Since
June FOX and Friends have been promoting
Newt Gingrich's "Drill here, drill now, save money" falsehood, convincing viewers that if those mean old Democrats in Congress would only agree to lift the 27-year-old ban on off-shore drilling, gas prices would tumble. Now that those Dems have given up the fight and the ban expired this morning, the Friends are showing skepticism that there'll be any savings, and have finally admitted to their followers that it will be 5-10 years, not
1 or
2 as they hinted.
With video.
Viewers have been repeatedly told that drilling offshore and in ANWR would get us on the path to energy independence and keep our money at home rather than being sent to "people who hate us." The big giveaway to oil companies was portrayed as our best hope, ignoring the facts that we consume 25% of the world's production and only have 3% or the world's reserves, and that once the oil is extracted (all we have to do is "punch a hole in the ground and suck it out" like a juice box) the oil goes into the global market, where its price is set by global demand. Viewers were urged to sign Gingrich's petition and to contact their representatives, which they did in great numbers as gas prices hit record highs (for Americans) this summer. Now the Friends are expressing skepticism that it will make us any more independent, and warn viewers that it will take years.
One has to wonder what made these people parrot the lines fed to them so enthusiastically. Brian Kilmeade has applauded and cheered the lapse of the ban and they have all spoken with such vehemence about the Democrats resisting letting the ban expire. Now that they realize they've been played for fools - again - they'll just cheerfully go on to the next big propaganda item. Must be one hell of a paycheck attached.
http://www.newshounds.us/2008/10/01/extra_extra_fox_friends_tell_viewers_truth.php