After reading U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly's op-ed ("Time to end our oil dependency," Acorn, May 23) I have only this to ask: Where has he been for the last seven years?

Gallegly's op-ed reads like a desperate attempt to redirect blame for the energy crisis we are in.

That's right, the last time this happened that is what they called it: an "energy crisis." Things must be pretty bad if someone in Elton's position is "feeling the pinch" of energy costs. Imagine how the rest of us feel?

His mentioning of President Clinton and Secretary Richardson in a lame attempt to frame this as a Democraticcaused issue is disingenuous at best.

Let me remind him that for most of the last decade congress was fully in Republican hands, and, since GWB took office, they have had an iron grip on policy.

Gallegly goes on to blame the high price of gas/oil on the lack of drilling in the ANWR and the lack of refining capacity.

While these may play a part, he is ignoring the fact that during the last seven years the Bush administration, which he has voted in lock step with, has started an unnecessary and ongoing war in the region that has destabilized the flow of Middle Eastern oil and has ignored the repeated call for reductions in fossil fuel emissions and a redirection to renewable energy resources indicated by global warming research (something the man who was actually elected in 2000 would not have done.)

Congressman Gallegly has consistently voted in favor of the policies that have brought us to this place.

It is the failed policies of the Bush administration- a war of choice, letting oil companies write energy policy, ignoring scientific data on global warming- policies that he has backed 95 percent of the time, that are the major cause of our dependence on foreign oil.

He is as much to blame for the situation we are now in as anyone for blindly following Bush's lead. He says that 10 years ago he was the lone voice of reason when it came to energy policy?

The truth is, you, sir, have done nothing to prevent this and everything to encourage it through your support of GWB's policies. Rick Plewa Simi Valley