Progress Illinois

For those of you who just can't get enough of GOP Rep. John Shimkus' energy shenanigans, we've got some more fuel for your fire.

Following his false suggestion at the state fair last week that the Democrats favor "doing nothing" about the energy crisis, Think Progress flagged a House GOP press conference today in which Shimkus proves he's no logician:

"[I]f drilling is good, drilling and mining is better." A 5th grader could dissect this argument with ease, but let's dish that task off to Matt Yglesias instead:

And, indeed, it’s true that if we think we should give zero consequences to the environmental, economic, and public health harms caused by the resource-extraction activities of the fossil fuel industry then we really should go beyond mining in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge and all along America’s coastline — why not tear up as much of the country as possible looking for coal?

Sadly, Shimkus would agree. You see, he isn't too concerned with that whole global warming phenomenon. That's a problem cooked up by the "enviro extremists" who "play on people's emotions" by discussing the dangers of climate change.

In short: drilling isn't "good." There are no short-term benefits and the long-term prospects aren't great either. In fact, Shimkus and colleague Peter Roskam had to drastically fudge their numbers to make their drill-heavy VISION Act sound appealing. The same goes for coal. Meanwhile, the environmental and economic costs are enormous.

We're at a fork in the road and it's time to forge a new path, leaving Shimkus' anachronistic ideas behind.