Gas prices stink! Who's to blame?

Well, if you're the Republicans naturally you blame the Democrats. And that's what House Minority Leader John Boehner did on Sunday, chiding a "Do-Nothing Democratic Congress" for allowing gas prices to hit a record national average of $4 per gallon. In fact, on the day that Democrats took over Congress after a twelve-year hiatus, average gas prices nationwide stood at $2.33 - still high but who wouldn't take that price for doing their summer driving?

Meanwhile, Republicans have their own common-sense plan, according to a Friday story by Susan Jones of CNS News:

Republicans say they are committed to boosting supplies of all forms of energy "right here at home" to reduce America's dependence on foreign sources of oil. They insist oil drilling in the U.S. can be done without damage to the environment.

Republicans also are promoting "advanced" nuclear power and next-generation coal as well as renewable energy from wind and hydroelectric power.

They want to roll back burdensome regulations that limit the construction of new oil refineries.

For their part, Democrats point to their "accomplishments" during this 110th Congress. The Klaus Marre story in The Hill quotes Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi:

“In just the last few months, Congress successfully pressed the Bush Administration into investigating oil market price manipulation, passed a Farm Bill that boosts home-grown, advanced biofuels production, halted deliveries to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to increase oil supply in the market, and passed legislation that invests in clean, renewable, and efficient energy technologies, including tax incentives for plug-in hybrid cars, energy efficient homes and appliances. By July 4th, we will work to develop other innovative energy independence legislation that addresses high energy costs and continues to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and we will look into speculation in the energy futures market.”

Innovative, huh Nancy? So far your "innovation" has almost doubled the price of a gallon of gasoline and caused misery in many Third World countries where the price of corn has skyrocketed because of mandates your party placed on the use of ethanol. (That one can be blamed on Al Gore, he cast the tie-breaking vote that established the ethanol regulations when he was Vice-President. He may take credit for inventing the Internet, but in reality he invented the ethanol-fueled food riot.)

As one may expect, this story hasn't received a whole lot of traction in the partisan media. The two sources I cited are pretty much the only outlets who have given Boehner the time of day on the issue. We know, it's all Bush's fault.

This is actually part one of two, with the other half coming this evening. In that post I'll add another perspective on our energy woes and posit a theory of my own - Al Gore figures prominently there.