California Conservative

Oil rose to $75 a barrel last week, meaning the average price of gas at the pump is $2.91 a gallon. Democrats blame President Bush (of course). Whether it be war, peace, prosperity, global warming, or natural disasters, when the truth just won’t do, BLAME BUSH.

UPDATE: (via GatewayPundit)
Nancy Pelosi Is Spitting Mad About Oil Prices

The war in Iraq was supposed to be a war for oil, said left wing extremists. Wouldn’t gas prices be lower if that were the case? Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran, said:

“The increase of the oil price and growth of oil income is very good and we hope that the oil prices reach their real levels.”

Sidebar: The usual conspiracy theories are that Pres. Bush has dealings with oil empires throughout the world for profit. A more likely scenario is that leftist extremists have made a deal with the opium growers of Afghanistan for a buffet style all-you-can-eat smorgasbord supply of dope in exchange for relentless fables against the President (like, for example, that President Bush knew about 9/11 and sent a jet to escort Osama Bin Laden and his family safely out of Afghanistan). Let’s face it, leftists are smoking something, and it isn’t cigarettes.

End Sidebar: Why are gas prices so high? Reality: Democrats for over 30 years have caved to environmentalism and refused to allow drilling for oil off the coast of Florida and the west coast and ANWR in Alaska. Reality: Democrats repeatedly vote for tax increases on gasoline and oil. Reality: Demand for oil/gas has quadrupled in the past 40 years, making the US dependent on foreign oil. Supply has not kept up.

Here are some facts: (thanks to GOP.com)

DEMS VOTE AGAINST ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES:

In 2005, 124 House Democrats And 19 Senate Democrats Voted Against The Energy Bill. (H.R. 6, CQ Vote #445: Adopted 275-156: R 200-31; D 75-124; I 0-1, 7/28/05; H.R. 6, CQ Vote #213: Adopted 74-26: R 49-6; D 25-19; I 0-1, 7/29/05)

The 2005 Energy Bill Encouraged Greater Use Of Ethanol. (Accessed 4/21/06)

DEMS VOTE AGAINST ENERGY EXPLORATION:

40 Senate Democrats Voted To Filibuster The FY 2006 Defense Spending Bill Because They Objected To The Inclusion Of ANWR Exploration. (H.R. 2863, CQ Vote #364: Motion Rejected 56-44: R 52-3; D 4-40; I 0-1, 12/21/05)

“ANWR Resources Would Supply Every Drop Of Petroleum For The Entire State Of Florida For 29 Years, Arkansas For 146 Years, Or Hawaii For 249 Years.” (U.S. Department Of The Interior Website, “Facts: Environmentally Responsible Energy Production In Alaska’s ANWR,” www.doi.gov, Accessed 12/19/05)

“[T]he United States Is Sitting On An Untapped Oil Supply That Could Replace 30 Years Worth Of U.S. Oil Imports From Saudi Arabia, The World’s Biggest Oil Producer, According To The National Center For Policy Analysis.” (Joseph Perkins, Op-Ed, “One Sure Way To Lower Gasoline Prices,” The San Diego Union-Tribune, 4/2/04)

DEMS VOTE AGAINST ENERGY REFINING AND TRANSPORTING EFFORTS:

In 2005, 124 House Democrats And 19 Senate Democrats Voted Against The Energy Bill. (H.R. 6, CQ Vote #445: Adopted 275-156: R 200-31; D 75-124; I 0-1, 7/28/05; H.R. 6, CQ Vote #213: Adopted 74-26: R 49-6; D 25-19; I 0-1, 7/29/05)

DEMS REPEATEDLY VOTE FOR HIGHER GAS TAXES:

- In 1992, 131 Democrats Supported Imposing The Federal Diesel Fuel Excise Tax In The Same Manner As The Gas Tax. (H.R. 5649, CQ Vote #360: Motion Rejected 200-207: R 68-90; D 131-117; I 1-0, 8/4/92)

- In 1993, 217 Democrats Supported A 4.3 Cents Per Gallon Increase Of The Federal Gas Tax. (H.R. 2264, CQ Vote #406: Adopted 218-216: R 0-175; D 217-41; I 1-0, 8/5/93)

- In 1996, 93 Democrats Voted Against A Temporary Repeal Of The 4.3 Cents Per Gallon Gas Tax, Which Would Have Saved Motorists $2.9 Billion. (H.R. 3415, CQ Vote #182: Passed 301-108: R 208-15; D 92-93; I 1-0, 5/21/96)

- In 1996, 180 Democrats Voted Against Ending Debate On Bill that Would Have Temporarily Repealed The 4.3 Cents Per Gallon Gas Tax, Which Would Have Saved Motorists $2.9 Billion. (H.R. 3415, CQ Vote #180: Motion Agreed To 221-181: R 220-0; D 1-180; I 0-1, 5/21/96)

Supply and demand, high taxes on gas and oil and an inability to use our own abundant natural resources are the culprits; not the President, not the war in Iraq, and not the oil companies, contrary to current concensus by Democrats. The fact is that unemployment and interest rates are so low that Americans have more money to spend on vacations and SUVs. US oil companies make approximately a 9 cent per gallon profit. Federal and state taxes equal anywhere from 26.4 to 53.5 cents per gallon. (the national average is in the mid 40 cent per gallon range) Since Democrats have never met a tax hike they didn’t like, it’d be more plausible to pin the tail of blame on the donkey.

If we must blame anyone for the price of gas at the pump, let’s be realistic: it’s the Democrats and their taxes.

Cross-posted at Amy’s Blog

RELATED:
Congress Blowing Hot Air at Energy Crunch

Technorati Tags: Democrats, Energy, Middle East, Oil

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 26th, 2006 at 10:23 am and is filed under Author: Amy Proctor, Capitalism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.