qrayjack
07-18-2008, 06:03 AM
Dems’ Doublethink on Drilling
Will the oil issue prove a gusher for the congressional GOP?
By David Freddoso, RCP
In the novel 1984, George Orwell used the word “doublethink” to describe the process of believing two contradictory ideas simultaneously. The concept invites an appropriate but superficial comparison to congressional Democrats’ current approach to gasoline prices.
Idea Number One: High gasoline prices are good. A high price, imposed through federal carbon taxes or carbon caps, is precisely the mechanism by which Democrats hope to curb carbon emissions. We know that this mechanism works because it is already working: As gas prices rise, American consumption is down right now, year over year (a historical rarity). CO2 emissions from gasoline are down from 2007 by a modest 84,000 tons, or roughly 2 percent.
Idea Number Two: High gasoline prices are bad. With constituents irate over gasoline prices that are pushing $5 a gallon, Democrats complain that high prices are a bad thing. They have dreamed up a number of boogie men responsible for high prices and drafted silver-bullet bills to kill them off.
MORE (http://article.nationalrevi ew.com/?q=MDRjYzY3OTg3MzU4O DgxNTYwODMxMTdlY2MwZ GRhMTk)
*The Doublethink Democrats. Definitely Orwellian.
Will the oil issue prove a gusher for the congressional GOP?
By David Freddoso, RCP
In the novel 1984, George Orwell used the word “doublethink” to describe the process of believing two contradictory ideas simultaneously. The concept invites an appropriate but superficial comparison to congressional Democrats’ current approach to gasoline prices.
Idea Number One: High gasoline prices are good. A high price, imposed through federal carbon taxes or carbon caps, is precisely the mechanism by which Democrats hope to curb carbon emissions. We know that this mechanism works because it is already working: As gas prices rise, American consumption is down right now, year over year (a historical rarity). CO2 emissions from gasoline are down from 2007 by a modest 84,000 tons, or roughly 2 percent.
Idea Number Two: High gasoline prices are bad. With constituents irate over gasoline prices that are pushing $5 a gallon, Democrats complain that high prices are a bad thing. They have dreamed up a number of boogie men responsible for high prices and drafted silver-bullet bills to kill them off.
MORE (http://article.nationalrevi ew.com/?q=MDRjYzY3OTg3MzU4O DgxNTYwODMxMTdlY2MwZ GRhMTk)
*The Doublethink Democrats. Definitely Orwellian.