Open Letter to Rep. Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania

The one thing few people are talking about is the catastrophic rise in home heating fuel prices. That's right--catastrophic!

It seems that wealthy former Goldman-Sachs governer of New Jersey opposes off-shore drilling on the continental shelf 75 miles away from the shore. Corzine can afford almost any prices for energy but the rest of us in the Northeast cannot. Around the time of the national elections, the frigid Northeast will be facing a catastrophe and citizens will be praying for global warming. Democrats' response is that they're "protecting the environment" but citizens will not be able to enjoy the vagaries of "the environment" if they freeze to death.

Republicans want to protect the environment, too. I registered Republican a few months ago. That doesn't stop me from re-cycling or buying CFL light bulbs and using less energy. But a heating bill which will easily go from $2000 per year to $5,000 or more is devastating to the middle class householders who heat with oil and natural gas. Democrats do not own the oil and gas deposits off the continental shelf, a point made by Rep. John Petersen. It belongs to the people. And 74% of the people want to drill offshore in order to reduce energy prices. It is a lie to say that off-shore drilling will have no effect on price. I urge everyone to write to your congressional reps to support off-shore drilling. Here is a copy of a letter I just sent to Representative Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania:

I was just listening to Representative John Petersen of Pennsylvania on CNBC and he is properly worried about home heating oil and gas price increases which will be devastating for the Northeast. Drilling won’t solve all the problems but Petersen feels, as I do, that drilling will help crash the “bubble” which Democrats says is a primary cause of high prices.

I would urge you to support off-shore drilling legislation in the Congress. Aside from the LHEAP program, there is nothing for the rest of us who make ordinary wages and will see our heating bills jump from $2000 per year to $5,000 per year. That is horrendous and I wonder why you are not talking about that.


Please let me know you support offshore drilling in the short-term as we develop alternative energy in the long term.

I will post Representative Kanjorski's response when I receive it in about three weeks. If ever....