Most of the Eastern Seaboard, a chunk of the Gulf of Mexico, and the north coast of Alaska are now open for drilling, thanks to a new plan put out by Administration officials Tuesday.

The plan, which will open millions of new acres of the continental shelf to oil exploration, but set aside sensitive Bristol Bay in Alaska as off limits, predictably and understandably drew criticism from both sides today.

Drilling for oil off the coast of the U.S. is a losing proposition. It doesn’t make sense in the short term. And it certainly doesn’t make sense in the long term as part of any strategy to reduce climate change.

The administration effectively abandoned bipartisanship in the passage of healthcare reform (lets not pretend about this folks, not a single Republican voted for the bill). Somehow they manage to hold out hope that waving juicy oil profits in front of climate deniers and footdraggers will get some Republicans and Democrats in the tank for the oil industry (see this helpful list) to vote with the president on climate change legislation. That’s not the hope or change that most Americans voted for. Continue reading “Obama Tries to Bribe Senators with Offshore Oil”