RJ Eskow's blog
Will High Gas Prices Be A Campaign Issue - Against Obama and the Democrats?
by RJ Eskow | June 14, 2008 - 12:42pm
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/15264Could high gasoline prices become a successful election-year sledgehammer - against Obama and the Democrats? That might seem unlikely, given that oil was trading at $24 a barrel when the GOP took office in 2001 and was floating between $134 and $140 this week. With a record like that, and a Republican Party dominated by oil interests and lobbyists, Democrats might be tempted to ask: How they're going to pull off a strategy like that - by declaring "Mission Accomplished"?
The answer might be "Yeah, pretty much." Remember, the Republicans won the 2004 election by combining audacious arguments with fear-mongering attacks on Democrats. Democrats would be unwise to assume that the Right isn't gearing up to do the same thing now.
In fact, there's evidence that they already are. Earlier this week the McCain camp attacked Obama by distorting some of his statements, claiming he had said American should "get used to higher gas prices" and suggesting he hoped that gasoline costs would continue to rise.
He had done nothing of the kind, of course. A transcript
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/06/12/1136149.aspx of the interview in question shows that Obama proposed interim tax relief for the cost of oil, combined with longer-term strategies for reducing U.S. oil consumption. As most policy experts know, reduced consumption would immediately lower household expenditures for oil (if you use less, you pay less) and could put downward pressure on prices by reducing demand.
When Obama noted that we "can't artificially lower gas prices," he was referring to the pandering "summer gas holiday" that McCain has adopted. He wasn't saying we shouldn't lower gas prices. He was merely pointing out that these types of gimmicks usually backfire, creating greater oil company profits without saving any money for consumers.
Now we have an extreme hard-Right group called "The Center for Individual Freedom"
http://www.cfiflistmanager.org/gasoline1he.html arguing, in shrieking capital letters, that "liberals and RINOs in Congress are actively and aggressively trying to RAISE THE PRICE OF GASOLINE!"
Did you miss that story? Everybody did. They go on to say:
"Just last week, the Senate attempted to pass the Boxer Climate Tax bill, a deceptive piece of legislation that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged would raise the price of gasoline at the pump BY ANOTHER $1.40 a gallon!"This is classic conservative name-switching, like calling the inheritance tax as "death tax." By "Boxer Climate Tax bill," they actually mean the "Lieberman-Warner climate bill." That bill was introduced by two John McCain supporters. One's a Republican (or should that be "both"?), and one is Sen. McCain's official "ball-bearing checker." Sen. Boxer was a cosponsor, and brought it to the Senate for a vote....
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NOW LOOK AT THE BULLSHIT FROM THESE WINGNUTS
"The Center for Individual Freedom" http://www.cfiflistmanager.org/gasoline1he.html<<snip>>
Question: Who's Primarily Responsible For High Gas Prices?
A. Oil-producing nations?
B. Big Oil?
C. The U.S. Government?
D. American Consumers?
The answer is C... your elected representatives in Washington, who -- terrified of Al Gore, radical environmental groups and the Chicken-Little media -- have voted again and again and again to restrict drilling and refining wherever and whenever we find oil.
In fact, the proof is in the pudding, so to speak.
When Liberals took control of Congress on January 4, 2007, the average price of gasoline in the United States was $2.33 per gallon. That means, under Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi's leadership, gas prices have skyrocketed a whopping $1.71 per gallon!
But is it fair to blame it all on the Liberal Congress?
Last month, the Senate held a vote on the American Energy Production Act of 2008 . The legislation would have, among other things, allowed oil exploration on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and in certain portions of the now-restricted areas of Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. A total of 48 Democrats and a handful of RINO Senators mustered up 56 votes to defeat the legislation.
Did you know that gasoline prices have shot up 32 cents per gallon since that vote was held on May 13th?
And many of the same Senators who worked to defeat the American Energy Production Act have voted literally dozens of times against opening a tiny sliver of ANWR to responsible oil and gas exploration.
And Majority Leader Reid had the gall to say this recently:
"We have tried to do some legislating on gas prices and we've been thwarted at every possible step. Again, how? With Republican filibusters."
Is he serious? Does he really believe his own nonsense or does he just take the American people for granted?
He actually blames the minority party for not going along with his attempts to raise gas prices through tax increases and unnecessary regulation as the reason gas prices are high?
And we thought we had heard it all.
It is time to pressure Congress to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. It is time to increase domestic production, which will jumpstart our struggling economy.
The American people will not tolerate attempts to revert back to the failed energy policies of the past.
It's time for real energy solutions.
Please join us in sending that message loud and clear.
<<snip>>
Yours In Freedom,
Jeff Mazzella
President
www.cfif.org
P.S. Please help us reach as many concerned Americans as possible by forwarding this e-mail to at least 10 of your friends and family members.
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