Rochesterfest Parade - Friday, June 27

From Left to Right: Randy Demmer, Jason Johnson, Bill Kuisle, Dave Senjem, Brian Davis and Jake Dettinger

Minnesotans need real solutions to gas prices

Brian Davis, U.S. Congress Candidate, Worthington Daily Globe
Published Monday, June 30, 2008

ROCHESTER — As the price of oil and gas reach record levels and Minnesotans feel it in their pocketbooks, and small businesses in their bottom line, it’s the same old story in Congress: The Blame Game.

Congressman Walz’s strategy, based on his column last week, is to lay the blame on partisan politics and “Big Oil.”

Have the oil companies made big profits lately at the expense of us? Yes. Will the oil companies continue to have record profits as long as demand outpaces production? Yes.

But instead of throwing around blame, let’s talk about real solutions. Otherwise, $6-a-gallon gasoline could be just around the corner.

Affordable energy is the lifeblood of a modern economy. In the United States, over 90 percent of the energy consumed in transportation, heating and electricity comes from four sources: oil, coal, natural gas, and nuclear power. In oil production, we are the world’s third-largest producer behind Saudi Arabia and Russia. Our coal reserves are the largest of any nation and we produce more nuclear energy on a yearly basis than anyone else. In Minnesota, we are among the leaders in the U.S. in ethanol and wind power production. It should be clear that we need to develop and maintain all sources of energy to keep our economy moving, not just one energy source or the other.

The United States has over 1.7 billion acres of offshore areas where nearly 95 percent have been closed to oil exploration since 1982. The Atlantic Coast, eastern Gulf of Mexico, Pacific and most of the Alaskan Coasts are off-limits. According to published Congressional research, these areas have an estimated total of over 80 billion barrels of oil. But, these are only estimates. Without allowing American oil companies to explore these regions, we won’t know how much is there.
What do Congressman Walz and others in Congress offer?

Blocking increased development of domestic oil supply in federal areas in all but a small portion of those available.Legislation that doesn’t produce one drop more of oil.

Cap-and-trade regulatory schemes for utilities and industries that will ultimately tax Americans trillions of dollars and hit rural electric cooperatives particularly hard.

More hearings and investigations.

Nationalizing the oil and refinery industries in the United States.

Unfortunately, the politicians in Congress have stood in the way of developing more energy sources in this country. In my view, we should:

Open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) where an estimated 10 billion barrels of oil exist. There already exists a pipeline in the adjacent Prudhoe Bay region, which contributes over 15 percent to our domestic oil supply. In 1995, President Clinton blocked development of ANWR and in 2002 and 2008 Congress blocked development of this area again.

Open the Outer Continental Shelf to safe oil and natural gas exploration — currently only 4 percent of the region is open and 60 percent of Americans favor its development.

Build more refinery capacity.

Reduce regulatory barriers to increase nuclear power production, a proven clean and safe form of electricity generation.

Continue to promote and develop alternative fuels and energy sources including ethanol, biodiesel and wind power.

As the endorsed Republican candidate in our First Congressional District, I hear daily the personal stories of Minnesotans who are being negatively impacted by the lack of leadership from the politicians in Washington. As individuals and our Nation feel the economic straitjacket tightening, we are faced with difficult choices. Americans deserve to know what solutions our elected representatives offer so that our future is secure and our children will know the American dream.

In reality, this is a debate that reveals the stark contrast between those who have lost faith in America’s ability to do great things and those of us who know we can.

We must move forward with developing additional American energy supplies, the sooner the better.

Brian Davis trained as a nuclear engineer and worked in the nuclear power industry. He is a physician and a Rochester resident.

Posted on 'Let Freedom Ring'

Where’s the Proof, Rep. Walz???

Last week, Rep. Tim Walz came out against expanding oil exploration. That isn’t shocking in the least bit. What it is, though, is proof that Rep. Walz consistently buys into the liberal line. that’s why MN-1 needs to retire him this November.

U.S. Rep. Tim Walz said President Bush’s efforts to pressure Congress to lift a federal ban on some offshore oil drilling would do nothing to move the United States in the direction of a sensible energy policy or substantially lower gas prices.

Calling the issue a red herring, the first-term Democrat also said he was prepared to call oil companies’ bluff. He said federal law should be changed to penalize oil companies for not using the leases they already have.

Federal law already stipulates that an oil company must sink a producing well within 10 years or lose the lease. The legislation Walz supports would deprive oil companies of the ability to lease new federal offshore areas until they’ve drilled on all their existing leases, an aide said.

