Patterico's Pontifications

2/19/2012

Barry Antoinette faces higher gas prices

Filed under: 2012 Election — Karl @ 8:58 am



[Posted by Karl]

The New York Times finally informs its readers:

Rising gasoline prices, trumpeted in foot-tall numbers on street corners across the country, are causing concern among advisers to President Obama that a budding sense of economic optimism could be undermined just as he heads into the general election.

Obama wanted higher gas prices— as did his energy secretary, Steven Chu — so count this as Mission Accomplished. Policies that force higher gas prices were a complement to the crony capitalism of “green tech,” of which now-bankrupt, scandal-plagued Solyndra is just the surface.  Apparently, reelection realities have now intruded, so he is suddenly in need of talking points:

In speeches this spring, aides said, the president will increasingly focus on his administration’s actions to raise the fuel efficiency of cars and to open new areas to oil and natural gas development. They said they hoped the moves would counter the accusation that he has stifled oil production. On Friday, the Interior Department announced an expansion of oil exploration in Arctic waters.

He’s talking up natural gas proposals in swing states in another stab at crony capitalism.  The NYT helpfully refers to rising gas prices as a matter beyond Obama’s control — as Obama did last year while gas prices rose.  Of course, waiting for an election year to do anything about domestic oil production ensures it is beyond his control now.  In Obama’s world, if you are bothered by high gas prices, why don’t you just buy a new car?  Can you imagine how the NYT and others would cover that response if it was made by Mitt Romney?  Barry Antoinette, indeed.

Instead, expect to hear much from the DNC/MSM axis about Mitt Romney 2¢ gas tax hike while he was governor of Massachusetts.  Memo to Mitt: you might want to get out in front of the bubbling story that one of your advisors, Greg Mankiw, advocates a $2 gas tax hike.

–Karl

55 Responses to “Barry Antoinette faces higher gas prices”

  1. Ding!

    Karl (6f7ecd)

  2. a budding sense of economic optimism could be undermined

    The resurrection of the Pauline Kaelism…

    Colonel Haiku (077b1f)

  3. Except he is waging a war on fracking, thanks to the EPA’s Gina McCarthy

    narciso (87e966)

  4. I guess that payroll tax savings will come in handy.

    AZ Bob (1c9631)

  5. The Obama administration has been One Humungous Moronic Convergence of a ClusterF*ck.

    Colonel Haiku (077b1f)

  6. Wile E. Coyote
    sack of ACME hammers got
    nuthin’ on Barrié

    Colonel Haiku (077b1f)

  7. America needs
    Buddhist monk conflagration
    high gas price protest

    Colonel Haiku (077b1f)

  8. In Obama’s world, if you are bothered by high gas prices, why don’t you just buy a new car?

    Someone should make an ad of the time Obama made fun of the guy for having a big family and driving a van.
    It would be a double whammy because it showed how condescending Obama can be to black people.

    MayBee (081489)

  9. Meanwhile, back on the slopes, Michelle Antoinette has gone skiing in Aspen. What do you suppose the fuel for that trip cost us?

    creeper (f1f686)

  10. li’l GTO yer really not lookin’ so fine…

    Colonel Haiku (077b1f)

  11. Supply has nothing to do with the price of energy, or something.

    That environmentally disastrous Keystone Pipeline and the jobs it would bring are not something America needs.

    Energy demand, which has fallen off a cliff in a America, is what is driving prices higher, or something.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  12. got yer green hangin’
    Roadrunner Roadrunner goes
    thousand miles an hour

    Colonel Haiku (077b1f)

  13. Toyota Pious
    yer bulbous batteries make
    shakes in my kneebone

    Colonel Haiku (077b1f)

  14. you know you want it
    the car they just had to build
    Chevy reVOLTing

    Colonel Haiku (077b1f)

  15. 40 years ago, Democrats said increasing domestic oil production would have no appreciable effect on supply or gas prices.

    30 years ago, Democrats said increasing domestic oil production would have no appreciable effect on supply or gas prices.

    20 years ago, Democrats said increasing domestic oil production would have no appreciable effect on supply or gas prices.

    10 years ago, Democrats said increasing domestic oil production would have no appreciable effect on supply or gas prices.

    Can anyone spot the trend?

    Colonel Haiku (077b1f)

  16. AZ Bob,

    You may be joking about the payroll tax cut being needed to cover gas… but that’s what Obama is actually saying, if you read the whole NYT piece.

    Karl (6f7ecd)

  17. Gas prices at $6./gallon this fall will swing the election. Even people who don’t pay attention will notice that.

    Mike K (9ebddd)

  18. My best friend has a shirt that says “Bush is a pain in the Gas.” he stupidly voted for Obama. He’s not this time around.

