{"id":1346326,"date":"2022-02-27T00:07:30","date_gmt":"2022-02-27T05:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1346326"},"modified":"2022-02-27T00:08:06","modified_gmt":"2022-02-27T05:08:06","slug":"pinkerton-like-jimmy-carter-joe-biden-lost-the-energy-war-with-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pinkerton-like-jimmy-carter-joe-biden-lost-the-energy-war-with-russia\/","title":{"rendered":"Pinkerton: Like Jimmy Carter, Joe Biden Lost the Energy War with Russia\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpinkerton-like-jimmy-carter-joe-biden-lost-the-energy-war-with-russia%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1346326&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p><b><span style=\"font-size: larger;\">Carter 2.0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p>Why did the Russians invade Ukraine?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>One reason is that they could afford to. Vladimir Putin\u2019s neo-Tsarist empire has piled up an estimated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/02\/03\/world\/europe\/putin-sanctions-proofing.html\">$631 billion<\/a> in currency reserves.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>That\u2019s a lot of mad money, or should we say, <i>conquest money<\/i>. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>And a principal reason that Putin has all that wealth is that the Biden administration has been helping him, however inadvertently.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>How did Joe Biden help Putin?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Biden imposed energy scarcity on this country, thereby opening up more of the world market for the Russians to sell <i>their<\/i> energy.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>And because energy is scarcer, it\u2019s more expensive\u2014all good news for Putin and his military. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Yes, sadly, the Trump-era strategy of American <a href=\"https:\/\/trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov\/articles\/president-trump-is-restoring-american-energy-dominance\/\">energy dominance<\/a> gave way to Biden\u2019s plan for energy <i>shrinkage<\/i>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>All in the name, of course, of combating \u201cclimate change.\u201d <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>Indeed, the 46th president\u2019s sickly energy strategy brings to mind that of one his predecessors.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>That would be the 39th president, Democrat Jimmy Carter, who, like Biden, also presided over energy shrinkage, higher prices, and resulting strategic weakness.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_16240148\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-16240148\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/AP_890816708676.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1501\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Jimmy Carter delivers his energy speech, which became known as the \u201cmalaise\u201d speech, on television on July 15, 1979. (AP Photo\/Dale G. Young)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Okay, so <i>that\u2019s<\/i> depressing: The thought that we\u2019re living through Carter 2.0.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Yet here\u2019s an encouraging thought: We survived the sad-sack saga<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>of Carter, and then we triumphed when Carter was replaced, after a single term, by the 40th president, Ronald Reagan, who undid Carter\u2019s policies and, truly, made America great.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>So if we did it then, we can do it again: 2024 isn\u2019t that far away.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>And <i>that\u2019s<\/i> an encouraging thought.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll get to Reagan in a moment, but first, let\u2019s take a closer look at the Carterian present-day. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Russians have a lot of oil and gas reserves, the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_countries_by_proven_oil_reserves\">eighth largest<\/a> in the world, and they\u2019re selling\u00a0as much as they can; the country is the world\u2019s third-largest producer of oil, and the second-largest producer of natural gas.\u00a0In fact, in 2021, Russia exported $165 billion of <a href=\"http:\/\/Mr.%20Kushner%20has%20failed%20to%20secure%20much%20money%20in%20the%20Gulf,%20getting%20a%20clear%20no%20from%20the%20Qataris%20and%20Emiratis,%20who%20were%20discouraged%20by%20Mr.%20Kushner%E2%80%99s%20limited%20investment%20record,%20according%20to%20people%20familiar%20with%20those%20discussions.%20%E2%80%9CKushner%E2%80%99s%20fund%20didn%E2%80%99t%20make%20commercial%20sense%20for%20the%20Qataris,%E2%80%9D%20said%20a%20person%20familiar%20with%20their%20thinking.%20But%20his%20pitch%20has%20sparked%20debate%20in%20Saudi%20circles,%20where%20some%20officials%20believe%20an%20investment%20could%20pay%20off%20if%20Mr.%20Trump%20runs%20for%20and%20wins%20the%20White%20House%20again%20in%202024.%20Aides%20to%20Crown%20Prince%20Mohammed%20bin%20Salman,%20who%20developed%20a%20close%20relationship%20with%20the%20former%20president%E2%80%99s%20son-in-law,%20have%20advised%20him%20that%20Mr.%20Kushner%E2%80%99s%20ties%20to%20former%20U.S.%20and%20Israeli%20officials%20and%20Mr.%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20continued%20influence%20in%20the%20Republican%20Party%20could%20prove%20useful,%20according%20to%20people%20familiar%20with%20the%20matter.\">oil<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/1032435\/russia-natural-gas-export-value\/\">natural gas<\/a>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>That dollar total was up substantially from the year before because prices were zooming, in part because of the economic snap-back from Covid-19, and also because of the Biden administration\u2019s policy of unilateral disarmament\u2014more like a <i>universal clampdown<\/i>\u2014on oil and gas production.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>We all know that Biden cancelled the Keystone XL Pipeline on his very first day in office, and in the year since, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heritage.org\/energy-economics\/commentary\/bidens-many-anti-energy-policies-are-hurting-producers-consumers-alike\">Heritage Foundation<\/a> counts another dozen Biden anti-energy policies. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>So with less production in the U.S. (and the prospect of <i>much<\/i> less, investors don\u2019t just think short-term, they think long-term) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macrotrends.net\/1369\/crude-oil-price-history-chart\">oil<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macrotrends.net\/2478\/natural-gas-prices-historical-chart\">natural gas<\/a> prices surged in 2021, further bulging up the Russian treasury.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>In fact, energy exports account for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/markets\/europe\/russias-oil-gas-revenue-windfall-2022-01-21\/\">more than a third<\/a> of Russia\u2019s national budget.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<div id=\"attachment_20033466\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20033466\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-82504447-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1675\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">A column of Russian tanks moves on the road on August 21, 2008, not far from the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali. (KAZBEK BASAEV\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The embattled Ukrainians have noticed the financial source of Russian aggression.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Ukrainians have been saying all along that if the civilized world wants to deter Putin, it will have to hit him where he lives\u2014it will have to focus on energy, not little things that the Russian autocrat doesn\u2019t really care about.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWe need real sanctions, not just some problems for Putin\u2019s friends,\u201d Ukrainian lawmaker <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GoncharenkoUa\/status\/1496771259845296128\">Oleksiy Goncharenko<\/a> tweeted on February 24. \u201cWe need an embargo on Russian gas and oil because every barrel of Russian oil and every cubic meter of Russian gas is now full of the blood of Ukrainians.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>That\u2019s a good way to put it: <i>Russian hydrocarbons equals Ukrainian blood. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>Yet stupefyingly, for all the Biden administration\u2019s huffing and puffing about the Russian invasion, it has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2022\/02\/24\/russia-sanctions-ukraine-invasion-00011431\">not<\/a>\u2014repeat, <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/6151493\/russia-oil-gas-embargo-sanctions-ukraine\/\">not<\/a>\u2014sought to sanction, or in any way limit, Russian energy exports.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>As White House Deputy National Security Advisor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/press-briefings\/2022\/02\/24\/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-and-deputy-national-security-advisor-for-international-economics-and-deputy-nec-director-daleep-singh-february-24-2022\/\">Daleep Singh<\/a> said on February 24, \u201cTo be clear: Our sanctions are not designed to cause any disruption to the current flow of energy from Russia to the world.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Why not?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Why this sissy posture?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Because, in a word, the Europeans\u2014our allies in any possible action against Putinian aggression\u2014are dependent on Russian energy; Putin\u2019s pipelines supply about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/energy\/what-are-europes-options-case-russian-gas-disruption-2022-01-27\/\">35 percent<\/a> of Europe\u2019s natural gas. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20033266\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20033266\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-104321296.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1224\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with the deputy technical director of Nord Stream gas pipeline, Ruurd Hoekstra, as he visits the Solitaire ship in the Finnish Gulf, west of St. Petersburg, on September 20, 2010. (DMITRY LOVETSKY\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_20033530\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20033530\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-103718049.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1279\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vladimir Putin opens a throttle during the opening ceremony for the Russian section of the Russia-China oil pipeline in the far eastern region of Amur on August 29, 2010. (ALEXEY DRUZHININ\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>And why are the Europeans so energy dependent?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Well, mostly because they have chosen to go ecological; Europeans, inspired by visions of green goodness, have reduced their own carbon-extraction, and, at the same time, two European countries\u2014Belgium and Germany\u2014are shutting down their nuclear power plants.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>Instead, the Europeans plan to power their economy on wind and solar.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>(Although in the meantime, on their way to the green promised land, they say they\u2019re using Russian gas as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/news\/world\/articles\/2021-12-23\/belgium-commits-to-phasing-out-existing-nuclear-power-plants\">\u201ca bridge.\u201d<\/a>)<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Yet this green new deal is not working, because wind and solar simply lack the needed <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Erg\">ergs<\/a>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>In the words of energy expert <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearenergy.org\/articles\/2022\/02\/24\/standing_up_to_putin_means_ditching_net-zero_818493.html\">Rupert Darwall<\/a>, \u201cThe European Union is a paper empire.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Such weakness has strategic implications, including right now with the Ukraine crisis; in Darwall\u2019s words:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The dilemma for the West: you can\u2019t win a geopolitical conflict lasting years or decades with an economy powered intermittently by wind turbines and solar panels . . . Geopolitical realism requires energy realism.