...By his own count, Bartlett has given 48 hourlong floor addresses since March 14, 2005 –– far more than anyone else, and almost all of them on peak oil, the notion that when oil production begins to decline, prices will skyrocket and bring the world economy to its knees.
With oil prices in the stratosphere, is it time to start listening to the House of Representatives’ Chicken Little?
“I don’t tune in, sorry,” Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) says, echoing the sentiments of a number of his colleagues. Last Thursday, not a single member of the House entered the chamber while Bartlett was speaking.
Fellow Maryland Republican Wayne Gilchrest says that when colleagues approach him on the House floor for help on an energy-related issue, he often suggests they talk to Bartlett. But “they don’t want to hear from Roscoe,” says Gilchrest, who is retiring after losing a primary challenge from the right.
Bartlett has heard it before.
“They don’t particularly like what I say, and so they ignore me,” he concedes — but he continues to say it anyway. “This ‘drill here, drill more, pay less’ is a great mantra, and it’s hurting the Democrats. But you need to finish that: ‘And screw your kids and your grandkids,’ because that’s what we’re doing.”
Politico