“This idea, this red herring, that all of a sudden you’re going to drill and everything is going to be better, as if the market fundamentals are at work here, that’s not happening,” Walz said. “These are the same people that are (getting) $40 billion in profit.”

First of all, what proof is Rep. Walz using in saying that increasing oil production won’t affect gas prices at the pump? Is he basing his opinion on market principles or is he basing this off the talking points the Environmental lobby has given him to speak from?

One thing that I know is that his opinion isn’t based on this study:
These restrictions effectively banned new offshore energy production off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, parts of offshore Alaska, and the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Recent DOI estimates put the amount of energy in these off-limits areas at 19.1 billion barrels of oil and 83.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, approximately 30 years’ worth of imports from Saudi Arabia and enough natural gas to power America’s homes for 17 years. It should also be noted that these initial estimates tend to be low.

OCS restrictions are a relic of the past. They were put in place at a time when energy was cheap, the need for additional domestic supplies was not seen as dire, and the political path of least resistance was to give in to environmentalists. All that has changed, with more than a quadrupling of oil and natural gas prices since the restrictions were first imposed. Extra energy is badly needed, and the risk of producing it has been reduced. All new drilling would be subject to strict safeguards and would require state-of-the-art technology with a proven track record for limiting the risk of spills.

Conclusion

The President can bring America one step closer to accessing promising sources of domestic oil and natural gas for decades to come. He should lift the existing executive moratorium against OCS exploration. More important, Congress must show the nation that it is serious about meeting our energy needs by supporting the production of American energy from American waters.

Is Rep. Walz willing to argue that tapping into the equivalent of 30 years worth of imported Saudi oil and enough natural gas to power America’s homes for 17 years won’t have a serious impact on home heating and gas prices? If he’s willing to argue against this study, then that’s grounds for questioning his objectivity and his competence to serve Minnesota’s First District. Minnesota’s First District can’t afford that type of irresponsible behavior from its representative. No legislative district should be forced to suffer through such irresponsible behavior.

This is why policies matter. That’s why voters do themselves a disservice in not vetting the candidates enough on the issues. Tim Walz never was qualified to represent anyone in the Unite States House of Representatives. The proof is in how uninformed he is and irresponsibly he’s acting on the most important issue of this election cycle.

Fortunately, the First District has a choice this time because Brian Davis takes this issue seriously:

Davis said gas prices might not automatically drop if the country drills for more oil domestically. But they almost certainly will go up if the country does nothing to further develop its domestic oil reserves, he maintains.

“I repeatedly hear from Congressman Walz that markets fail. He has an adversarial relationship, it appears, with corporate America. It doesn’t seem as if he understands the free market and supply and demand,” Davis said.

Residents of Minnesota’s first district owe it to themselves and to each other whether they want someone who believes in capitalism or if they want someone who doesn’t understand or is ambivalent towards capitalism.

I seriously doubt that people think highly of a legisltor who is indifferent to the principles of capitalism. That means there’s only one real choice. That means voting for Brian Davis.
letfreedomringblog.com Categories: Economy, Energy, Environmental Extremism, Election 2008, Tim Walz

John Adams Letter to the Editor: Rochester Post Bulletin

The truth about global warming
6/13/2008

I attended the State Republican Convention at Rochester's Mayo Civic Center. The proudest moment for me was when the entire assembly gave congressional candidate Brian Davis a standing ovation for stating that he doesn't buy into the theory of human caused global warming.

Dr. Davis, a scientist himself, knows there has never been a consensus among scientists. Dr. Davis knows that 31,000 scientists have signed a petition saying supporters of man-made global warming are using questionable science to support their theory. He knows that 30 years ago these same scientists predicted global cooling.

While Tim Walz and many politicians foolishly embrace the destruction of our economy by throwing taxpayer dollars at a problem that doesn't exist, Brian Davis stands courageously against radical government fads like global warming and other government scams that have already raised the price of gas and heating fuels beyond what many families can afford.

Brian Davis's pronouncement is truly refreshing. He will make a great common-sense congressman.

John Adams

Comment: Drill Here Drill Now. Weather will always be changing regardless of what we do. From Center-Right

Roger and Me

Storms are just hitting here, and you should be just getting home. Ya have a great crew Brian. On the way home after we left you, Charlene and I commented to each other, what a fun evening we had today. You're a great candidate, and if people are thinking and listening, you should win by a landslide.
RM

Buffalo Days in Luverne

Brian marched in his fourth parade this past weekend in Luverne! There are many more to follow!

Brianna, Greg, Brian, Bill, David and Erik.

Why isn't Congressman Walz Providing Real Solutions to our Transporation Needs?