    Ghost (6f9de7)

  19. Oh, and Barry Antoinette is the best way I’ve heard anyone describe the SCOAMF.

    Ghost (6f9de7)

  20. Q: Who voted to increase taxes by $2.3B to pay for an Amtrak trust fund… voted against repealing Clinton’s 4.3 cent gas tax increase… voted to allow gas tax revenues to be used to subsidize Amtrak?

    A: Rick Santorum

    Colonel Haiku (077b1f)

  21. Remarkably the feds calculate inflation without considering gas and food prices ebcause they supposedly are too erratic as economic indicators. A little like asking Mrs. Lincoln about how she enjoyed he play, or Captain Smith what he thought were the highlights of the maiden voyage.Now both parties are guilty of cooking the books a bit when they hold the reins. But Obama has taken massaging the economic numbers to Soviet heights of dishonesty.

    If we had an actual opposition party, perhaps with a flesh and blood candidate who talked about actual important stuff other than his love for the trees, cars and lakes of Michigan, they could really make hay out of $5 gas.

    Alas…

    Bugg (ea1809)

  22. Ghost,

    Had to link Steyn for credit on the name.

    Karl (6f7ecd)

  23. Romney badly needs to get that tin ear fixed; it’s made him choose really bad advisers.

    Greg Mankiw, whose lifestyle won’t be crimped by high gas prices, wrote in the linked piece:

    “Economists who have added up all the externalities associated with driving conclude that a tax exceeding $2 a gallon makes sense. That would provide substantial revenue that could be used to reduce other taxes. By taxing bad things more, we could tax good things less.”

    According to Greg Antoinette, driving is a bad thing, and the government using taxes to control behavior a good thing. (Paying economists high wages undoubtedly is also a good thing.)

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (e1892b)

  24. NY Times talking points say Obama is on a roll:

    “For the president’s economic team, the specter of such increases in oil prices comes on the heels of positive economic news that has lifted Mr. Obama’s approval rating, including better-than-expected job growth, a surging stock market and a payroll tax deal that will put more money in the pockets of millions of Americans.”

    Except for those darn Republican talking points:

    “And talking points from the Republican National Committee that go out to conservative commentators every Friday often include rising gas prices among the “Top Line Messaging” for the week. A recent “Pundit Prep” document cited the national debt, unemployment and the price of gas as the three best ways to define the “Obama economy.””

    According to the NY Times, Democrats make points while Republicans offer talking points.

    AZ Bob (1c9631)

  25. I thought we needed the extra money from the payroll tax reduction to pay for our increasing insurance premiums.

    MayBee (081489)

  26. Skyrocketing gas taxes would impact the flyover red states and suburbs more than blue urban areas, so it’s no surprise Obama and Romney’s advisors like them.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  27. DRJ,
    It’s more than that. The ruling class types like Mankiw live in different worlds than do average folks. For the ruling class, raising taxes to discourage the evil of driving is an intellectual exercise, not a real-world issue. Gas prices of $5 a gallon won’t crimp his household budget.

    Barry Antoinette (e1892b)

  28. That’s probably true, Bradley, although we may be saying the same thing. It’s easier to impose hardship when it’s simply an intellectual exercise than a personal experience. The fact that raising gas taxes impacts people they don’t know or care for makes it that much more palatable. If half their cabs, buses, and subways went away because of the price of fuel, my guess is gas taxes would seem far less palatable.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  29. Gas prices will necessarily skyrocket.

    Features and bugs, people.

    JD (318f81)

  30. $62.47 to fill my 1997 Buick when gauge reads about 1/4. I think I’ll drive around for a few hours to amp up that global warming to keep my heat bill down.

    David Christensen (3e2f9d)

  31. MayBee wrote:

    Someone should make an ad of the time Obama made fun of the guy for having a big family and driving a van. It would be a double whammy because it showed how condescending Obama can be to black people.

    Nahhh, it just proves that they needed free birth patrol pills.

    The Catholic Dana (f68855)

  32. Obama doesn’t worry ’bout gas
    Bitin’ us all in the ass
    He thinks it’s cool
    And we are all fools
    And on this we’ll give him a pass!

    The Limerick Avenger (f68855)

  33. The biggest problem for O!
    Is when Michelle wants to go
    On vacation again
    Hawai’i? Aspen?
    ‘Cause she is an expensive ho!
    And for that he don’t have the dough!

    The Limerick Avenger (f68855)

  34. AZ Bob: Why don’t I get those RNC talking points e-mails? 🙁

    The blogger Dana (f68855)

  35. The NYT noted:

    And talking points from the Republican National Committee that go out to conservative commentators every Friday . . . .

    That kind of proves how dumb we are. If the RNC is helping conservatives with talking points, why send them out on a Friday, which means they’ll get used on a lowered-attention weekend? Why do they think the Obama Administration does its document dumps on Fridays?

