The Patriot Post® · Biden's Gas Gimmick

President Joe Biden yesterday asked Congress to temporarily suspend the federal gas tax, currently 18 cents a gallon, for three months. I understand that lowering gas prices by 18 cents is better than nothing, but this is just Biden’s latest election year gimmick.

It’s not a given that Democrats will support this. Democrats, who control the Virginia state Senate, just rejected a proposal by Gov. Glenn Youngkin to suspend Virginia’s state gas tax.

And many progressives want high gas prices to push people into electric cars. We noted yesterday how Biden again seemingly praised high prices as an opportunity to transition to “green energy.” Never forget that your pain at the pump is part of the left’s plan.

But don’t underestimate how a gimmick can confuse voters and put Republicans in a bad position. If Senate Republicans block it, you can expect to see ads about Republicans in the pocket of Big Oil opposing tax cuts for hardworking families. You can also expect to see a lot more of these kinds of gimmicks in the weeks ahead.

Why It’s A Gimmick

The last time there was a serious push to suspend the federal gas tax, Barack Obama denounced the idea as a “gimmick.”

Here’s why: If you fill up once a week and have a 15-gallon tank, at $5.00 a gallon, you’re only saving $2.70 per tank. Over the course of three months, that’s $32.40 or about half a tank of gas.

While that’s better than nothing, it’s a drop in the bucket in Biden’s inflationary economy, which is costing Americans at least $460 a month!

Moreover, it has nothing to do with the “root causes” of high energy prices — the radical left-wing policies Biden has pushed which are responsible for this mess.

While the federal 18 cents a gallon tax is the visible tax, Biden’s radical policies could accurately be described as a “hidden tax” that is far greater than 18 cents a gallon.

For example, who do you think understands gas prices better: Career politician Joe Biden or the CEO of Chevron? I guarantee it’s the CEO of Chevron, Michael Wirth.

Wirth wrote a very conciliatory letter to President Biden recently, pushing back against Biden’s demonization of the American energy industry, but also asking to work cooperatively with the administration for the benefit of consumers and our national security.

Biden’s response? He mocked Wirth’s “hurt feelings” and refused to meet with him.

Meanwhile, Biden will soon be in Saudi Arabia on bended knee begging the Saudi crown prince for more oil, after slapping an American oil executive in the face who asked to work together.

Cheap gimmicks and an “America Last” policy is a guaranteed prescription for failure. And you’re paying the price.

Biden’s PR Failure

Biden is desperately pushing this federal gas tax gimmick because his previous attempts to blame high prices on Vladimir Putin — remember “Putin’s price hike”? — have failed miserably.

According to a recent Rasmussen poll, only 11% of voters blame Putin for high energy prices, while 52% blame Joe Biden.

If you can’t convince more than 11% of the public to blame one of America’s enemies for something, that’s a PR failure of epic proportions!

Biden’s Recession

Every day the number of economists predicting a recession increases. If a recession happens, it will be the first “climate change recession.” It won’t be caused by climate change, but by the left’s cure for so-called “climate change.” Here’s what I mean.

Liberal presidents in the United States have been waging war against the oil and gas industry for decades. Europe’s socialist governments have been doing the same.

Left-wing politicians at all levels of government have blocked refineries and pipelines. As a result, they have restricted supply, which is largely to blame for the sickening increase in oil and gas prices.

But higher oil and natural gas prices don’t just impact your pain at the pump or your home heating and cooling costs. Oil derivatives are in your clothes. Anything made of plastic also happens to be a petroleum product.

High gas prices impact the cost of food at your grocery store. Farmers use a lot of fuel, as do the trucks that transport your food and other products to your local store shelves.

All this together is causing the biggest jump in inflation in 40 years. It’s also driving Biden and the Democrat Party’s support to dangerously low levels.

So, they have given the greenlight to the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates as high as it wants to slow down the economy. Those higher interest rates are already hurting the housing market. They will increase the costs of business investment and job creation. Their goal, literally, is to increase unemployment.

Don’t take my word for it. The New York Times recently conceded, “The government’s plan to fight inflation could cost jobs and restrict wage growth.”

A major reason this is happening is because the Democrat Party has bought into the idea that the earth is going to burn up in 12 years if we don’t immediately stop using oil and gas.

This is the most insane combination of economic and environmental policies. How’s that “incredible transition” working out for you?

It will have no impact on the politicians pushing it, but you’re going to suffer. You already are. Again, that’s all part of their plan.

There’s only one way to make progressive socialist politicians suffer, and that is to make them unemployed this November.

Confused Again

During a visit Tuesday to a Washington, D.C., vaccination clinic, President Biden seemed not to know who the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is.

He pointed to Dr. Ashish Jha (the White House COVID adviser) and said, “He’s the guy who’s running the CDC these days.” I’m sure that came as a big surprise to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

We’ve seen this before. Biden forgot his secretary of Defense, too. This has nothing to do with partisan politics. It’s deeply disturbing.

I don’t want to see another article by the American media speculating about Vladimir Putin’s health. How about showing some concern about the mental and physical health of the guy who is supposedly running our country!

Election Results

Tuesday’s election results boosted Donald Trump’s overall endorsement record to 133-10.

The big race Tuesday was the Alabama Republican Senate runoff between Katie Britt and Rep. Mo Brooks. Britt, who was endorsed by Trump, ran away with the runoff, taking 63% of the vote.

In Georgia, two Trump-endorsed candidates came up short in the runoff races for the Sixth and Tenth Congressional Districts. But the candidates who won, Dr. Rich McCormick (endorsed by CWF) and Mike Collins, are solid MAGA conservatives.

In Virginia, Republican primaries Tuesday set the stage for two critical House races that will determine the balance of power in Congress next year.

State Sen. Jen Kiggans won the Republican nomination to take on Democrat Rep. Elaine Lauria in the Second Congressional District. Kiggans is an unapologetic pro-life, pro-family, America First conservative.

And so is Yesli Vega, who captured the GOP nomination in the Seventh Congressional District. Vega is challenging Democrat Abigail Spanberger. Vega is the daughter of immigrants. She went into law enforcement after her brother was attacked by MS-13 gang members.

Like Mayra Flores, Vega is a proud pro-life conservative, who will be a powerful voice against illegal immigration and in favor of law enforcement and border security.

These are all “must win” races.