Why are we punishing the poor and middle class here?

This article has a good take on the current energy policy of the United States.  Interestingly, the author is a Democrat who is taking the current administration to task for their tightened regulations on deep water drilling.  The rise in energy prices punishes those at the bottom of the economic ladder the hardest, since they have the least amount of flexibility in their budget to deal with sudden spikes in gas prices.

I really don't understand why we are refusing to harvest our own resources and insist on importing oil from countries that do not have our best interest at heart.  I'm sure this will be a presidential campaign issue,