Tom Manion Joins The Fray (Sort Of)

I noted the story yesterday where our U.S. House Rep Patrick Murphy and his Repug challenger Tom Manion both agreed on eliminating the gas tax over the summer, but I blew off some of what Manion said that I want to highlight now…

Manion pointed out in a statement that the price of a gallon of gas has jumped from $2.33 to $3.60 since Democrats took control of Congress in January 2007 and said Democrats have given only “false promises” to lower the price of gas.

“If the Democrats in Congress can't lead on this vital issue, they must get out of the way so real solutions can be put into place,” Manion said.

Well then, Tom, let’s see what the head of your party has proposed in the way of “real solutions,” and that would be President Highest Disapproval Rating In Gallup Poll History…

He whined that Congress wouldn’t let him drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an act of environmental terrorism opposed even by “Senator Honor and Virtue” running for president (here). And here’s why…

"President Bush's claim ignores the primary causes behind record high oil prices: a cheap dollar, high demand from China and India, and speculators driving the price up. Drilling and sullying the Arctic would not address any of these causes of high oil prices," said (Daniel) Weiss (of the Center for American Progress).

And the supply of gasoline it would eventually yield would last about 3-6 months at best (to say nothing of the environmental damage noted here).

Bush was asked by Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Senator from his own party (and his own state!) to halt deposits into the Strategic Reserve (increasing supply bound for the reserve would probably lower the pump price), but this story tells us that Incurious George “brushed aside her request” (and is it even necessary to note that pump prices were lower before Bush took office?).

This tells us that leading House Democrats have contacted William E. Kovacic of the Federal Trade Commission to investigate higher gas prices (thus far, I believe we’ve only heard the sound of crickets in response).

Something else that’s going to contribute to the high price of gas (as a commenter here noted recently) is tensions involving oil-producing countries. Given that, can someone please explain to me why the hell we have a second carrier now stationed near Iran in the Persian Gulf (And what are we “reminding” them of, by the way? The fact that, through our blundering in the Middle East, we’ve tilted the balance of power in their favor?).

So, Tom, here’s what I think; if all you intend to do in this campaign is recycle RNC talking points as opposed to presenting ideas to help us actually solve problems, then the only person who should “get out of the way” is you.

(And in a related story, as they say, a $10.9 billion profit "disappoints"?

Oh well, I'm sure Hangin' Judge JR and Ben Stein are still fans, so ExxonMobil shouldn't worry too much.)