While They're In St. Paul...

...the GOP might want to keep one eye on the Weather Channel or something.

Nearly three years to the day after hurricane Katrina plowed into the Louisiana coast on August 29, 2005, Port Fourchon is still a glaring Achilles heel in the vulnerable U.S. energy supply chain.

Now Port Fourchon and coastal cities like New Orleans are staring down the barrel of Tropical Storm Gustav, which could come ashore next week as the worst hurricane since 2005.

The 1,600-acre (647-hectare) complex is the support nerve center for over half of all offshore drilling operations, and serves 90 percent of the Gulf's deepwater oil installations.

Hundreds of large workboats chug between Port Fourchon and the rigs every day, carrying workers, heavy equipment and necessities that range from pipe, drilling mud and diesel fuel to groceries and drinking water.

All those supplies come to Port Fourchon by truck or barge via Louisiana Highway 1 and a waterway called Bayou Lafourche.

Nobody should ever have to go through Katrina again. But you know what? Hurricanes happen. The government needs to be there when there's a disaster. Oh, and PS:

"We play a critical role in 15 to 18 percent of the entire nation's oil supply," Falgout said. "If the Lafourche corridor takes a severe hit, everyone in this country will feel the impact."

Yeah, think about that for a second with gas prices about $3.70 and oil having risen about 8 bucks a barrel to $120 in the last couple days. Gustav gets anywhere near Louisiana and it'll be $4.99 a gallon overnight.

Hurricane in the Gulf was going to happen eventually. During the RNC? Well maybe somebody up there is trying to tell us something.