During a campaign stop in Athens County last week, Republican congressional candidate Fred Dailey stressed his difference from Democratic incumbent Zack Space on energy policy – specifically, in Dailey’s willingness to drill for oil domestically.

“Zack Space won’t drill – I will,” declared Dailey, who is challenging Space for Ohio’s 18th U.S. House seat. The geographically large district comprises all or part of 16 southern Ohio counties, including a small portion of northern Athens County.

Dailey, a former head of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, made a campaign stop at the BP on Chestnut Street in Nelsonville Thursday as part of what he’s calling a “five-day energy tour.”

During his appearance, he pumped a tank of gas for Athens County Republican Party chair Pete Couladis, and talked about his plans for helping the United States achieve “energy independence,” through a combination of offshore oil drilling, increased use of coal, and development of alternative energy sources.

This country needs “a second declaration of independence,” focusing on energy, Dailey told a small gathering of reporters and political backers.

“One of the most important things we can do right now is address this issue,” Dailey said. Given the widespread concern about rising gasoline prices, he said, “people tell me, Congress must be tone-deaf.”

Dailey said he supports drilling for oil in North America’s outer continental shelf, and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). “I believe we have to get into the business of extracting that oil,” he suggested.

He said Space has not supported drilling in these areas, but added that his opponent’s position on this issue may have changed recently.

Despite his willingness to pursue more domestic oil drilling, Dailey insisted that he’s committed to protecting the environment. “I’m a Teddy Roosevelt conservationist,” he declared.

Dailey also called for more exploitation of America’s coal reserves, making the well-worn observation that the United States is “the Saudi Arabia of coal,” with enormous reserves of the mineral under its land mass.

“We also need to be building more oil refineries,” Dailey said. “We haven’t built a (new) plant in 30 years.”

Dailey also expressed a cautious enthusiasm for alternative fuels such as ethanol. As a working farmer, he said, “I’ve had a lot of experience with biofuels.” He admitted that he is “conflicted” about the value of ethanol, but said he thinks it can be useful as “a fuel additive, a fuel extender” added to gasoline.

In answering questions from reporters, Dailey seemed to acknowledge that drilling in the ANWR and offshore won’t provide an immediate fix for U.S. energy needs.

“We’re not going to become energy independent overnight,” he admitted. However, he stressed, it is crucial that the United States break its dependence on oil-rich countries that may not share American values – “some of them are dependable, some of them are our allies, some are not,” he said.

In this context, Dailey mentioned support for the state of Israel as one criterion of whether a country is a reliable U.S. ally or not.

In any case, Dailey said, developing new energy supplies is an absolute necessity.

“At some point in time, we will run out of fossil fuels, especially oil,” he said. “We need to (find new energy sources), and we need to do it now.”

Dailey also answered questions about the Russian military intervention in Georgia, and about the U.S. military occupation of Iraq.

“Only time will tell what Russia will do,” he observed. “But Russia’s saying to us that we need to be energy independent.”

He noted that if Russia does retake control of its former satellite Georgia, it will have control of both the oil-and-gas pipeline routes out of the Caspian Sea region.

Regarding the U.S. involvement in Iraq, Dailey expressed dismay at the situation, but resolutely avoided the idea of setting a deadline for U.S. troop withdrawal.

As a military veteran, he said, “I know the horrors of war,” but added that he also understands that “at some points in time, wars become unavoidable.”

If elected to Congress, Dailey said, one of his first priorities would be to visit Iraq for a first-hand look at the situation.

Dailey said he believes “the Iraqi people need to control their own destiny,” but rejected the idea of setting a timetable for pulling out U.S. troops.

“That tells the enemy what the surrender date is,” he argued.

He also compared current anti-war efforts to those he saw during the U.S. involvement of Vietnam.

“I had to put up with Jane Fonda when I was in Vietnam, and now I have to put up with Nancy Pelosi,” he joked.