55% of US Voters Oppose to Obama’s 7 Year Ban on Offshore Oil & Gas Drilling

Energy Independence … the big issue for 2012 Presidential election.

As gas prices rise toward $4 per gallon and higher, President Barack Obama once again finds himself on the wrong side of an issue with the American people. In a recent Rasmussen poll, 55% of likely US voters are opposed to Obama’s seven year ban on oil and gas drilling the off Eastern seaboard and in the eastern portion of the Gulf of Mexico.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds that 55% of Likely U.S. Voters now oppose the president’s seven-year ban on offshore oil and gas drilling in part of the Gulf and along the East coast. That’s a seven-point increase from 48% three months ago.  Thirty percent (30%) favor the offshore ban, down five points from the previous survey. Fifteen percent (15%) are undecided about it. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Energy independence is a national security issue, let alone one of oil/gas drilling and the economy with jobs.

However, as Americans continue to feel the pain at the gas pump, the Obama administration is only interested in appealing court decisions and delay deep water drilling applications to go through, provide more domestic oil drilling and more jobs. Also in a recent survey, 58% of Americans believe that gas prices will reach $5 per gallon by the beginning of summer. Which can also explain why 67% of American voters now support offshore oil drilling, up from 60% in the December survey.

Barack Obama and Democrats have some real issues when it comes to domestic drillingand energy policies with main stream American people and voters not affiliated with either party. Welcome to yet another issue for the 2012 election … energy independence. The United States of America can no longer be dependent on the Middle East.

• Sixty-nine percent (69%) of Republicans and 62% of voters not affiliated with either political party disagree with the president’s seven-year offshore oil drilling ban, while a plurality (46%) of Democrats support the policy.
• Republicans and unaffiliateds also feel more strongly than Democrats that the United States does not do enough to develop its own oil and gas resources.
• Seventy-four percent (74%) of Mainstream voters believe offshore drilling should be allowed, while 53% of the Political Class oppose it.