I think most Democrats in Congress went to college, though there is seldom any outward sign of it. While there, they undoubtedly learned about the law of supply and demand. Unlike the Democrats’ opinions about the economy, it is called the law of supply and demand because it is not open for interpretation or opinion. It is what it is. You don’t get to spin it.
The booming economies in China and India are sucking massive amounts of oil, which causes the price to rise. Federal gasoline taxes cause the price to rise. The way to lower that price is to increase supply and cut the taxes.
The Democrats won’t do it. And there can be no other reason for it than to keep the gas prices high so the voters blame the Republicans for it in November. The Democrats (not surprisingly) are punishing the American people for their own political gain.
Newt Gingrich should sit McCain down and tell him to make gas prices the single issue around which he bases his energy policy. High gas prices are not an abstract concept. Voters understand them, hate them, and unless McCain makes it his issue, they may single-handedly kill the Republicans in November.
But McCain can beat them at their own game. Newt Gingrich has three ways to lower gas prices. McCain should pay attention.
If McCain answers every energy question in terms of lowering gas prices, he will own this issue. Drilling everywhere we can will lower gas prices. More nuclear power plants will cause a drop in gas prices. You want gas prices lower, build some new refineries. Kind of, “It’s A Supply Thing, Stupid” approach.
The Democrats are absolute sitting ducks on this issue. They won’t allow us to drill our own huge reserves that are located in places where no one has ever been and no one will never go. This week they tried, and failed, to raise taxes on oil company profits, which would have increased the price of gas.
Obama even opposes suspending the federal gasoline tax for the summer, despite having voted three times for a gas tax holiday when he was in the Illinois legislature.
Obama also says that high gas prices aren’t really the problem, it is just that they went up too fast.
McCain should remind voters what Nancy Pelosi said 2 years ago.
With skyrocketing gas prices, it is clear that the American people can no longer afford the Republican Rubber Stamp Congress and its failure to stand up to Republican big oil and gas company cronies. Americans this week are paying $2.91 a gallon on average for regular gasoline – 33 cents higher than last month, and double the price than when President Bush first came to office.
“With record gas prices, record CEO pay packages, and record oil company profits, Speaker Hastert and the Majority Congress continue to give the American people empty rhetoric rather than join Democrats who are working to lower gas prices now.
“Democrats have a commonsense plan to help bring down skyrocketing gas prices by cracking down on price gouging, rolling back the billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies, tax breaks and royalty relief given to big oil and gas companies, and increasing production of alternative fuels.”
And now, two years after winning control of Congress, gas is $4.00 per gallon, and the Democrat Congress has done nothing.
In April of this year, she sent a letter to President Bush with some great solutions.
On Thursday, Pelosi urged President Bush to stop suspend deliveries to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. She also has called on Bush and congressional Republicans to work with Democrats to pass legislation to crack down on gasoline price gouging, hold OPEC accountable for price fixing and end tax breaks for oil companies and invest the savings in renewable energy.
No drilling. No gas tax reduction. No exploration. Her solution: Investigation and Litigation.
McCain should beat Obama like a rented mule with this issue and he will win over the bitter clingers whose weekly household incomes are being hobbled by high gas prices. It is a winning issue, because people care about the freakin’ endangered blind mole-rat right up until the time they figure out that the rat is the reason they can’t afford the gas to get to work to feed the family. Then they’ll want to run the little bastards over.
H/T Hot Air
Also find Bill Dupray at The Patriot Room.