1115.org

Headline writing for Reuters appears to have been outsourced to The Onion. What else can explain this: U.S. refiners seek to be heard on energy policy:

With a Democratic-controlled Congress putting their industry in its legislative cross-hairs, U.S. refiners gathering in San Antonio for their annual meeting said on Sunday they have to make sure their point of view is heard on energy policy.

“At the end of the day, they have a point of view,” National Petrochemical & Refiners Association Chairman Jim Mahoney said of the new Congress.

“We’ve got to get our members together and get their point of view out there in the debate,” said Mahoney, vice president of operations at privately held Koch Industries.

On second thought, maybe Reuters is playing it straight and The Onion is actually advising Big Oil on PR strategy. I know Big Time finally won the court battle to keep his energy task force buddy list secret, but we all know who was there. And what was the result for the same National Petrochemical & Refiners Association? Exactly what they wanted:

President George W. Bush allowed an increase in oil refinery mergers to go unchecked since he took office and may have contributed to the highest gasoline prices in 20 years as the November election approaches.

And:

The reaction to the President’s statement was predictable – industry likes it, conservation groups do not.

The National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) President Bob Slaughter said his organization “welcomes and supports President Bush’s call for swift passage of comprehensive energy legislation in this Congress.” NPRA is a national trade association whose members include the owners and operators of virtually all U.S. refining capacity as well as major U.S. petrochemical manufacturers.

The administration has already heard from the NPRA and the rest of the energy industry. So has Congress. It’s time to take a look at what giving them what they asked for has shaken out. And it’s probably time to hear from groups of people who don’t appear on Bush’s list of Rangers and Pioneers.