For Immediate Release
Contact: Brad Biers
651.261.2182
June 6, 2008

(Winona, MN) - Despite appearing at the closed Highway 43 Bridge in Winona near the Mississippi river, Congressman Tim Walz has failed to propose any real solutions to our transportation needs, especially as it concerns finding relief for working families in southern Minnesota and the burden of high gas prices.

As residents of southern Minnesota continue to empty their wallets trying to pay for gasoline that is nearing $4 per gallon, Rep. Walz continues to vote against proposals to address America's energy crisis.

"Tim Walz' speaking about the needs of the people of southern Minnesota while using the Highway 43 bridge as a backdrop does nothing to solve our transportation and energy crisis," said First Congressional District Republican candidate Brian Davis. "He is ignoring the fact that the price of gas has risen over 70% since he was sworn into office and he continues to do nothing to address this unfortunate situation."

"There are solutions to our energy needs," continued Davis. "We must develop more domestic oil supplies and increase our refinery capacity because southern Minnesota residents demand action now."

# # #

A Conservativie Energy Plan

Minnesota Republican Party State Convention, May 31, 2008

________________________________

"Past predictions of a limited supply of oil have often proved wrong. Offshore areas along the U.S. coastline and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska have an estimated 100 billion barrels of crude oil, enough to provide all U.S. transportation needs for more than a decade."

Brian Davis, Rochester Post Bulletin, April 30, 2008

____________________________________________________________________

by Dan Kish
A Conservative Energy Policy

June 3, 2008

When Ronald Reagan accepted his party’s nomination in 1980, he said that America’s energy policy was based on the sharing of scarcity, and that our great nation had to get to work producing more energy.

“Large amounts of oil and natural gas lay beneath our land and off our shores, untouched because the present administration seems to believe the American people would rather see more regulation, taxes and controls than more energy, he said. “It must not be thwarted by a tiny minority opposed to economic growth which often finds friendly ears in regulatory agencies for its obstructionist campaigns.

”When Ronald Reagan spoke these words he was describing President Jimmy Carter’s disastrous policies that ransacked family budgets, cost jobs and robbed Americans of hope. They could just as easily be spoken today about the Bush Administration, the Congress, and the candidates vying to become president this election year. On the energy front, it seems, the classically successful principles of less government and more self-initiative been replaced by a myth of resource scarcity and helplessness. Government now, as then, has created a massive energy problem. And now, as then, it wants people to believe it also has the solution. Well, as Reagan put it, “government is not the solution to the problem; government is the problem.”

On January 1, 1970, Richard Nixon signed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which allowed the federal government - or a liberal judge - to veto or delay indefinitely any energy project of any kind. Coincidentally, 1970 was the year when America produced the most oil in its history and imported only 12 percent of its needs.

Nearly a decade later to the day, President Jimmy Carter Jimmy Carter signed the Alaska Lands Act, the law that closed ANWR and - in one fell swoop - took more taxpayer -owned government lands out of our energy resource portfolio than any other time in history. It was the fitting and symbolic end of the decade that set us on the course for the energy collision we face today. U.S. dependence on foreign sources of oil had reached 40 percent.

The list of laws enacted in between are on are an alphabet soup of government activism that continues to restrict our access to American energy today. They include the Clean Air Act of 1970 (CAA); the Clean Water Act of 1972 (CWA); the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (CZMA); and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), just to name a few. And while everyone wants to save animals from extinction, breathe clean air, drink clean water and avoid toxic substances, these laws and their successors have been used by opponents of U.S. energy production as a means to an end -- to stop domestic production of our economy’s lifeblood and promote scarcity.

Ronald Reagan initially made some progress against energy suicide of the 1980’s by using the tools he had to reduce regulations and direct more energy development on taxpayer-owned federal lands. But the Congress struck back, and in 1982, added a rider to a spending bill that prohibited energy leasing on 85% of the outer continental shelf surrounding the lower 48 states.

For the twenty-six years since, Congress has voted each year, every year, to continue these bans and continue our dependency on foreign oil. And, to burnish his kinder, gentler credentials, President George H.W. Bush imposed his own moratorium in 1990, which President Clinton extended until 2012, and which President Geor ge W. Bush has yet to repeal, despite the looming promise of economic ruin for families caused by our energy supply imbalance. Today, America remains the only developed country in the world that shoots itself in the foot in such fashion.

In 1987, when President Reagan asked Congress to open ANWR along with a required report showing that it could be done safely and help supply 1 million barrels per day, Congress ignored him, and instead expanded the amount of wilderness in the US greatly, taking even more lands away from energy production. Congress did finally pass a bill to open a small piece of ANWR in 1995, but President Clinton vetoed it.

