I recently hosted a town hall/summit on energy.  As Tom Kuhlman said in a comment, we must drill for oil in ANWR, the gulf, in Oil Shale, Nuclear Power, and yes, alternatives.  He is right and will start that bandwagon this week when I introduce legislation allowing the President to bypass regulation on oil shale development and begin extracting oil from shale this year.  The Western Caucus, which I chair, is also near to introducing a comprehensive energy plan that includes all of the measures Tom and others suggest.  The recent summit received great coverage in the Richfield Reaper and can be read here.  As the article points out,

Utah could play a major role in creating energy independence for the U.S., but environmental restrictions are going to be one of the hardest hurdles to overcome, Hartley said. More than 60 percent of land that has potential for energy resource development in Utah is closed…

This is what my legislation will bypass.  That is just the beginning.  We need to start defeating Democrats who will vote against this legislation.  My opponent could have taken a great step forward for american energy if he would have taken on Rep. Matheson.  Instead, I will have to deal with 2 yes and 1 continuing NO vote on energy independence in Congress.  Perhaps he can run against Mr. Matheson in 2010 since my opponent declares he will “never move” to the 3rd District.