When It Comes To Gas Prices, Narrow-Minded GOP Sees Only What They Want To Believe

When you want something and you wish really hard, it isn't the wishing but finding the willingness to take an action that gets you to your goal. Congressional Republicans seem to not have learned that lesson as children (or as adults) because they believe their collective whining on offshore oil drilling made gas prices drop.

From ThinkProgress:

House conservatives, engaging in a third day of political stunts on the floor of the House, are now claiming that gas prices across the nation have dropped in response to their theatrics calling for a vote on offshore oil drilling. “I think the market is responding to the fact that we are here talking,” said Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) in a GOP press conference today.

Shadegg claimed that “gas prices have gone down” because of the “pressure” coming from pro-drilling conservatives:

“Gas prices have gone down, and they’ve gone down in part because the market is realizing that this kind of pressure from the Congress may actually cause a change in American policy,” said Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), one of the ringleaders of the protest demanding that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) bring Congress back to vote on oil exploration measures.

But actual experts don’t believe the political stunts have anything to do with the drop in prices. In fact, oil and gas prices are down because of simple economics as the high energy prices and the weak economy are “curbing consumer demand” for gas.

The idiots in the GOP caucus have made themselves oblivious to the fact that Americans cannot afford the gas prices that Republican policies have created. Without a coherent, 21st century energy policy in the United States for several years now, our addiction to oil has crippled our economy even though many experts saw peak oil coming decades ago. Jimmy Carter knew what he was talking about in the 1970s, but the advent of the selfishly-driven policies stemming from Reagan destroyed those efforts. People didn't want to hear about the oncoming energy crisis (even though they got a taste of it at the time) but now it is here to stay. So Republicans can make believe that their grandstanding is reducing oil prices, but we need real leadership and a sound strategy to take the oil needle out of our vein.