speech in the Texas oil capital of Houston, the Arizona senator reversed his support for the ban when he ran for president in 2000." [AFP, 6/18/08]

Schwarzenegger Gives "Thumbs Down" to Oil Drilling Plan. "From Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to the state's Democratic leaders, California reacted with a swift thumbs down Wednesday to President Bush's proposal to lift a ban on new oil drilling in coastal waters." [San Jose Mercury News, 6/20/08]

1999: McCain, Campaigning In California, Endorsed A Moratorium On Offshore Oil Drilling. "For a moment, Republican presidential hopeful John McCain almost sounded like a San Francisco liberal. The Arizona senator said yesterday that gays and lesbians would be welcome to serve in his administration. He decried the influence of money in politics. He endorsed a moratorium on offshore oil drilling." [San Francisco Chronicle, 7/29/99]

Source: DNC

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