Kamala Harris' Energy Plan Is Exactly What Putin Needs To Make Russia Dangerous Once Again
Russian President Vladimir Putin could very well be a direct beneficiary of the environmental plans Sen. Kamala Harris pledged to implement if she were elected commander in chief in 2020.
President Donald Trump has proudly touted that the United States has become energy independent and the top oil producer in the world during his watch, but Harris would reverse those gains.
Trump has facilitated taking America to a place of energy dominance by slashing regulations, opening more federal lands and off shore areas to oil exploration and green-lighting projects like the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines.
At a CNN town hall on Wednesday, Harris promised that she would ban offshore oil drilling, as well as fracking on public and private lands. Fracking is used to extract both natural gas and oil from shale.
Kamala Harris comes out in favor of a federal ban on fracking, and against Americans having affordable energy.pic.twitter.com/DZWidzsbqz
— BlazeTV (@BlazeTV) September 4, 2019
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 6.5 million barrels of oil were extracted from shale per day in 2018, making up approximately 59 percent of the country’s crude oil production.
The U.S. also surpassed Russia in 2018 as the top oil producer in the world and became a net exporter of crude oil for the first time in 75 years.
Russia’s economy is highly dependent on selling oil on the world market, and the more crude oil available means lower prices, which hurts Putin’s regime.
Trump has pointed this fact out on multiple occasions, when accused by Democrats and members of the media of doing the Russian leader’s bidding.
Earlier this year, Trump tweeted, “’Gas prices drop across the United States because President Trump has deregulated Energy and we are now producing a great deal more oil than ever before.’@foxandfriends.”
“But this is bad news for Russia, why would President Trump do such a thing? Thought he worked for Kremlin?” he added.
“Gas prices drop across the United States because President Trump has deregulated Energy and we are now producing a great deal more oil than ever before.” @foxandfriends But this is bad news for Russia, why would President Trump do such a thing? Thought he worked for Kremlin?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2019
“That takes us back to Harris,” the Washington Examiner’s Tom Rogan said regarding a fracking ban. “Her ban would be a gift to the Russian leader. It would strengthen his rule and his central foreign policy objective: degrading U.S. influence, power, and international order.”
“Thus, even aside from the great domestic benefits that fracking has brought in jobs and a domestic energy price cap, Harris’ ban is a foreign policy disgrace deserving common disdain,” he continued.
Rogan noted that other Democratic candidates have come out in opposition of fracking as well, including Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
“Where does this leave us?” the columnist concluded. “With a party full of people who actually support Vladimir Putin and his agenda, all the while thinking themselves very clever for calling the Senate Majority Leader ‘Moscow Mitch.’ And Harris is arguably the worst among them.”
The California senator, her fellow Democrats and much of the mainstream media have spent the last two years accusing Trump of being Putin’s puppet.
These accusations have rolled in despite the actions he has taken that are clearly not in Russia’s interest, including strengthening the U.S. military, pushing NATO countries to strengthen their defenses and facilitating America’s oil production boom.
Meanwhile Harris has just pledged on national television to end America’s oil production dominance, an act that would undeniably strengthen Putin’s hand.
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