White House Wants to Keep Gas Prices High

There are people who deny that the Obama Administration isn't upset over the high gasoline prices we are currently facing. They are by design.

The Heritage Foundation posted the following:

With the national average of gas prices hitting $3.65 a gallon, nearing $6 in some parts of the country, and poised to head even higher, America’s families are wondering when the bleeding at the pump will stop. But for Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu, those steep prices aren’t even a concern. In fact, he says his goal is not to get the price of gasoline to go down.

Chu delivered those stunning remarks in testimony before Congress yesterday. When Rep. Alan Nunnelee (R-Miss.) asked Chu whether it’s his “overall goal to get our price” of gasoline lower, Chu said, “No, the overall goal is to decrease our dependency on oil, to build and strengthen our economy.”

As shocking as his remarks are, they shouldn’t come as a surprise. Chu has a long record of advocating for higher gas prices. In 2008, he stated, “Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe.” Last March, he reiterated his point in an interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace, noting that his focus is to ease the pain felt by his energy policies by forcing automakers to make more fuel-efficient automobiles. “What I’m doing since I became Secretary of Energy has been quite clear. What I have been doing is developing methods to take the pain out of high gas prices.”

Meanwhile, the Obama Administration is seemingly doing everything it can to make paying for energy even more painful by refusing to open access to the country’s oil and gas reserves and blocking new projects that would lead to the development of more energy in America. Case in point: the president’s decision to say “no” to the Keystone XL pipeline, a project that would have delivered hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil from Canada to Texas refineries, while bringing thousands of jobs along with it.

Keep in mind gasoline prices in Europe are equivalent to $9.00/gallon. If you think this is good and enjoy paying high gas prices, then vote for Obama.

To read the full article (and see a video), go here.

Disapproved Comments

A few Leftist-oriented comments were submitted for approval on the topic of the current high gasoline prices and the responsibility of the Obama Administration.

Unfortunately, they were in violation of rules 1, 2 and 3 (see right column after scrolling down). I don't mind contrary opinions as long as they advance the topic and are backed up with facts. But, the posters just indulged in snide remarks, name-calling and didn't even bother to back up their assertions. Most of them were posted anonymously. Posting anonymously is fine as long as the comments are (somewhat) intelligent.

In cases such as these, they don't get approved and are flushed away.

Before posting, read the rules! I run this blog as a benign totalitarian dictatorship!

Our Gas Tanks May Tank Obama's Re-election

The cost to fill up one's gasoline tank could prove to be the issue that tanks (like that?) the re-election of Barack Obama.

From the Silicon Valley Mercury News:

Gasoline prices are rising at an almost unheard-of pace, and painfully so in California, where the cost for a fill-up now exceeds $4 a gallon in five cities and is approaching that dreaded mark in numerous others, including San Jose and Oakland.

The statewide average of $3.96 on Friday is 25 cents higher than just a month ago and 46 cents more than this time last year. The price jumped a nickel from Thursday, a huge increase, as day-to-day changes are usually measured in fractions of a penny.

Some oil analysts predict $4.50 a gallon or more by Memorial Day on the West Coast and major cities across the United States such as Chicago, New York and Atlanta. Prices in that range could be a major issue in the presidential campaign, especially if they slow the nation's economic recovery.

For motorists, it's painful now.

They can't blame George W. Bush for this. This all falls on Barack Obama's lap as he is notorious or being anti-oil. Over the past three years Obama...

...opposed opening up ANWR.

...[Obama's] EPA blocked drilling elsewhere in and around Alaska.

...ordered the Gulf moratorium.

...denied the Keystone Pipeline.

...approved billions in loans to other countries (Columbia and others) for upgrades to their refineries while refineries in the US and Europe are being shuttered.

...causing Canada to try to send their oil to China (while getting the runaround from US officials).

All in the name of a "green economy." Remember this as you fill up your gas tank!



UPDATE (2/22/12): Gasoline prices have hit $6.00/gallon in Florida today.

Remember what Barack Obama said on June 11, 2008: "I’d like higher gas prices, just not so quickly."

Looks like he's getting what he wanted.

Gas At $4.00 In L.A.

We haven't reached the above prices yet in L.A., but the price of gasoline is now at $4.00/gallon.

According to the L.A. Times:

"There was quite a paroxysm in the spot market for wholesale gasoline and a confluence of refinery maintenance," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for OPIS. "It's quite noticeable because the price of crude is also over $100 a barrel. And if you live on the East or West Coast, you are dealing with a lot of $115 to $120 a barrel oil, like Alaskan crude and Brent crude."

Kloza was referring to refineries in the state that had shut down for maintenance, which usually causes a spike because supplies are so tight, but that wasn't the only factor.

That's not all, some oil industry experts are predicting that gas prices will hit $5.00/gallon!

Wonderful. And Obama decided to not approve the Keystone pipeline project.

Sen. Toomey Denounces Obama Keystone Rejection

Source: Office of U.S. Senator Pat Toomey

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) denounced President Obama's rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline permit today.

"President Obama has been trying to campaign against a do-nothing Congress, but he is the one who is impeding job creation and economic growth in this country," Sen. Toomey said. "The Keystone pipeline has the potential to create tens of thousands of American jobs, increase our access to oil from our friend in Canada, and diminish our dependence on less secure sources of energy. The pipeline has broad bipartisan support in Congress, and it does not require any taxpayer dollars to build it. I'm extremely disappointed that President Obama has chosen to sacrifice American jobs and our energy security to appease environmental special interests."