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Yet energy realism is precisely what the Europeans have lacked; they have let themselves be led by the likes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2022\/02\/24\/nolte-you-can-thank-environmentalists-invasion-ukraine\/\">Greta Thunberg<\/a>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>As one wiseguy <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/whatgives1313\/status\/1497147538008600577\">tweeted<\/a> recently, \u201cI don\u2019t know, maybe taking global energy advice from a scowling teenage girl wasn\u2019t the best idea after all.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20033362\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20033362\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-1232457998-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Joe Biden speaks during a climate change virtual summit on April 22, 2021, in Washington, DC, where he promised to slash U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 50 to 52 percent by 2030. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Unfortunately, there\u2019s plenty of Thunberg-like unreality, too, on the American side.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Biden\u2019s billionaire climate envoy, John Kerry, he of the many private jets and homes, is always doing his best to bring European fantasy values to the U.S.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>In the last few days, Kerry has been saying that even as Russian soldiers kill innocent people in Ukraine, he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2022\/02\/24\/john-kerry-roasted-for-hoping-putin-would-stay-on-track-with-climate-change\/\">trusts<\/a> that Putin will still abide by climate limits.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>(These limits were always <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JamesPPinkerton\/status\/1497419799382704128\">jokes<\/a> to the Russians.)<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>For his inevitably obtuse take on world events, Kerry is a perennial contender for <a href=\"https:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/UpperClassTwit\">upper class twit of the year<\/a>,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>One final irony here is that for all the greens\u2019 precious fantasies, as a matter of reality, their policies are making the atmospheric carbon dioxide issue <i>worse<\/i>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Nobody knows how much Russian military adventurism has contributed to atmospheric CO2, because the Russians have yet to file any environmental impact statements and have not allowed either Thunberg or Kerry to do an assessment.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>And yet we do know that the Russian T-72 tank gets about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quora.com\/What-was-the-fuel-mileage-of-the-T72-MBT\">.8 miles to the gallon<\/a>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>And the mileage of a MiG-35 fighter jet is even worse.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20033378\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20033378\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-1135956666.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students hold placards and shout slogans during a protest for climate change outside the Scottish Parliament on March 15, 2019, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Jeff J Mitchell\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_20033386\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20033386\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-1167860285.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Climate activist Greta Thunberg delivers remarks during a climate change protest outside the White House on September 13, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Sarah Silbiger\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>So that\u2019s the depressing present.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>It\u2019s as depressing under Biden today as it was under Jimmy Carter half a century ago.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Yet if we need some cheer, we might look back and see how a Republican president undid the damage done by that earlier Democrat.<\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"font-size: larger;\">What Reagan Did<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p>When Ronald Reagan was inaugurated on January 20, 1981, he inherited a weak U.S. energy position, palsied by price controls.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Carter had not imposed those controls, and yet he championed them, even as he sought to pile yet more regulation and taxation on the energy industry.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Yet paradoxically, during Carter\u2019s presidency, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macrotrends.net\/1369\/crude-oil-price-history-chart\">oil prices<\/a> had gone up, from less than $14 a barrel on the day Carter was sworn in, January 20, 1977, to $38 a barrel on the day he left office, four years later.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Why?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Because while U.S. production was shrinking in response to price controls, worldwide demand was surging, and there were no price controls on foreign oil.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>So it was simple: less supply + more demand = higher prices. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>One of the big beneficiaries of these higher prices was the Soviet Union\u2014the old Russian Empire with a red flag\u2014which, then as now, possessed huge energy reserves and a hunger for foreign conquest. Engorged with petro-wealth, the Soviets\/Russians expanded during the Carter years, in Cuba, in Africa, and, most fatefully, in Afghanistan.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>So long as America was weak, Moscow could be strong.<\/p>\n<p>Yet the strategic balance started to change on January 29, 1981, when President Reagan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/archive\/politics\/1981\/01\/29\/reagan-decontrols-gasoline-crude-in-deregulation-debut\/fa3134b7-f70a-4bdd-92be-3c92f43e6112\/\">decontrolled<\/a> oil prices.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>At the time, Democrats wailed; Sen. Howard Metzenbaum of Ohio called Reagan\u2019s move a \u201ctragedy.\u201d And yet predictably, in the wake of decontrol, American production increased.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Indeed, as world production rose as well, oil prices fell dramatically during Reagan\u2019s presidency; by 1986, oil was as low as $10 a barrel.<\/p>\n<p>This plummet in oil prices was catastrophic for the Soviet Union.