Republicans Worry About Gas Prices Backlash

The LA Times reports this morning that GOP members of Congress are becoming increasingly worried that the federal government's failure to respond to skyrocketing gas prices will come back to bite them at the ballot box in 2006. Legislators say they're not sure constituents will buy the argument that Congress has "few tools to provide immediate relief."

In the article, Republican consultant Tony Fabrizio is quoted as saying "If I were a guy in a marginal race, I would be all over the oil companies. I'd be getting ahead of the curve right now, hauling them before my committee, holding hearings throughout my state - maybe introducing legislation to cap their CEO salaries."

The problem is, steps that could be taken to immediately reduce oil consumption and bring down prices are unpopular. Lowering speed limits, establishing price controls, enforcing mandatory carpool limits - these would work in the short-term, but as Rep. Joe Barton notes (correctly) "People would love to be paying about half what they're paying for gasoline, but they're not willing to subject themselves to the loss of personal freedom and convenience that that would require."

Exactly. Too many Americans want to have their giant SUVs and cheap gas too - when will they realize that those two things are becoming increasingly mutually exclusive? People want quick fixes, but they are not willing to take the steps necessary to make sure we don't find ourselves held hostage to oil companies in the first place. Increase fuel efficiency, spend to develop viable alternatives to petroleum (while not compromising safety) - pick a solution, long-term or short-term, and people whine about it.

Republicans are in a bind here - they don't want to do nothing, because that leaves them open to charges of, well, doing nothing; but they don't want to take steps that would combat high gas prices, because they're unpopular and people might like them even less than paying so much for gas. So it's a tough call (and perhaps a very useful opening for Democrats, even though they don't have very good immediate alternatives to offer either). At the very least, congressional hearings should be held (they're already being planned on the Senate side) to determine the causes of the increases and discuss feasible solutions.