In yet another example of President Joe Biden failing America and leaving the country flat-footed on the world stage, OPEC decided to cut oil production by 2 million barrels a day — a move Biden cast as “shortsighted.” He also called it “a disappointment.” But what Biden really means is that with the midterm elections right around the corner, he and the Democrats are in big trouble.
Gas prices now sit at $3.92 per gallon, more than $1.50 higher than when Biden first took office. And according to a recent Rasmussen poll, 86% of likely voters are concerned about high gas prices. OPEC’s decision is expected to drive up prices even more.
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Biden’s scrambled, incoherent, politically motivated response is to release 10 million more barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. (For reference, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve had 638 million barrels when Biden took office — now it has 416 million.) Additionally, Biden is poised to lift sanctions on Venezuela so that it can produce more oil, though this would do little more than empower Nicolas Maduro, the country’s brutal dictator, and contribute to pollution in the country.
Biden’s actions belie two uncomfortable facts for congressional Democrats. One: America needs gas and oil to get to work, power their homes, and keep our country running, plain and simple. Secondly, what Biden won’t do (such as restarting the Keystone XL pipeline, roll back crushing regulations on U.S. energy producers, and backtrack on eliminating fossil fuels in America) is what the Democrats have also worked to undermine in Congress.
In August 2021, for example, Democrats explicitly rejected an opportunity from Republicans to reverse Biden’s ban on oil and gas leasing on federal lands to help lower gasoline prices and make the U.S. less reliant on OPEC countries for energy security. And just a few months ago, in passing their Bidenflation scam bill, all 50 Senate Democrats voted against expanding American energy production here at home. They also voted against a Republican-led amendment that would have eliminated the bill’s new crude oil tax — an added cost that falls on drivers and on people making less than $400,000 a year.
So yes, Democrats are irrevocably tied to Biden’s radical environmentalist agenda that puts America at the mercy of foreign countries. They helped put the U.S. in a position for Biden to beg OPEC and Saudi Arabia to pump more oil even though they know energy security is national security. But they don’t care. They also put their faith in the wrong man to beg: OPEC and Saudi Arabia rebuffed Biden’s requests. Even worse, in the name of their radical agenda, Democrats have betrayed their constituents by contributing to their financial pain. High gas prices were always the point of the Democrats’ plan to “transition.”
They’ll pay for it in November. As America faces blackouts and high energy costs, the U.S. is left begging other countries for what we could produce right here at home. Biden’s OPEC nightmare was entirely predictable. Democrats completely own this catastrophe that has destroyed American energy independence. When voters elect Republicans, they’ll be voting for jobs, common sense, and a strong America-first policy instead.
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Mandy Gunasekara is a former chief of staff at the Environmental Protection Agency.
