By not allowing either house of congress to vote on whether or not to drill shale or drill in forbidden parts of the US, including offshore in Florida, the Gulf and California, not to mention ANWR being sacred ground, the Democrats have allowed the Republicans to have an issue to bring before the electorate that is a big pocketbook issue.

Nancy Pelosi refuses to allow a vote in the House, and Harry Reid is playing games and getting rude as he gets frustrated over bringing a real energy bill to the floor and not limiting the amendments to what he wants them to be.

About the only thing the Democrats in the House are willing to do is release some of the nation’s strategic oil reserves, which would amount to only about a three days’ supply.

Thursday’s bill would have released about 70 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, roughly a three-day supply. The reserve is designed to keep oil in stock in the event of an emergency.

The 268-157 vote in favor of releasing the oil was not enough to overcome a rule requiring a two-thirds supermajority to win the measure. With 425 House members voting, Democrats would would have needed 284 votes to pass the package.

But the loss isn’t without benefit to Democrats.

Democrats have been bringing energy-related bills to the floor with the two-thirds requirement in an effort to stave off GOP efforts on drilling offshore in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The two-thirds requirement prevents Republicans from offering amendments or other procedural tactics to get ANWR on the table. Many Democrats concede there’s probably enough support in the House to pass an ANWR drilling measure if it came up under normal, simple majority rules.

Democrats lashed out at Republicans in a news conference later in the afternoon.

“When they (Republicans) had a chance to vote on everything, they voted no. … Over half their caucus voted no” on the petroleum reserve bill, Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., told reporters, adding: “They’re against ‘all of the above.’ ”

Leading up to the vote, House Minority Leader John Boehner called the Democrats’ plan “a joke.”

“This bill’s a joke. Come on. We’re going to take 20 million barrels of light crude and we’re going to exchange it for $20 billion of heavy crude? This is not an energy bill. This is not going to produce any more American-made energy. It’s not going to bring down the prices. It’s just another excuse to avoid having a real vote on the House floor,” the Ohio Republican said.

Democrats said the release from the oil reserve could provide relief at the pump within two weeks, though they would not say how much it would help $4-per-gallon gas. Earlier releases, such as a 34 million barrel drawdown in 1991 during the Persian Gulf War, caused prices to fall.

As debate began, the White House threatened a veto. “Rather than drawing down a strategic reserve intended to protect our nation’s energy security from a severe supply disruption, Congress should pass legislation to increase domestic oil supply,” the White House said in a statement.

Emphasis mine.

We’ve heard all the arguments for years. It would take too long to be online to help. Well, if they had allowed us to drill in these areas ten years ago we’d be ten years closer to having it be a reality. We would probably already be enjoying the fruits of drilling on our own land and not depending on other countries for the majority of our oil.

My husband, who used to work in the nuclear power business, says it takes about ten years to get a nuclear plant built and up and running. How many nuclear plants are in the works now due to Congress’ refusal to allow it?

We could be refining our own oil if more refineries were allowed, but we seem to be at a halt there too.

I’m all for protecting the environment, but when it comes to heating a family’s house, is a spotted owl more important than a family of people?

When it comes to feeding your family, is a spotted owl or saving caribou that can live elsewhere worth increasing the price of food because the truckers have to pay more for fuel to get the food to the market?

Are these endangered animals worth the price of not being able to afford to go to work so you can feed your family and pay your bills?

I doubt God intended for man to go without because a few nutcases want to save a salamander or whatever.

All of the new technology makes it possible for us to drill and build in ecology-friendly environments. Why is Congress so stupid?

If John McCain and every Republican running for office doesn’t pound this home to the voters they deserve to lose. This is a winning issue. It is the issue of this campaign. It hits every American squarely in the wallet.

The Democrats have given the issue to the Republicans and it’s time for them to make hay while the sun shines.

And yes, we’ve had past Congresses with Republican leadership that haven’t been able to get over this hurdle either, but now is way past time for bickering and the time for action.