Fiona Hill educates Democrats: Fracking hurts Putin – Banning fracking helps Putin

If you wanted to help Vladimir Putin, you would ban fracking.

Fiona Hill, a Russia expert and Democratic star witness in the impeachment hearings, made that clear in her testimony Thursday.

Questioned by Republican Rep. Mike Conaway on Thursday as to whether Putin views American fracking as a threat to his strategic interests, Hill was clear.

Putin, Hill said, has repeatedly made clear that the revolutionary energy extraction method is a “great threat to Russian interests.” Hill is absolutely right.

Sadly, however, Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee will ignore her important analysis and temporarily forget that she is one of the nation’s top Russia experts. After all, what Hill just said here fundamentally undercuts the Democratic argument that they, and not Republicans, are the guarantors of American security in the face of Putin’s aggression.

More in a moment on why Putin hates fracking. But let us first note that all the top Democrats running for president and their party at large are opposed to fracking. Indeed, if you listen to Kamala Harris talk about fracking you might think you’re actually listening to a Putin propagandist!

Okay. So why does Putin hate fracking so much?

Put simply, because fracking puts a price ceiling on the price of oil and gas. If conventional crude oil extraction companies are exporting at too high a price, fracking companies can undercut their margin. This price ceiling prevents Putin from adequately funding his security apparatus and thus imposing his foreign policy on the world.

The basic point is this: if you want to constrain Putin’s aggression short of using military force, the best way to do so is to expand fracking. And then expand fracking export opportunities to nations in Europe that would love the opportunity to escape their dependence on Russian energy and thus their vulnerability to Russian energy blackmail.

It’s very simple. Except for Democrats.