America is the Saudi Arabia of oil shale deposits. With the 2 trillion barrels of oil we could extract, the US could run for 250 years on that source alone. Unfortunately, the best deposits lie under nationalized lands in the West, and the Congress passed a law in 2007 making it illegal to lease the lands for energy development.

Ditto for our coal resources; the US the Saudi Arabia of coal. Last year, Hollywood’s Henry Waxman slipped a provision into law that will block government – the biggest single user of energy – from buying any alternative fuels made from coal. Germany ran its war machine on the stuff throughout WWII, and South Africa has been making coal into su bstitute petroleum for decades. We could too, but for our government.

Today, America only uses 3% of its offshore areas to produce energy, and only 6% of government lands onshore. The US now imports more oil than ever, produces less oil than it did before WWII, and is sending over half a trillion dollars a year to a lot of people who don’t like what our country stands for.

Ronald Reagan’s stand that our nation’s future “should not be thwarted by a tiny minority opposed to economic growth.” Is as true today as it was when he uttered it 28 years ago. That tiny minority has hidden their agenda behind the environment movement and thus grown to control our nation’s energy decisions made in Washington, and it shows in every American’s energy bill.

With gasoline prices and utility bills finally awakening the Sleeping Giant of the American people, the creators of the current US energy mess are pointing their fingers here…there…and everywhere.

They say “we can’t drill our way to cheaper gasoline” to hide the fact that they won’t let anyone drill here in the US. They argue adding 70,000 barrels of oil per day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve – sequestered from use - will help lower prices at the pump but Ronald Reagan’s 1987 recommendation to open ANWR’s million barrels per day will not.

They pass bills to enable suits against OPEC for withholding supplies, while their congressional websites brim with press releases about how they voted to stop energy in Alaska, in our OCS, in the Rocky Mountains or wherever some group that objects to more American energ y production objects to more American energy production.

Here’s the truth Ronald Reagan understood but Washington’s central planners don’t want you to know about: God blessed North America with huge energy resources, probably rivaling those of any other continent. Free the American people to use their brains, technology and hard work to access the energy that government has put off limits.

Let’s actually make it economically attractive to produce energy at home. Legalize the coal, oil shale, oil sands, methane hydrates (a frozen natural gas that dwarfs all other energy resources on earth), uranium, hydropower and all of the exotic alternative energy potential we have, and get off the backs of all the people whose job it is to supply this country with the energy that provides us the capacity do work. Americans will respond and go to work putting America to work. We will produce energy…a lot more energy. The result will be enough of our own energy to keep the lights burning in the Shining City on a Hill for a long, long time.

Brian Davis at the Minnesota Republican Party State Convention

Davis states that Minnesota families can't afford another 2 years of Congressman Walz and gas price increases

For Immediate Release
Contact: Brad Biers

651.261.2182

June 1, 2008

(Rochester, MN) - On Saturday, May 31, Brian Davis, the endorsed Republican candidate for the First Congressional District of Minnesota, was an invited speaker to the State Convention along with Governor Tim Pawlenty and others. There were over 2,000 attendees at the convention.

State Chairman Ron Carey introduced the speakers and expressed approval of the decision of caucus goers and delegates choice of Dr. Davis as the best candidate to win the election in the First District this November.

Many speakers called upon Republicans to stick by our principles of limited government, a strong national defense and traditional values.

As reported in the local media, "The staying power of those principles will likely be tested in the 1st Congressional District, where the party's endorsed candidate, Brian Davis, is challenging U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, a Mankato Democrat, on an unabashedly conservative platform."

Davis says Walz has done little to bring down gas prices with his opposition to expanding oil development in this country. He says the first-term Democrat consistently votes for measures that would expand government and that, according to the Club for Growth, has one of the poorest taxing and spending records in Congress, ranking 394 out of 435 in Congress.

Davis also criticized Congressman Walz for supporting the Employee Free Choice Act, legislation that would deprive workers of the right to have a secret ballot when considering whether to form a union or not. Davis calls this legislation "simply un-American."

"In 2006, Tim Walz ran against George Bush and the Iraq war. In 2008, he's going to have to run on his record, and if I were him, I would run from it," Davis said.

Similar to over 31,000 scientists who have signed the Petition Project, Davis does not agree there is conclusive evidence that global warming is caused predominantly by human activity. "Let me be clear: I totally reject the man-made global warming religion," Davis said to loud applause and a standing ovation.

After the convention Davis commented, "We need real solutions to our problems in gas prices, energy, job creation, national security and health care. We believe we're offering the best programs to solve these problems. Voters will have a clear choice to make a course correction this November."

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