-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">
</A> -Cui Bono?-
Republicans see opportunity in high gas prices
March 12, 2000
By DAVID E. ROSENBAUM
WASHINGTON -- Republicans in Congress have begun
to blame the Clinton administration generally and
Vice President Al Gore in particular for the
recent jump in the price of gasoline, and that
seems sure to become a hot issue in the
presidential race.
When prices started to rise, ``the administration
was asleep at the wheel,'' said Rep. Dick Armey,
the House majority leader, last week.
The Senate Republican leader, Trent Lott,
referred to the 4.3-cents-a-gallon increase in
the federal gasoline tax enacted in 1993 as ``the
Gore gas tax'' and told reporters it should be
repealed. The Senate passed the measure, 51-50,
with Gore casting the deciding vote.
Sen. Frank H. Murkowski of Alaska said flatly
what was on the minds of many of his fellow
Republicans: ``This is going to be a big issue in
the political campaign.''
The matter was hardly raised in the presidential
primaries, largely because there was little
difference in the positions of Gov. George W.
Bush of Texas and Sen. John McCain of Arizona on
the one hand and those of Gore and former Sen.
Bill Bradley of New Jersey on the other. But the
Bush and Gore camps have little doubt now that
they will be arguing about this until the
election in November.
Asked whether Bush had talked much in his
campaign about gasoline prices, Mindy Tucker, a
campaign spokeswoman, said with a small laugh,
``Not yet.''
A Gore campaign spokesman, Douglas Hattaway, said
that if Bush embraced a plan being pushed by some
Republicans in Congress to lower fuel taxes, it
``would add to the perception that he is reckless
and doesn't know what he is doing.''
The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded
gasoline, which was about $1.25 at Christmas, is
now more than $1.35. Last week, the Energy
Department warned that the price would rise to an
average of $1.80 and as high as $2 a gallon in
some places by the time people go on summer
vacations.
That is not just costly to motorists. Alan
Greenspan, the chairman of the Federal Reserve,
has warned that high energy prices could damage
the economy.
Polls show that the public tends to have more
confidence in Democrats on some of the most
prominent issues in this year's election
campaigns, including education, health care and
gun control. Republicans clearly hope that high
fuel prices will work in their favor.
� 2000 N.Y. Times News Service
===============================
This is a manufactured issue. Why?
Because the economy is doing well.
When the economy does well, the incumbent
party wins. Democrats are the incumbent party.
Republicans are the Big Oil party with connections
to the Mid East players. If they got their oil buddies
to cut back on oil production so that the prices
skyrocket just about now, then there is a newly
created and newly perceived economic issue to help
differentiate between the tweedle-dum, and tweedle-dee
parties.
AND THERE ARE ALL THESE FRINGE BENEFITS.
A gasoline tax fight.(Hot button issues get public motivated to vote)
High profits for the oil industry.
An excuse to crack open the environmentally locked
oil reserves.
If the economy tanks, here is the scapegoat.
Joshua2
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A>
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