It is time to do something about these rising gas prices and our country’s dependence on foreign countries to provide the resources we need to operate as a nation.

This Spring and Summer I have been out door-to-door canvassing for votes for a few candidates in Georgia.  I live in a very conservative part of one of the reddest of red states.  When I first started walking door-to-door in mid-May, there was not an issue that had people fired up.  There was still talk about the Democratic nominee but nothing that fired many people up.

In June, Newt Gingrich’s American Soultions launched the Drill Here Drill Now Petition and Sean Hannity promoted it on his show.  By mid-June, the conversations I was having at the door with people were dramatically different than 1 month earlier.  A couple of times each day, I would have someone say I want to drill here.  A couple of people said, “Tell the Congressmen to drill here.  Now!  Dam*it!”  By the time our primary rolled around in mid-July, the rising cost of gasoline and America’s independence from foreign energy sources was the number 1 issue of nearly everyone I spoke with.  There was one man I spoke to who is a handy man.  He said the cost of rising gas is hurting his business significantly.  He has to pass the cost of gas on to his customers and some of them are deciding to skip the home repair project or do it themselves. 

The high price of gas is also increasing the cost of everything we do.  It costs more for groceries to be delivered to stores so grocery stores have to increase the price of their products.  The high gas prices are hurting people with the least amount of money the most.  It is easy to skip going out to eat at a restaurant or pass on a family vacation to the beach to make up for the extra money you spend at the pump.  It is not easy to skip out on bread and milk.  When you have a very limited budget, there are very few places to skip out on. 

Many Americans have had to forgo a family vacation this year because they simply could not afford the cost of gasoline for trips they normally take.  Now, the Democratic-controlled Congress has taken its regular August Summer Vacation while Americans are stuck at home suffering from the high price of gas.  But the Republicans are revolting.  A handful of Republicans have skipped their summer vacations and are live blogging in Capitol.  CSpan is not carrying this coverage but the internet is!  They are asking Americans to sign a petition for Speaker Pelosi to call Congress back and take action to lower gas prices.  Other Republicans who have gone home are having press conferences and Town Hall meetings about the rising gas prices.    

Here is a brief summary of the American Energy Act:

• Increase the supply American-made energy in environmentally sound ways by opening our deep water ocean resources, which will provide an additional three million barrels of oil per day, as well as 76 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, opening the Arctic coastal plain, which will provide an additional one million barrels of oil per day, allowing the development of our nation’s shale oil resources, which could provide an additional 2.5 million barrels of oil per day, increasing the supply of gas at the pump by cutting bureaucratic red tape that essentially blocks construction of new refineries;
• Improving energy conservation and efficiency by providing tax incentives for businesses and families that purchase more fuel efficient vehicles, providing a monetary prize for developing the first economically feasible, super-fuel-efficient vehicle reaching 100 miles-per-gallon, providing tax incentives for businesses and homeowners who improve their energy efficiency;
• Promote renewable and alternative energy technologies, by spurring the development of alternative fuels through government contracting by repealing the “Section 526″ prohibition on government purchasing of alternative energy and promoting coal-to-liquids technology, establishing a renewable energy trust fund using revenues generated by exploration in the deep ocean and on the Arctic coastal plain, permanently extending the tax credit for alternative energy production, including wind, solar and hydrogen, and eliminating barriers to the expansion of emission-free nuclear power production.

If you are tired of high gas prices and America’s dependence on foreign energy sources and you have not signed the American Solutions Drill Here Drill Now, Call Congress Back,  and the GotoWorkCongress petitions, do so now. 

If you are interested in more information about the American Energy Act and the Don’t Go Movement, check out these sites:

DontGoMovement

Denny Rehberg’s Gas Prices Solutions for Montana

Support the Guerilla Congress Facebook Group

Twitter DontGo Group Feed

House Republican Leader John Boehner’s Blog

Real Energy Solutions

Twitter Dontgomovement user

Why #Dontgo Matters

#Dontgo Upsets Moveon

The Truth Exposed: MoveOn Supporters Want $10, $20, $30 Gas!

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