Shaheen Reverses Herself on Oil Drilling

How rapidly has the pendulum swung on the issue of domestic drilling for oil?

So fast that former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen is rapidly dialing back her rhetoric on the issue, even distributing an e-mail to supporters in which senior advisor Judy Reardon insisted, “The fact is Jeanne Shaheen supports more domestic drilling.”

The facts are not flattering to the former governor in this regard, however.

On May 13th, Shaheen stated in a campaign press release, ‘“Drilling in ANWR and in the waters off our coasts will damage some of our nation’s most delicate natural environments, while the volume of oil it will produce will amount to a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of oil that we import into this country every day. More drilling is the answer the oil companies are looking for, not the answer New Hampshire families are looking for.”

Shaheen was also a vocal opponent of drilling for more domestic oil during her 2002 U.S. Senate race against John Sununu, whom she will face in a November rematch.

Shaheen’s reversal comes as public opinion has spiked sharply in favor of lifting the federal ban on offshore oil drilling.