    The Republican Dana (f68855)

  36. Karl – all historical economic metrics point to a catastrophic election for the Dems. This is just the latest.

    Did you see that Gallup had Obama approval at 43? This was the day after the chat when I insisted that the polling was rigged in the others indicating he was back at 50 or better.

    All the elephants need do is get out of their own way.

    Ed from SFV (1d516b)

  37. There is a rule that says presidential candidates must parrot all the stupid stuff their advisers say even when the advisers are not speaking on behalf of the candidates.

    It is written down somewhere.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  38. Excuse me, come to think of it, didn’t Bomonette also say his policies would necessarily increase electricity prices? So, it will be cost prohibitive to use a gasoline powered car or an electric car…

    Is there a contributor to the DNC that raises horses?

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  39. MD in Philly,
    The Won said that under his plan of cap-and-trade, electricity prices would “necessarily skyrocket.”

    B. Hussein Obama (e1892b)

  40. That was me. Caught twice in a day with my pseudonym up!

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (e1892b)

  41. The price of gas goes up, the price of food goes up. More people need food stamps.
    It’s a win-win situation for our beloved leader in perpetuity.

    HWGood (967a3c)

  42. Hmm, not sure how to say this…
    If you look at the link from the Colonel at #16 you will find a fun little story.
    If you continue all the way to the end (or page 4) you will find sort of a fun little story, with one minor problem which people in law enforcement ought to know, the journalist taking photos knew how to get an unobstructed view of the one with a telephoto lens with apparently no one else, as in Secret Service, etc. around.
    I think that is supposed to be a no-no.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  43. Watch Barry ‘Downgrade’ Antoinette’s media marionettes absolve him for any responsibility for higher energy costs.

    How is it that everything good is credited to Barry ‘Downgrade’ Antoinette, and everything bad is blamed on Bush?

    Especially events that are happening simultaneously?

    [note: fished from spam filter. –Stashiu]

    Finnbogi B (3e2500)

  44. Filled up yesterday: 1990 Astro van, w/27gl. tank…
    23.136gl @ $3.899 (ARCO) = $90.56, including debit card fee of 0.35.
    And it’s only going to get worse, as there is no President in-place to open up the OCS, and Federal Lands, to exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbon resources, as there was four years ago.

    AD-RtR/OS! (4a1566)

  45. Comment by MD in Philly — 2/19/2012 @ 4:02 pm

    Doc, the hardest part of security is detecting and foiling the determined, skilled, lone-wolf – particularly if he has no concern over his own survival.
    Doesn’t matter if it’s with a camera, or other devices.

    AD-RtR/OS! (4a1566)

  46. Even in this dubious goal, SCOAMF had help:

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/race-debase-all-its-glory

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  47. Mish is just a torrent of bad news:

    http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/

    Greek default is now assured, China has declining imports and exports, Japan in 4th consecutive month of current account deficit, Ireland foreclosures above 9%, Spain record decline in lending, etc.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  48. Exactly AD, that’s my point. A direct view with a camera is the same as with a scope. I didn’t think they were supposed to let people get in a sniper vantage point. To defend against a sniper “you’ve got to think like a sniper”. (Works with mice, anyway 😉 ) I thought we had enough snipers to do that. Heck, I could do it, stand at ground zero and look around 360 degrees, whatever you can see needs to be at least monitored, I would think.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  49. Greek default is now assured, China has declining imports and exports, Japan in 4th consecutive month of current account deficit, Ireland foreclosures above 9%, Spain record decline in lending, etc. Gary Gulrud

    Yes, most all the countries of the world have lined up in the loser line. The USA is about to cut in.

    AZ Bob (1c9631)

  50. The actual effect of gas prices is far overrated, anyway.

    The average person drives 10k-12k miles in a year. Divide that by the average MPG for your existing car, and for the “proposed” car. This gives you the number of gallons of gas each car will use. Now multiply by 5 or 6 to figure the total gas expense (lifespan of the car is five or six years — the typical ownership period for cars is 5.5 years).

    Chances are, the expense of the new “greener” car will be greater than that of just another car like you’ve got now. It’s certainly true of the Prius, which, for at least a long time was selling for about US$6k more than the Honda Civic VTEC it “replaced” (pushed out of the market).

    The price of gas would have had to be US$7 a gallon for the entire ownership of the car in order to justify that price premium over an EPA rated 40 mpg VTEC, and that’s presuming the bogus 60 mpg figure claimed for a long time.

    In other words, how much the gas of a car actually costs you is fairly easy to calculate. Rarely is it a fraction of what people really think it to be.

    I Got Bupkis, Fomenter of "small-l" libertarianism (8e2a3d)


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