GOP blames Obama on oil prices. Running on empty.

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>>> americans looking at the price of gas at the pump these days are justifiably upset. what they don’t realize is some in the administration are working to actively decrease our oil production at home.

>> the gop is slamming president obama as you just saw over rising oil prices. and in my opinion, and according to the facts with we’re about to show you, that is absolutely ridiculous. and it wasn’t just mitch mcconnell. john boehner also piled on this week, saying obama has consistently blocked with efforts to increase domestic oil production. they’re saying it’s obama’s fault that gas prices are high. it’s true gas prices are up, up 7 cents from a week ago and 76 cents from a year ago. president obama argues this is because of what’s happening in libya and the rest of the middle east.

>> there’s uncertainty in terms of what’s happening in the middle east. a lot of this has to do with uncertainty in the market.

>> so who’s right? the republicans or president obama? now, if you watch this show on a regular basis, you know that i often disagree with the president. this is not one of those times. in this case, he’s only 100% correct. look at this the chart. the day before the uprising in libya, february 14, oil prices were covering just around the $90 mark. the first protetests in libya happened the next day and prices soon started hitting new levels at just under $107 a few days level. now they’re around the $100 ballpark. libya is now producing less than a million barrels of oil per day than they had been. and as you saw in that chart, it’s an open and shut case. libya happens, prices go up. you would have to be crazy or a republican to disagree. and as always, besides blaming obama is more drilling at home. the theory is if we drill, baby, drill prices will come down.

>> we want it to be $60 a barrel or $50 a barrel. and the way to do it is to produce more in america.

>> i will say this for the billionth time in a run, until it gets through their thick skulls. when we drill in america. we don’t get the oil. they don’t drive up to your house and say hey, bob, thanks for the oil in the gulf of mexico. here it is. the oil companies keep it and make bigger profits. but the republicans know that because that’s who they’re working for. you want proof? look at that same legislator defending oil companies right here. .

>> over time, if you put disincentives against any u.s. manufacturer or production company or oil and gas exploration they’ll go out of business.

>> did you hear that? the congressman just said they would go out of business. that was in the context of hey, should we give them oil subsidies and all of those tax breaks? he’s saying if we don’t give them the tax breaks the oil companies will go bankrupt. what a joke that is. look at these numbers. exx exx exxonmobil made profit of $19 billion in 2009. it was the second most profitable company in the world. chevron made almost $11 billion. it was the world’s 29th most profitable company. and conoco phillips, oh, poor guys. they’ll small potatoes. they only made $4.9 billion in 2009. and these guys need tax breaks or they’ll go out of business? they can’t possibly believe that. in fact, they don’t. the republicans have just become shameless. they think they can’t lose so they’re pretty much admitting yeah, we work for the oil companies. i would like to give them more of money. for the record, as they blame obama for high gas price, how did george w. bush do on the same issue. when we came into office, the average price was $1.48. by the time he left it was $3.25. and that’s over an eight-year period. it doesn’t have fluctuations over libya or the middle east. that’s a huge discrepancy. you know what we call that? oops. i guess if you want to blame a president for it, you’re blaming the wrong president. you should blame george w. bush. now with me is congressman mark key on the house energy and commerce committee. first of all, i mean, really? really? they think if we don’t give the oil company subsidies theyer.

>> going to go bankrupt? and they can’t see that chart where after libya, the gas prices take off. so my question to you, congressman, are they on the level? do they actually believe what they’re saying or do they think they’re not going to find out. let’s just lie.

>> they’re blaming obama when they should be blaming opec. this is not an act of god. this is an act of gadhafi which has led to this price spike. and they are contending in congress that the answer is larger tax breaks for oil companies. well, at $100 a barrel for oil, subsidizing the oil companies to drill for more oil would be like subsidizing a bird to fly or a fish to swim. you don’t have to do it. they’re going to do it anyway in their own economic interest. but they’ve already bid for public lands in the united states where there is oil that is the size of new mexico and they have yet to begin their drilling on that land. and i think what we should do is instead of giving them tax breaks to start putting tax burdens on them unless and until they start drilling here in the united states on the land that the american people have given them to drill.

>> yeah. you know, you have an interesting theer tri, i believe. do you think that the republican party is interested in keeping us addicted to foreign oil?

>> i think they really do the bidding of the oil industry. look, we only produce 7 million barrels of oil a day in the united states. we imho port 13 million barrels oil a day. of that, about half of it comes from opec. we should be telling opec we don’t need your oil any more than we need your sand. the only way to do that is to have a wind, a solar, a geothermic revolution in our country that backs that oil out of our system. instead, the republicans in the budget which they passed in the house of representatives just two weeks ago kills all of these programs. tells the epa that they won’t be able to increase the fuel economy standards of the vehicles which we drive. that we can’t have higher standards for airplane fuel economy standards, for trains, for all of the places where we put the oil we consume. and opec grins and smiles as their profits go up. the oil companies grill and smile as their oil profits get up. and the republicans on the floor and the senate blame barack obama for what is happening. but the one thing they’re wrong on is the american people know the oil companies, because of opec and there’s no way they’re going to be blaming obama.

>> that’s a interesting interesting point. if you think they’re interested in the american people then it doesn’t make sense. but if they’re interested in the people paying their bills, the oil companies, then you wouldn’t want alternative energy, you would want us to be addicted to the oil companies financing the republicans. so that’s a very interesting point. and my last point on this is, what happened to the free market? i thought these guys said they’re in favor of the free market. now they say no, no, give all the tax breaks and subsidies to the oil companies.

>> well, that’s what happened in the last congress. president obama proposed an energy revolution of using new technologies. and henry waxman and i were able to pass 245 bill throuthat bill through the house. but in the senate, it was oklahoma oil and kentucky coal that killed that bill that would have us on its way. big oil, big coil, they got us what we wanted and we’re now paying the price at the pump.

>> congressman, thank you so much for joining us tonight. now,