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What Oklahomans Are Saying About President Obama's Visit to Oklahoma
March 21, 2012

Posted by Matt Dempsey matt_dempsey@epw.senate.gov

What Oklahomans Are Saying About President Obama's Upcoming Visit to Oklahoma 

"Energy workers protest Pres. Obama's visit" - "Oklahoma's energy leaders have an opportunity to tell the president how the cow ate the cabbage" -  "Energy chiefs' message: Actions, not words, will determine energy future

Oklahoman Editorial:  Perhaps visit to Oklahoma will be instructive for President Obama

"The Obama campaign air show whistle-stops in Oklahoma Wednesday and Thursday, the first time the president has set foot in the state since becoming president. He'll visit Cushing to say how much he likes the idea of a new petroleum pipeline from there to the Gulf Coast. Is it just us or is there something disingenuous about praising the Cushing pipeline that would go south while blocking a connecting line that would go north? Obama's energy plan involving "all of the above" (his words) has been put in a pipeline headed toward a few-of-the-above reality check. The administration is rife with bureaucrats who show disdain for fossil fuel, but Americans need the stuff to get to work - just as Obama needs it for Air Force One trips between campaign photo ops...

"Still, we hope Obama's time here will be instructive, that Oklahoma's energy leaders have an opportunity to tell the president how the cow ate the cabbage when it comes to the real world of energy as opposed to the idealized world that Obama touts. Those leaders face a punitive tax increase from Obama. Their use of hydraulic fracturing is under attack. The Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to Cushing is on indefinite hold. Meantime, the U.S. Department of Energy - despite the Solyndra debacle - remains keen on speculative alternative energy ventures. Is it just us or would Obama's green energy evangelism be more convincing if he either kept Air Force One parked more often or used electric vehicles for surface transit?  Read More: http://newsok.com/perhaps-visit-to-oklahoma-will-be-instructive-for-president-obama/article/3659332

KFOR: Energy workers protest Pres. Obama's visit: CUSHING, Okla. -- The President is scheduled to speak in Payne County this Thursday morning. It may be rural Oklahoma, but when it comes to pipelines, it's the Capitol. The President is expected to talk about energy, though many in that industry are not impressed. They are even planning to protest his visit, calling it a political ploy more than a genuine interest. Mike Cantrell with the Domestic Energy Producers Alliance says, "For the last three years he's been anti-fossil fuels." Mickey Thompson, an energy industry expert and political analyst, says, "He calls our industry an industry of the past and they'd like us to go away." The President is expected to mention his support for a pipeline running from Payne County to the gulf; it's the southern end of the "Keystone XL Pipeline." Industry experts say while his support for the southern end is welcome, it's not needed. They build pipelines in the country all the time without needing presidential approval. The President's "green light" is only needed for approximately 50 feet on the northern end of the pipeline; that segment would cross the Canadian border. So far the President has delayed that project. Thompson says, "The President is using this, frankly, as a publicity stunt to say he's doing something against high gas prices." Cantrell says, "We take exception to the hypocrisy of standing before the largest crude oil facility in the world and saying anything about energy." Thompson and others in the industry are planning to be in Payne County with their equipment as a protest to what the President has to say. Thompson says, "We don't think it's disrespectful to the office of the President to come to Cushing as people in the oil and gas business to say, 'We don't buy this.'" It's unclear how much of Thursday's protest will be witnessed by President Obama. The event isn't open to the public or the protesters.  Read More: http://www.kfor.com/news/local/kfor-energy-workers-protest-pres-obamas-visit-20120320,0,6801959.story

Energy chiefs' message: Actions, not words, will determine energy future: Welcome to Oklahoma, President Obama. We hope you develop a better understanding of the oil and gas industry, one of the largest and most vibrant sectors in the United States, during your visit. As Americans, we share a mutual desire to power our nation with homegrown energy sources. We join you in wanting to secure our energy future by lessening our dangerous dependency on imported oil. No energy source can do more good for America than domestic oil and gas. You often mention the need for more well-paying jobs. Our companies are creating them - in particular, tens of thousands of every skill level from rig workers and truck drivers to top-flight engineers and Ph.D.s...Mr. President, your words suggest you want the economic benefits American natural gas and oil can deliver. We hope your actions follow suit - to date they have not.  (The authors lead Oklahoma City-based large independent oil and gas exploration and production companies Continental Resources, Chesapeake Energy, Devon Energy and SandRidge Energy.) Read more: http://newsok.com/energy-chiefs-message-actions-not-words-will-determine-energy-future/article/3659335#ixzz1pkjveOGD

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