President Joe Biden announced Tuesday morning that the U.S. would ban imports of Russian oil, calling it “the main artery of Russia’s economy” and saying, “The American people will deal another powerful blow to Putin’s war machine.” Biden emphasized that he has made the move in consultation with allies in Europe, though they are unlikely to make the same move given much greater dependence on Russia as an energy source.
The move, part of a larger package of sanctions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both increases financial pressure on Russia and will increase gas prices in the United States, where gas prices had already been a subject of significant stress. In the first waves of sanctions imposed on Russia, Biden had exempted fuel in an attempt to keep gas prices from going up further, but there’s been bipartisan energy from Congress to cut off Russian energy imports. Biden noted that in his announcement, saying, “This is a move that has strong bipartisan support in the Congress and I believe in the country. Americans have rallied to support the Ukrainian people and made it clear we will not be part of subsidizing Putin’s war.”
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“Republicans and Democrats alike” understand that cutting off Russian energy imports will have a financial cost, Biden noted, and “Republicans and Democrats alike have been clear that we must do this.” What every political observer knows, though, is that Republican calls to ban Russian energy imports will not stop those very same Republicans from attacking Biden over high gas prices. Low-level common decency would suggest that if you demand a specific course of action from a political opponent, you don’t then attack them for the foreseeable consequences of doing what you demanded. That’s not how Republicans operate, to say the least.
Republicans have already been attacking Biden with claims that his decision to block the Keystone XL pipeline is leading to higher prices, even though construction on the pipeline still wouldn’t be finished even if Biden hadn’t revoked its construction permit. Republican attacks on Biden’s supposed hostility to U.S. energy independence—which they define through drilling permits, not renewable energy investments—come even though “In January, there were 502 rigs drilling in this country for crude, according to energy research firm Wood Mackenzie. Today, there are 540,” as The Washington Post’s Catherine Rampell reports. Rampell also notes that, “As recently as January, [Biden] was outpacing Donald Trump in authorizing new drilling permits on public lands.”
Now, Fox News is teeing up its talking points about how increases in gas prices aren’t related to Russia. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s strategic communications director is preemptively tweeting, “It is clear that Democrats will try to use the invasion of Ukraine and a potential ban on Russian oil imports as a catch-all shield against any criticism of gas prices or energy policy at all. Do not be fooled.” The playbook is right out in the open: Push for a policy that will increase gas prices, attack Biden for rising gas prices.
Donald Trump was less subtle (big surprise), releasing a statement saying, in all caps, “Breaking news: Highest gas prices in history! Do you miss me yet?”
Oil prices are already up 50% since Russia moved on Ukraine despite Russia only providing 10% of the world’s oil supply. That’s because “At any given time, the global supply of oil is likely to be very, very close to global demand. Lowering prices can generate a higher demand (i.e. ‘hey, gas is cheap, let’s buy that SUV!’) but is also likely to idle exploration and other projects that could increase production. When demand touches production, prices rise until demand is checked (i.e. ‘gee, airline prices are so high!’) and projects that might increase supply are more likely to move,” Mark Sumner explained. “The rapid removal of 10% of production from the market means that, for the moment, demand is exceeding supply. Because adding production, even from existing sources, takes some time, the first thing that will happen is that prices will rise until demand is checked.”
“The decision today is not without costs here at home,” Biden said. “Putin’s war is already hurting American families at the gas pump. Since Putin began his military buildup on Ukrainian borders, just since then, the price of the gas at the pump in America went up 75 cents, and with this action, it’s going to go up further. I’m going to do everything I can to minimize Putin’s price hike here at home.” Biden pointed to releases from oil reserves and, like other Democrats including Sens. Ed Markey and Bernie Sanders, warned oil companies against “excessive price increases” or exploiting consumers. “It’s no time for profiteering or price-gouging,” he said, emphasizing that his policies are not standing in the way of oil drilling while calling for a transition to clean energy to boost energy independence.
None of that will prevent the Republican attacks, though.
Really the question is whether you think cutting off Russian energy imports is the right thing to do in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. If it is the right thing to do, then the outcome of doing it shouldn’t be used for partisan advantage. And the fact that Republicans are going to use it that way despite claiming to think it’s the right thing to do is one more thing that should totally discredit them and their claims about how things are going in the U.S. economy and politics.
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