Reply #28: If there were a national park in Venezuela and Chávez declared that PDVSA [View All]

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was going to drill there because the revenue it generated was going to build schools and hospitals for the poor, would any progressive complain?

Yes, conservation should be encouraged, and no single oil field is going to solve all the problems the US has with their energy policy.

However, I think many working class voters think of Bush as their Chávez -- he's promissing them jobs, wealth and opportunity by making a stand on this issue.

To fight things like ANWAR, I think Democrats need to avoid this sort of frame for thinking about this, and I think many of the arguments DU'ers use to criticize this vote play right into a mood Republicans are more than happy to see hover over this debate.