
 |
|
May 24, 2013
May 22, 2013
John Thorne:
They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman
May 20, 2013
Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?
Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star
The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013
Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation
David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church
May 10, 2013
Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be
May 8, 2013
Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas
Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate
Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility
May 6, 2013
May 3, 2013
Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine
April 29, 2013
Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust
Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?
Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA
April 26, 2013
Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty
April 24, 2013
|
| |
Jewish World Review
May 9, 2006
/ 11 Iyar, 5766
How GOPers can move away from the blame for gas price escalation
By
Dick Morris
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
When politicians misunderstand the basic assumptions of the electorate, bad things happen to them at election time. It's happening now with the GOP, the voters and oil prices.
The average Republican pol would swear on his or her mother's soul that it is market realities of supply and demand that set the price of oil and gasoline. But voters don't agree.
The Fox News poll of May 2-3 shows how deep voters' distrust is of oil companies and their manipulation of energy prices. Asked "to the best of your knowledge, is the price of oil set by oil companies and manufacturers or do buyers and sellers in the market place set the price based on supply and demand?" voters get it wrong — even Republicans. All voters say that it is set by oil companies by 52 percent to 42 percent; Republicans say that the energy companies set the price by 49-43.
Thus there is a fundamental disjuncture between what Republican politicians and policy types think is at work in the escalation of gas prices and what the voters think is happening.
And also different answers. GOP politicians, and White House operatives, try to address the gas price issue by encouraging increased oil production — drilling in Alaska, off shore, under the bed. Indeed, Democrats also look at supply and demand — though they emphasize conservation, slow driving and increasing fuel-efficiency standards for cars.
But most voters don't buy into either end of the supply/demand equation as the explanation for high prices. For them, it's just the oil companies ripping us off. So, in the view of the American people, the pols' market-oriented remedies miss the point.
The Fox News poll asked voters who is to blame for the oil price spike: The federal government, uncertainty over Iran, curbs on oil drilling in the Arctic, increased use of oil by India and China, driving big cars, hurricane damage to refinery capacity — all those came in behind the oil executives as the cause: Sixty-six percent cited the companies as having a "lot" to do with the price increase. (Even Republicans cited put the oil companies as the No. 1 villain).
| FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO INFLUENTIAL NEWSLETTER |
| Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". HUNDREDS of columnists and cartoonists regularly appear. Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. |
|
The result is a big loser for the GOP. When the Fox News poll asked who was more responsible for the high gasoline price, Republicans were blamed by 36 percent; Democrats, only 20 percent. (Independents blamed Republicans by 32 percent, Democrats by 11 percent. A full 19 percent of Republicans blamed their own party.)
The answer? Democrats will feature crackdowns on evil oil company executives. But mimicking them wouldn't serve Republicans well — it's a game Democrats will always play better.
No. Republicans need to look at the man in the White House and understand that he is closely linked to the oil industry — which is the source of the problem in the estimation of most voters. It is only by declaring independence of oil politics that Bush can salvage GOP chances for 2006 and beyond.
Bush can outdo the Democrats in only one area: He can lead a national effort to convert from oil to other fuels in the immediate future. He can declare a Manhattan Project to build alcohol fuel plants rapidly and to incentivize the production of cars to run on them.
Those who say that ethanol and alcohol fuels are inefficient need to realize that vast improvements have been made in production efficiency in recent years and more can be expected with economies of scale and new technology.
By moving away from oil dependence, Republicans can move away from the blame for the gasoline price escalation. No other solution will do.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Dick Morris is author, most recently, of "Because He Could". (Click HERE to purchase. Sales help fund JWR.) Comment by clicking here.
Dick Morris Archives
© 2006, Dick Morris
| |

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Christine Flowers
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
A. Barton Hinkle
Jeff Jacoby
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ch. Krauthammer
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Clarence Page
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Greg Schwem
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Lenore Skenazy
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Lisa Benson
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
Matt Davies
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Walt Handelsman
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
David Horsey
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Chan Lowe
Jimmy Margulies
Jack Ohman
Michael Ramirez
Rob Rogers
Drew Sheneman
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Scott Stantis
Danna Summers
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters
Dan Wasserman

Tech Q&A
Mr. Know-It-All
Ask Doctor K
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|