And the Oklahoma GOP is AWOL...

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Tennessee Republican Party endorses domestic drilling

NASHVILLE, TN - Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Robin Smith joined South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson in endorsing the “Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less.” campaign encouraging Congress to act immediately to approve offshore drilling, among other proposals to access oil in the United States. …

To read this entire article, click here: http://www.tngop.org/wordpress/2008/07/10/tennessee-republican-party-endorses-domestic-drilling/

Charleston Post & Courier:

GOP head backs oil drilling
By David Slade
Thursday, July 10, 2008

South Carolina's Republican Party chairman announced support Wednesday for a campaign to allow oil exploration off the coast of South Carolina and other states, an idea that concerns environmental and tourism interests and is opposed by many Democratic leaders and candidates.

According to the state GOP, party Chairman Katon Dawson is the first Republican Party chairman in the country to endorse the "Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less." campaign launched by American Solutions, an organization chaired by former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

"If we take the bold step to cultivate energy resources here at home, we will not only break our dependence on foreign oil, we will also bring meaningful relief to hardworking families who are experiencing unprecedented pain at the pump as gas prices continue to skyrocket," Dawson said.

Federal rules allow gas and oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, but there has been a moratorium on drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts for 26 years. Oil companies, with some GOP support, have long sought to lift the moratorium. …

"It's about releasing the grip that oil dictators have on our economy," he said. "It's not just drilling offshore. It's solar power and wind power."

Dawson also said environmental concerns are a high priority for everyone, including oil companies.

"We have wonderful technology and good, fine, responsible companies," he said. …

To read this entire article, click here: http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/jul/10/gop_head_backs_oil_drilling47041/