When Will Harry Throw T. Boone Pickens Under The Bus?

We all know who T. Boone Pickens is. He has been running a high-octane ad campaign in favor of wind power in the United States, and he testified before Congress on the subject of alternative energy means. He is correct that the US must lead the way in the construction of alternative sources of energy, but it is not for the reason that so many believe it to be. No, rather than being about the environment, it is more about national security and energy independence.

Now Harry Reid had glowing comments about Mr. Pickens, but that was before these soundbites aired last night on CNN's Situation Room:

PICKENS: We continue to drift like we're drifting, you're going to be importing 80 percent of your oil. And I -- I promise you, it will be over $300 a barrel.

KEILAR: Pickens' solution? Wind energy captured by giant turbines from Texas to Canada. He says they could supply up to 80 percent of the nation's electricity and free up the natural gas currently used to produce electricity, and use it for cars and public transit instead. In 10 years, Pickens says dependence on foreign oil would drop by 38 percent, and that's just the beginning. By 2050, he says renewable sources of energy would replace fossil fuels. Pickens pitched his plan with Congress deeply divided along party lines over the solution to high gas prices. Democrats are pointing to him to rebut Republican calls for drilling on protected lands.

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: Here is a man who was my mortal enemy, and he's my pal now. T. Boone Pickens has made a fortune in oil. He's a rich man because of oil. And he said, it's no longer there. We need to move to alternative energy.

KEILAR: But Pickens is an unlikely ally for Democrats. He says he will vote for John McCain. In 2004, he contributed at least $1 million to the anti-John Kerry Swift Boat campaign. And, while he agrees with Democrats that domestic drilling won't solve the energy crisis, he says it would help in the short term.

PICKENS: Offshore, OCS drilling, ANWR drilling, yes, all of it. I want to get off of foreign oil.

Read it and weep, Senator Reid. Yes, he does want wind power. He wants any sort of sensible alternative energy sources. BUT, he realizes that our dependency on foreign oil and foreign natural gas will be this nation's undoing. He refers to those who sell us the bulk of our oil as enemies, and he is correct. We need to drill; drill here, drill now, and make this nation energy independent. The future is now, and it is high time Congress pays attention and acts responsibly.

Marcie