State GOP chairman says party to support oil drilling

South Carolina's Republican Party chairman came out Wednesday in support of a campaign to allow oil exploration off the coast of South Carolina and other states, an idea that concerns environmental and tourism interests, and is opposed by many Democratic leaders and candidates.

According to the state GOP, party Chairman Katon Dawson is the first Republican Party chairman in the country to endorse the "Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less." campaign launched by American Solutions, an organization chaired by former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Federal rules allow gas and oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, but there has been a moratorium on drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts for 26 years. Oil companies, with some Republican support, have long sought to lift the moratorium, even though actual oil production would take 10-15 years if drilling were permitted today.

On the Democratic side, though, National Committee member Waring Howe, Jr., of Charleston said, "it would offer no immediate relief from the tremendous burden posed by rising gas and oil prices."

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