Election Worries Delay U.S. Refinery Report - Source

[Khephra]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A government advisory panel will delay a report on ways to boost U.S. oil refining capacity because the Bush administration wants to avoid a fight over environmental regulations before the national elections, according to a source knowledgeable about the report.

The report by the National Petroleum Council to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham had been scheduled for release on Thursday and was eagerly awaited by the oil industry, which saw U.S. crude oil prices hit a record $50.47 a barrel this week.

A spokeswoman for the panel, Carla Byrd, said the report would be delayed because Abraham had a scheduling conflict, as did some other members of the group, that forced this week's meeting to be canceled.

An Energy Department spokeswoman, Jeanne Lopatte, said the Nov. 2 election played no role in the delay. ``There's no big conspiracy here ... it's just a scheduling issue,'' she said.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/politics/politics-energy-oil-report.html

[grasswire]

1. why???????????????????

Why does this administration NEVER have to face the consequences of its actions?

Why???????????????

How many reports and investigations and indictments are being set aside until after the election, in order to spare Bushco?

DAMN! I'm mad.

[Waistdeep]

2. No big conspiracy.

Just your regular, everyday conspiracy.

Move along.

[Cocoa]

3. "it's a scheduling issue, but we can't tell you what the issue is"

and they're saying Kerry and Edwards are not credible?

Brian Jones, a spokesman for the Bush campaign was not able to address why Abraham could not attend the advisory group's meeting or why the report was delayed, and referred those questions to the Energy Department.

However, Jones criticized both Kerry and Democratic Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards for blocking in the Senate Bush's energy plan to reduce U.S. foreign oil imports.

``They (Kerry and Edwards) lack credibility on this issue,'' he said.

[snippy]

4. Probably Karl Rove's decision. He has unprecedented influence over

every federal agency and department. Much of it probably is illegal but impossible to prove. Here is an article about one example:

From the 30 July 2003 Issue of the Wall Street Journal

Oregon Water Saga Illuminates Rove's Methods With Agencies
TOM HAMBURGER
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
July 30, 2003


WASHINGTON -- In a darkened conference room, White House political strategist Karl Rove was making an unusual address to 50 top managers at the U.S. Interior Department. Flashing color slides, he spoke of poll results, critical constituencies -- and water levels in the Klamath River basin.

At the time of the meeting, in January 2002, Mr. Rove had just returned from accompanying President Bush on a trip to Oregon, where they visited with a Republican senator facing re-election. Republican leaders there wanted to support their agricultural base by diverting water from the river basin to nearby farms, and Mr. Rove signaled that the administration did, too.

. . .

Though Mr. Rove's clout within the administration often is celebrated, this episode offers a rare window into how he works behind the scenes to get things done. One of them is with periodic visits to cabinet departments. Over the past two years Mr. Rove or his top aide, Kenneth Mehlman -- now manager of Mr. Bush's re-election campaign -- have visited nearly every agency to outline White House campaign priorities, review polling data and, on occasion, call attention to tight House, Senate and gubernatorial races that could be affected by regulatory action.

Every administration has used cabinet resources to promote its election interests. But some presidential scholars and former federal and White House officials say the systematic presentation of polling data and campaign strategy goes beyond what Mr. Rove's predecessors have done.

"We met together and talked a lot about issues of the day, but never in relation to polling results, specific campaigns or the president's popularity," says Lisa Guide, a political appointee at Interior during the Clinton administration. Frank Donatelli, political director in the Reagan White House, says "we were circumspect about discussing specific administration rulings that had yet to be made."

. . .

http://www.pcffa.org/RoveWSJ07-30-03.htm

[struggle4progress]

5. kick

:kick: