Kline’s blame games must end

To the Editor:

John Kline is finally getting around to blaming somebody for high oil prices, and not surprisingly, it isn’t himself (R-E, May 14).

Isn’t this the congressman who glorified the Iraq war as the answer to all of our problems? Isn’t this the congressman who voted for every reckless cent spent over there instead of over here? Isn’t this the congressman who approves of our military burning 400,000 barrels of oil a day in Iraq?

Whatever happened to all that oil you and your neo-con friends were supposed to get from Iraq, John Kline? Is it really Nancy Pelosi’s fault that the Iraqis won’t give us their oil? No, it is your fault for thinking that they would.

It is your fault for not developing alternative energy sooner and better. It is your fault for thinking Americans will tear up their parks and coastlines in environmentally sensitive areas because the price of gas is too high for you to get re-elected.

I, for one, am tired of your editorial page blame game, John Kline. The world only has a finite amount of oil, so start planning ahead in Congress.

Conservation is the No. 1 energy source. Instead of windfall tax breaks for the richest and most powerful oil companies, start looking out for the little guy who is changing his or her wasteful consumption patterns. If people in Red Wing are talking about sustainability, why aren’t you?

Do Americans really need a bigger carbon footprint? Are more oil wells and more refineries really the answer to anything? Nancy Pelosi isn’t running against you, John Kline, Steve Sarvi is. He has just come home from serving in Iraq and has a lot of good ideas about how America can go forward without being chained to an oil well. He will be one congressman who won’t forget to mention the cost of the war when complaining about high oil prices.

Tags: opinion, kline