The Democrats in Congress can go a long way at this point in time towards renewing my personal faith in the party… by NOT responding to Bush’s obnoxious tactic to try and open vast regions of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to oil drilling.  Drilling in the regions of the OCS currently off-limits will have NO short-term impact on fuel prices (it could be argued that the speculation of future supplies may reduce the price of oil by a small amount, but in reality over the past 50 years any increase in domestic production has had little to no impact on the price of gasoline; these data are available from multiple government and industry sources).  Expanding regions of the OCS open for future drilling WILL however allow many cronies of the president to make millions of dollars, if not billions, by domestic exploration alone, much less actual drilling (remember that much of both Bush’s and Cheney’s stock portfolios are involved with corporations that specialize in oil exploration and extraction).

Still… the entire reasoning behind the president’s decision to ‘open’ the OCS for expanded research and drilling is the reduction of gasoline prices.  I say again that this legislation will have NO IMPACT on fuel prices.  So, why will the Democrats in congress support it?  It is getting increasingly bothersome to me that the Democratic Party is so willing to legislate rather than educate; our party’s position over the past decades on this issue has been the correct one!  We need to be telling America why we are correct, not change our policy because we think this will work against Obama in the presidential campaign.  The position of environmental protection is not a bad one.  In addition, if we want to truly impact fuel prices, we would be supporting increased economy standards for automobiles, and an overall energy-efficient economy.  The slight increase in future supply of oil will have a minimal impact on fuel prices compared to the almost instantaneous impact that higher fuel efficiency standards would have on demand.  Wake up Democratic Party… DO THE CORRECT THING!

It’s a great day.  What more can I say!?

If you’re in Harford and surrounding counties, be on the lookout for information about Rock’n'Register, an upcoming day-long event with lots of bands and the chance to register to vote.  The official date has not been determined, but it will likely be in mid-September.  If you have a band that is interested in playing, click here for more information.  Check out the MySpace and Facebook pages for more information and updates. 

The May meeting of the Young Democrats of Harford County is quickly approaching…it is Wednesday, May 21st.  7:00 p.m. upstairs at Sean Bolan’s in Bel Air.  Click here for directions.

Just wanted to post a reminder that our next meeting will be at 6:30 on March 19th at Sean Bolan’s, the best restaurant in Bel Air.  We had a lively meeting in February with some new faces (who brought great ideas and energy), so come join us!  I’m sure we’ll have an interesting discussion about the yet-to-be-determined Democratic candidate…

Tomorrow is Maryland’s primary and for those of us who thought our votes wouldn’t matter after Iowa, New Hampshire, and Super Tuesday, how wrong we were.  Click here for a list of polling places in Harford County or here to the Maryland State Board of Elections to verify that you are registered and determine your polling place by entering your name, zip code, and date of birth.  With apologies to independents who are disenfranchised from this process, please get out and vote tomorrow if you can! 

I haven’t heard any specifics about events for Hillary Clinton in Harford County, but I wanted to pass along a way to get involved in her campaign.  At Maryland Headquarters of Hillary Clnton’s website you can volunteer at the Baltimore phone bank or ”Become a local volunteer for Hillary” by filling out a short online form with your contact information and what you are interested in doing.  I would hope that if you do this it would connect you with others involved in the Harford for Hillary movement, as I know that one exists! 

There will be an Obama rally this Sunday, February 10th at 1:15 at the Holiday Inn in Aberdeen.  There is a volunteer coordinator for the campaign in the county, as well as an office at 16 N. Philadelphia Road which can be reached at 410-297-8530.  They are also looking for people to do some honking and waving, make phone calls,  door knock, and work at the polls on primary day.

 Also, the L.A. Times has endorsed their first presidential candidate since 1972 by endorsing Obama.  Click here to read the article.   

As the presidential race has narrowed to two main candidates (sorry Mike), I would like to post information on this blog about groups that I know already exist in Harford County and/or Maryland.  If you are involved in a local group working for either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, please comment here and let us know when your next meeting is.  We can also add it to the calendar.  Thanks!