The price of gas is expected to reach a national average of $5 a gallon within the next two weeks. That’s more than a 15 percent increase since March when prices broke the previous record of $4.11 a gallon. Gas prices have since risen so quickly that the national average has set 27 records in the past 28 days. At least 15 states have already surged past the $5 mark as of Wednesday.
This is a very real issue because most Americans use gas to fuel their car machines. However, liberal writer Will Stancil insists that the price of gas isn’t a relevant election issue. It’s only the endless media coverage that apparently makes people know they’re paying more for gas. Growing up in Greenville, SC, few members of my family had access to cable news but they still complained about high gas prices.
Several global factors are responsible for the current price of gasoline, which went up at least another 20 cents while you read this: There’s Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; an increased demand in China where COVID-19 lockdowns are ending; and an overall strong demand for gas now that Americans have cast off their pandemic shackles. However, some oil companies are still reluctant to resume producing oil at pre-pandemic levels, reportedly related to BS concerns about supposed tougher environmental rules. Have these people met Joe Manchin?
The Biden administration has admitted that short of a carefully worded request to a genie, there’s little the president can do to lower gas prices on his own, and Republicans have seized on this as a blunt instrument against Democrats leading into midterms. It’s unclear how they would magically make gas $1 a gallon again like when I was in high school, but they don’t need to offer solutions when they can just whine about high gas prices like your annoying uncle.
Senator Foghorn Leghorn himself, John Kennedy, offered a relatably folksy observation about high gas prices in Louisiana that was like the “Henry’s high on coke” scene in Goodfellas.
KENNEDY: Meanwhile … in my state, the price of gas is so high that it would be cheaper to buy cocaine and just run everywhere.
Gas is averaging $4.50 in Louisiana. Cocaine-fueled pedestrian travel is hardly a cost-effective solution. Also, your heart would eventually explode.
Minimum wage is just $7.25 in Louisiana. It could cost someone more than a day’s pay to fill up their tank. This is a serious issue, but Kennedy, who makes $174,000 a year, treats the situation as political farce.
Monday, Senator Chuck Grassley tweeted a photo of himself with the Sparlin family from Preston, Iowa. His constituents apparently drove all the way to Washington DC to discuss the “soaring gas prices.” You know gas is expensive when a sitting senator uses a dollar sign in place of the “s” in “gas” and “price.”
It is 856 miles to DC from Preston, so based on the national average, they spent roughly $400 round trip to meet Grassley in person. They could’ve gone with a simple Zoom call but instead they recreated National Lampoon’s Vacation.
Working stiff Lara Trump complained Tuesday that Democrats were so obsessed with her father-in-law’s attempted coup that they’d lost sight of what really matters.
TRUMP: This January 6 hoax. This is the biggest scam … perpetrated on the American people since the Russia collusion hoax. This is total nonsense that you’re gonna see on Thursday … The Democrats know people do not care about this .. people are more concerned with the super high gas prices.
Lara Trump is apparently so tuned in to the thought processes of the average American she’s confident that they only care about violent insurrections when the price of gas is no higher than $3 a gallon.
Although ignoring the high gas prices won’t make them go away, Democrats should suggest some options for economic relief in other ways. They should also remind voters that Republicans are only good at making you afraid of a problem and telling you who’s to blame for it. Putting them in power won’t make your Sunday family drive any cheaper.
[CNN]
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