As I was checking local gas prices online to see where I'll be filling up my car after I get paid tomorrow, I was struck with the realization that Congress is back in session from their recess. This will be the first time I've filled up since they've been back, and in that time gas prices have dropped about $.60 for me in that month or so. With my tank capacity, this is about another $10 in my pocket that I don't have to spend on gas. Then I recalled the phony "sit in" that the Republicans staged and trumped on about all month, and their phony "Drill here, Drill now, Pay less" mantra they were trying to sell us. I realized, in hindsight that we might have just won a major, but by no means complete, victory, but one which also could have had serious impact on the national, state, and local elections. Bear with me for a moment, and I'll explain what I mean.
Back in July when Oil prices peaked on the exchanges and Gas prices were as high as I've ever seen them (I was paying $4.79, at Costco!) both sides started making a lot of noise. There was talk of drilling, leases, refinery capacity, profits, tire gauges and every little thing spun every which way by all sides of the issue. Republicans blamed Democrats, Oil Companies blamed Speculators, and everyone was in an uproar. Very Smart People (TM) would say that Oil would reach $150, $170, $200 (!!!) by the end of the year, and everyday that they did, the price would shoot sky high.
That's when the Oil Companies went to their Republican (and some Democrat) allies with a proposal. "Give us more royalty-free federal land that we can lease," they probably said, "and we will not only pour money into your campaign coffers, we'll launch our own media blitz to shape the public's thoughts." Those politicians probably thought this was pretty bold, and hey, more money in the war chests would be important in the coming election season, when the cost of gas would weigh heavily on the mind of every constituent in every district.
Some probably balked. After all, in a falling economy, companies that post unheard of record profits off of the very thing that is contributing to the pinch felt by 99% of Americans wanting MORE land to drill MORE oil to make MORE profit is inherently a hard pill to swallow. Not to mention that seemingly simple ideas that were complete scams (like the gas tax "holiday") were seen right through.
That's when the oil companies probably gave them the lynch pin. The one strategic key the Republicans were hoping for. One which could have sunk almost every chance we had for the White House, the House, and the Senate. Something so simple, yet fueled by such raw emotion that it would tug on the heartstrings and pocketbooks of every American going to the polls on November 4th.
The lynch pin was simply this: Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Later was flawed, because relief at the pumps wouldn't happen for 10 years from new drilling. But people would ignore that logic, and even ridicule those who brought it up, if the Congress passed legislation for new drilling, and gas prices dramatically fell!
Think about it. When do gas prices predictably fall? At the end of the summer. Especially in an election year. Especially when (and this is the key) regulation ensures that the free market is also a fair market.
Well, its the end of the summer.
It's an election year.
And when the Democrats, with Obama a key supporter, closed the Enron loophole, the trifecta was set to occur.
The Republicans made a Hail Mary play in staging their sit in. If it had succeeded. If they could browbeat Congress back into session to pass this one piece of legislation, they could ride the drop in gas prices that Very Smart People (TM) were telling them was already on the way. They could have trumped in ads and the talk shows how the selfless servants of the people stayed on the floor to bring relief to the average American. Every Republican running for reelection could bring up how his opponent was in the party who wanted to keep prices high, but they were thwarted by the brave men and women in congress who stood their ground and forced the "Washington Establishment" back to do some "real work."
McCain would have hammered Obama about it from now until election day.
It would have been a monumental bait-and-switch, but it would have worked!
Now, with gas prices falling, the Hail Mary play has failed. Sadly, its not something that can be dragged out into the open and used against them. Not like they would have done to us had the results been reversed. Its easy to site action for something like the fall in gas prices, but you can't go on TV saying "inaction", which is what the talking heads would reduce it to, resulted in falling gas prices. However, you can be assured, behind closed doors, in the halls of power, the Democrats know they one this one, and hopefully, it will help bolster their spirits to win the war.