Conspiracy theory: Oil industry manipulating prices to get Obama out of office.

[GameOn]

If oil prices remain this high, I can see it really hurting Obama in 2012.

[Atman]

1. You is has a good point.

.

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. It happened to Carter

[crazylikafox]

3. I've had that thought myself. Aren't the Koch bros in the oil business?

Think they have enough money to influence the oil futures market?

[tularetom]

4. And they want him out of office why? So they can raise prices?

[lumpy]

7. They Repigs want him out of office so they can continue raping.

the USA. OK ?

[tularetom]

12. If they're already raping us as you point out

Why the hell would they want him out?

They are raping us now - WTF is going to change?

[LiberalFighter]

17. Most people are not going to be thinking logically.

This might be a good way to cast a bad light on the Republicans and reduce the impact on Obama.

[Mz Pip]

5. Or

the Obama Administration is manipulating the oil market to drive up the price of gas so he will have support when he decides to nationalize the industry. That's a right wing point of view.

A few years ago oil hit $140 a barrel and the price at the pump wasn't much different than it is now.

Ezra Klein wrote an interesting artile on oil prices. It's worth the read.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/if_only_speculation_explained_gas_prices/2011/04/27/AF70yqFF_blog.html?wprss=ezra-klein

[DefenseLawyer]

6. The administration has really taken on Big Oil.

They have suffered horribly under the iron boot of the Obama Administration. No offshore drilling, a windfall profits tax, criminal indictments for price fixing and collusion. Those bastards are quaking in their boots!

[scheming daemons]

8. So why did they raise prices in the summer of '08 then?

[Proud Liberal Dem]

9. That was my first thought too

and why not next year? Why THIS year? Not to say that the oil companies don't have some kind of plan/reason for doing what they're doing of course- and I'm sure that they want to see Obama out of office next year- but increasing their insane profits is really what's at the core of it IMHO (plus the fact that the Republicans won big last November too- the rise in gas prices didn't seem to start until right after the election). The right-wing (i.e. Boortz) are pushing the line that the high gas prices have something to do with Obama choosing Steven Chu for Energy Secretary and taking a comment of his from 2-3 years (probably taking it out of context and/or distorting it) as proof that they are conspiring to raise gas prices as high as they are in Europe (for what particular benefit I have no idea- of course, Boortz, et. al think that Obama/Democrats/Liberals are evil and are simply trying to destroy the country, so that's all the *reasoning* they need I suppose).

[jeanpalmer]

10. If it's a conspiracy

Obama is in on it. Because he fully supports the Fed's money creation policy, which is supporting the price increases. What's amazing is the price increases have been so modest. That's the way it always is in the first stage of an inflation -- people still remember the last price collapse and are hesitant to commit money, fearing another collapse. By the time the third stage -- the parabolic phase -- of price increase arrives, people will have discarded all fear and panic buying, as in July 2008, will be the norm.

[doc03]

11. The oil industry is raising prices because the American people

f----g stupid. This has been going on for over 3 decades now, gas prices go up for the summer driving season. Then when fall comes gas prices go down. When prices are up people go out and look at and even some buy a fuel efficient car. Then in the fall the when prices go down after the first snow flake they go out and buy a 6000# SUV. If you put a dog inside an electric fence he learns to keep his distance after being shocked a few times. What does it take for the American people to learn?

[Festivito]

13. All Repubs need to do is IMPLY gas would be lower under Repub governance.

When and if they win, gas would go up and talk about gas going up would magically disappear.

[Enrique]

14. the oil companies are making record profits under Obama

they keep breaking not just their own records, but the record profits for any corporation.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

15. I thought about that but. Why not do it a lot closer to the election? Unless these

goat fuckers are planning to keep prices inflated for a year and a half.

[DCKit]

16. +1 It really is too early. Unless they plan on taking us to $8/gallon by Nov. 2012.

We desperately need taxes on windfall profits + reregulation of all financial markets.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

18. I'm with you. Unless it's a warning to the administration. You know that old gangster type ''It'd be

shame if this nice country were to fall off a tall building. Capisce?"

[cliffordu]

19. YEP, they are trying to 'Carter' him....

[DCBob]

20. More likely they are manipulating prices to make money.

[TheFarseer]

21. China, India and a host of nations are using more oil

MUCH more oil. We're only making tentative efforts to get off of oil. We're not finding as much oil as we used to. This is basically supply and demand. Yes, speculators are driving oil up but we're at their mercy because essentially there is a finite amount of oil in the ground. This is not really so hard to figure out. There's no dark secret here. We need to get on electric cars or hydrogen cars or get more efficient ethanol than corn can provide before gas prices get totally out of hand and destroy our way of life as we know it.