And The Politico is not particularly happy about it, but has a rather difficult time defending Obama
Gasoline prices are on the rise, and Republicans are licking their chops.
It’s a familiar refrain: Once again, GOP lawmakers and conservative commentators are on the attack, blaming President Barack Obama for higher prices at the pump. And they’re promoting a “drill, baby drill†agenda as the answer.
It’s a familiar refrain because Obama seems hell bent on seeing gasoline prices skyrocket, as he stated during the 2008 election cycle. What has he done to even attempt to bring prices down? He nixed Keystone XL. He put a stop to deepwater drilling in the Gulf after the BP spill, and has never truly allowed them to restart. He’s stopped most new offshore drilling. He did give billions to Brazil for deepwater drilling, and now Brazil is going to give the oil to China. The only new oil projects started sine 2009 are those in which Obama had no choice and/or no way to stop them.
The Washington Examiner columnist Paul Bedard used gas prices to attack Obama’s push to extend the payroll tax cut.
“Forget all the happy talk about how Americans, flush with their $1,000 payroll tax cut set to be extended by Congress, will be hitting the mall to spend, spend, spend. That cool grand won’t even cover the surge in gas prices under President Obama and will have to be nearly doubled if summer predictions of $5 regular come true,†Bedard wrote.
The average price of regular unleaded gasoline was $1.89 a gallon the week Barack Obama took office in January 2009, according to the Energy Information Administration. That was in the middle of the recession.
On Monday, it was $3.52, according to EIA.
Imagine $5 a gallon gasoline during the summer months. It could easily happen
Tuesday saw stories from ABC, the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post, a Drudge Report link and more projecting prices could increase to $4 and $5 gasoline. And it’s only February.
And with a rise in gas prices comes a rise in consumer prices, from groceries to clothes to….well, everything. That $80 a month from Obama’s payroll tax reduction sure will come in handy, eh?
Gas prices hit a record national average of $4.11 a gallon the summer of 2008, leading to the famous “drill, baby, drill†chants at the Republican National Convention and at the end of presidential and congressional offshore drilling moratoriums. But the prices plummeted later that year when the economy tanked.
Is the Politico suggesting that seeing the economy tank further would be good thing? Of course, if the economy tanks further, that would have it’s own problems for Obama.
The Politico then gives a few talking points from Democrats, saying this is all propaganda from the Republicans, that Republicans should all get in lockstep like Democrat sheeple, before offering any sort of policies.
Thursday, the House passed its latest energy plan. It would authorize oil drilling offshore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, approve the Keystone XL pipeline and promote development of U.S. oil sands in the Rocky Mountains.
Meanwhile, Obama plans to give higher rebates to rich buyers of Chevy Fuegos, er, Volts, and, well, that’s it. He does want a ton of money for more “shovel ready” jobs to patch roads that people won’t be able to use because they can’t afford the high cost of gas.
Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.
While seeking election wasn’t it Obama who said he wanted/thought gas prices should be pushed to $5/gal?
He is only half way to his goal – hence the need for another term.
And, it was when people and speculators realized the prices were high for no reason.
If a tanked economy is the reason for low gas prices… then why are prices high now? Could it be a supply and a futures problem? When one stops drilling and prevents energy companies from gathering new sources for energy – that affects future resources. That impacts supply and thus speculators increase prices.