American Solutions deserves thanks for pushing politicians to support Drill Here, Drill Now

Townhall.com
August 21, 2008
By Matt Towery

If John McCain and the GOP want to thank someone for helping turn around what seemed a dead-in-the-water campaign in a matter of weeks, they can thank former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Gingrich chose not to enter the 2008 presidential race, but his decision to use his "think tank" American Solutions organization to push for a "Drill Here, Drill Now" petition back in the spring is likely the source of John McCain's miraculous rebound in the polls.

It was the former speaker who zeroed in on this popular message while Republican House and Senate members and McCain seemed to be drifting all over the place in an attempt to find a "sweet spot" with the American electorate. During the summer, Gingrich met several times with the Republican House Conference and encouraged them to dig in their heels by demanding that the Democratic leadership return to Washington and address the issue of providing states the right to determine if and where exploration for oil and natural gas can take place.

Certainly John McCain deserves credit for pushing the issue, and governors like Florida's Charlie Crist helped McCain along by saying they support such a move. But make no mistake about it, it was Gingrich who was pushing this issue even before gas prices had hit the roof and the issue of energy became the top issue among voters.

House Republicans have openly given the former speaker the credit for energizing them at a time when all hope seemed lost.

. ..And Gingrich's influence on the policy debate in this election is likely not through. His Center for Health Transformation has promoted numerous innovations related to healthcare. And with the issue ranking as one of the other major ones on the minds of voters, I'll be shocked if Newt doesn't add a significant push toward health care reform to his agenda. Now the question is, will the McCain team embrace Gingrich's health related agenda, or will Obama decide not to wait another 10 years to ride one of Newt's "big ideas"?