Blood And Oil: Two Great Tastes That Go Great Together

Last month, you remember, there was all this hoopla over the notion of opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, thanks to its inclusion in a budget bill. Thanks in large part to public response, and to 20 Republicans who were able to suss out what "wildlife refuge" means, that provision failed.

Now, at the 11th hour (and 57th minute) Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska has reinserted the provision into a defense bill that everyone's eager to pass to show support for the troops. (Stevens says it "fits" in the bill because the military sucks up so much oil. Our brightest minds at work.) Once again, John Kerry has seized the opportunity to distinguish himself with plain speech:

"We could but we don't have the votes," Kerry said when first asked if he would filibuster the entire bill. Later, when asked to confirm, he said "I didn't say the votes weren't there. I said it's a very tough vote for people."

Okay, well that was more or less another faceplant, but Washington State senator Maria Cantwell is breathing fire about Stevens' end-run, and has come out on record as willing to filibuster unless the provision is dropped. (Bremerton's Norm Dicks, while Democrat, doesn't feel in a position to come out "against" a defense bill.)

An unlikely environmental ally is Republican Dave Reichert, who's said he'll "support the troops" of course, but has publicly criticized Stevens for appending the provision to the defense bill. The blow-back is already building. That story on Reichert "letting down the home team" is from the website ANWR.org -- created and funded by Arctic Power.