If you are like me, you've found yourself appalled and frightened by recent revelations of US government electronic surveillance of citizen, but have had a difficult time articulating a rationale why.  Federal programs like Carnivore, Total Information Awareness , MATRIX (.pdf), and of course extrajudicial surveillance of American phone calls by the NSA fill me with dread.  Yet I have had difficulty articulating an coherent rebuttal to claims that such spying is necessary to protect our citizens with more than stuttering, apoplectic rage. (Follow me below the fold . . .)

In the next few weeks, Congress will again take on the issue of drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR).  The stage for the debate has been set.  Geopolitics and real supply shortfalls (see especially Jerome's The World is Running Out of Oil ) have created an environment of rising prices at the gas pumps, and rising costs of home heating.  Outside of ANWR few real sources of new oil exist.  

I fully expect the Republicans to paint this debate as "The Democrats put the welfare of Carribou above the welfare of Americans."  What's more, if I were them, I would paint the issue in the exact same way.    

The "What" of the problem is that Oil Demand is increasing while oil supplies are decreasing.  This is a real problem that is going to disappear.

This week, Republican's will supply the "Solution":  Drill in the Artic National Wildlife Reserve.  What's more, like on other issues like the Bankruptcy bill, they may have the votes to win this time.

Democrats will be portrayed as obstructionists more interested in pleasing Radical environmentalists and a herd of unseen caribou, than alleviating the American Families costs at the pump.  

Does this leave the Democrats out in the cold?  Well of course it does, unless . . . ?