Wisely sensing a political opening with gasoline prices up by more than $1 per gallon since the start of the Iran war, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) outlined an energy agenda that Democrats would pursue in 2027 should they win the congressional elections this November. Unfortunately, his speech revealed Democrats to have learned nothing from their 2024 defeat. They are still peddling an agenda limited to costly, inefficient, but supposedly clean energy that drives prices higher.

Speaking to the League of Conservation Voters, which is notoriously opposed to the use of all fossil fuels, Schumer outlined a five-point energy plan under which Senate Democrats would increase subsidies but only for “clean energy” projects, reform permitting — again only for their favored energy sources — spend more on the electricity energy grid with a special focus on battery storage for renewable energy, ramp up regulations to suppress the development of data centers, and increase energy regulation to encourage lower energy consumption. It is a recipe for higher costs, slower development, and sluggish wealth creation.