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>As Russian journalist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rbth.com\/history\/331825-saudi-arabia-oil-crisis-ussr-collapse\">Georgy Manaev<\/a> explains,\u201cFor the USSR\u2019s economy\u2014already accustomed to exorbitant incomes from its oil, this was a death blow.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>In 1986 alone, the USSR lost more than $20 billion (approximately 7.5% of the USSR\u2019s annual income).\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>As economist <a href=\"https:\/\/thetyee.ca\/News\/2013\/03\/13\/Soviet-Union-Oil\/\">Andrew Nikiforuk<\/a> further explains,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWhen oil production, and its all-important revenues peaked, the Soviet Union lost the energy mojo that glued its empire together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We get the picture: If the Russians were riding high on high oil prices, then the way to bring them down was to cut the price of oil.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>And the way to do that was with more production. And that\u2019s what Reagan did.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20033306\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20033306\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-156375198.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1295\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Ronald Reagan (right) shakes hands with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on June 1, 1988, in the Kremlin during their last summit meeting. (MIKE SARGENT\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>But let\u2019s let President Reagan\u2019s son, <a href=\"https:\/\/townhall.com\/columnists\/michaelreagan\/2014\/03\/06\/putin-petroleum-and-pantyhose-n1804878\">Michael Reagan<\/a>, have the last word. Writing in 2014, at a time of another Russian-made crisis, when Putin conquered Crimea from Ukraine, the younger Reagan wrote:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I suggest that President Obama might want to study how Ronald Reagan defeated the Soviet Union.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>He did it without firing a shot, as we know, but he had a super weapon\u2014oil.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u2026\u00a0<\/span>Lower oil prices devalued the ruble, causing the USSR to go bankrupt, which led to perestroika and Mikhail Gorbachev and the collapse of the Soviet Empire.<b><br \/><\/b><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Not bad.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Of course, any success attributable to Reagan is going to be lost on most Democrats.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>To such folks, Carter is still likely a hero.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>And so in their minds, there\u2019s no reason to rethink their Thunberg-Kerry approach.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Thus <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/clips\/2022\/02\/24\/van-hollen-have-to-be-less-reliant-on-oil-gas-over-time-because-russia-has-important-share-of-market-dont-regret-axing-keystone\/\">Sen. Chris Van Hollen<\/a>, Democrat of Maryland, is happy to say that he has no regrets about shutting down U.S. energy and has no plans to open anything up.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Thus Ukraine, and perhaps other countries on Russia\u2019s hit-list, are to be sacrificed on the altar of environmental correctness.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0And at the same time, another Democrat, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bradsherman\/status\/1497325120582471684?s=11\">Rep. Brad Sherman<\/a> of California, is urging a big\u00a0foreign producer to increase its output:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Saudi Arabia \u2013 now is your chance to be an ally or an enemy of those standing against Russia&#8217;s attack on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Ukraine?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Ukraine<\/a>. Saudi Arabia must open taps and produce more oil so the world can turn its back on Russian oil. Otherwise, the blood of Ukrainians is also on Saudi Arabia&#8217;s hands.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Congressman Brad Sherman (@BradSherman) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BradSherman\/status\/1497325120582471684?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 25, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>That\u2019s not a bad idea, as in addition to defunding Putin, we would all benefit from lower energy prices, including lower gas prices. However, it\u2019s passing strange that Sherman would suggest to a foreign country that it produce more, while not taking the same suggestion about his own country, the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately for America, Republicans are remembering their Reagan heritage.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>We should be, they say, in effect,<em> the arsenal of energy<\/em>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>And so for instance, Republican Sens. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HawleyMO\/status\/1497015792789073920\">Josh Hawley<\/a> of Missouri, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SenatorTimScott\/status\/1496987101447004160\">Tim Scott<\/a> of South Carolina, and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SenBillCassidy\/status\/1497221268160004099\">Bill Cassidy<\/a> of Louisiana have all put forth plans for energy dominance\u2014and plenty of other GOPers have the exact same idea.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody wants American troops fighting in Ukraine.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>And history shows that we can beat the Russians the way Reagan did, without firing a shot.<\/p>\n<p>We just need a president like Reagan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Carter 2.0 Why did the Russians invade Ukraine?\u00a0One reason is that they could afford to. Vladimir Putin\u2019s neo-Tsarist empire has piled up an estimated $631 billion in currency reserves.\u00a0That\u2019s a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1346326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1346326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1346326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1346326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1346326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1346326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1346326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}