Current legislative controversies so far have been pushed to the back burner at this convention by Hurricane Gustav and by the ongoing scrutiny of Sarah Palin — but Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina said that conservatives should be particularly excited by one issue that soon will come to a head.
“Oct. 1 is Energy Freedom Day,” he said. He explained that if Congress does not act to pass new legislation by Sept. 30 that extends the federal prohibitions on offshore drilling, those prohibitions will expire even without a congressional vote.
He said that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is threatening to attach an extension of the offshore drilling ban to legislation keeping the whole government operating in lieu of individual spending bills. DeMint said he expects at least 40 Republican votes to stand firm against the drilling ban no matter what.
