The Patriot Post® · Now Joe Biden Loves Fracking

When Joe Biden came into office, almost no industry was more vilified by him than was the fossil fuel industry. On day one of his presidency, Biden revoked permits for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, a years-long endeavor that he quashed in minutes, killing more than a thousands jobs. Days later, Biden hit the fossil fuel industry again when he ordered a moratorium on new oil and natural gas leases on federal land and water. While later reversed by court order, the message to the fossil fuel industry could not have been more clear: Biden is not their friend.

In April, Biden suspended drilling leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that had been previously granted under the Trump administration. Biden dubiously claimed that the previous administration’s rules weren’t tough enough on preventing methane and oil leaks.

Meanwhile, almost as if intentionally aimed at thumbing his nose at American fossil fuel companies, Biden lifted sanctions imposed by Donald Trump against the Russian-owned Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which effectively gave the green light to Vladimir Putin. Thus, Biden’s hypocrisy on opposing fossil fuel out of feigned concern over climate change was exposed as nothing but pandering to his ecofascist political base.

However, bad decisions yield bad consequences, no matter how one may try to rationalize them. Currently, the average price of gas at the pump in the U.S. is $3.30, a high not seen since the days of Barack Obama and his anti-oil policies and stagnant economy. Furthermore, the price for natural gas is spiking across the country, ensuring that Americans’ heating bills will be anywhere from 20% to 50% higher this winter.

In mid-August, Biden sought to alleviate the problem of rising gas prices by running to OPEC, pleading for it to increase production of crude. OPEC responded by essentially telling Biden to go pound sand. And fuel prices continued to rise.

Now, with Biden’s poll numbers tanking almost as fast as fuel prices are rising, he’s going hat in hand to America’s fossil fuel companies, the very industry he campaigned on “transition[ing America] away from,” to ask for their help in controlling the price of oil and natural gas. During the campaign, he talked about banning fracking before flip-flopping. Now he wants fracking to save us him.

The trouble is that even as Biden is “nicely asking” for the fossil fuel industry’s help, he has steadfastly refused to reverse course on his administration’s decidedly anti-fossil fuel policies. Why would U.S. energy companies be inclined to give Biden anything other than the answer OPEC gave him? Until Biden actually reverses course, America’s oil and gas companies have no incentive to save his bacon, nor should they.

It’s no wonder people are pointing out higher gas prices by putting a Joe Biden “I did that” sticker on gas pumps.