Guess who wants to get tough with Big Oil

April 24, 2006

How worried are [tag]Republicans[/tag] about [tag]gas prices[/tag] becoming yet another election-year hurdle? According to a report in Roll Call today, they’re approaching panic.

House and Senate GOP leaders will ask the [tag]Bush[/tag] administration to launch a formal investigation into the cause of soaring gas prices this week as part of a renewed push by Republicans to refocus attention on the party’s economic and social agenda in the next three months. […]

[Bill Frist] informed his colleagues that he and Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) would this week “ask the president early next week to direct the [Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice] to investigate whether a) price gouging, or b) speculation in the oil markets are contributing to the current high prices” adding that the Senate next month will take up both short- and long-term proposals to ease gas prices.

At the same time, Sen. [tag]Arlen Specter[/tag] (R-Pa.) is talking up a “[tag]windfall tax[/tag]” for oil companies.

Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said a windfall profits tax, along with measures to stem concentration of market power among a few select oil companies, could offer eventual relief to consumers at the gas pump.

Perhaps the funniest part is hearing congressional Republicans complain about [tag]Exxon Mobil[/tag] CEO [tag]Lee Raymond[/tag] receiving nearly a half-billion dollars in compensation last year.

“The Speaker is extremely concerned with exorbitant retirement packages given to oil company CEOs while that money could be put into increasing refining capacity,” said Hastert spokesman Ron Bonjean.

Wait a sec. We’re supposed to believe that congressional Republicans are worried about cracking down on oil executives who make too much money? That they’re ready to raise taxes on oil companies with too much profit?

Please. As Kevin recently noted, Exxon Mobil was the largest campaign contributor in the Oil & Gas sector during the 2004 election cycle — and 89% of their contributions went to the GOP.

Americans may want political leaders who are willing to stand up to the oil companies, but if Republicans think they can fit the bill, they’re crazy.

[Bill Frist] informed his colleagues that he and Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) would this week “ask the president early next week to direct the [Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice] to investigate whether a) price gouging, or b) speculation in the oil markets are contributing to the current high prices” adding that the Senate next month will take up both short- and long-term proposals to ease gas prices.

I note that Frist is not asking the President if his jingoism about Iran is ‘contributing to the current high prices’. Nor whether his failed policies in Iraq are.

  • Damn big government Republicans! When they’re not in “debt and spend” mode they trying to tell business how to do their business. So much for Adam Smith’s invisible hand of capitalist progress knowing better than Republican bureaucrats. They really must be desperate if they’re wanting to piss-off their business base right before important mid-term elections.

  • Hey “doubtful”, remember what was said last week about the gas companies helping to adjust Bush’s popularity? Squeze ’em till it hurts (but not toooo much now!), then lower the cost a bit to help the ‘publicans numbers. Make it all look like it was the politicians gettin all up-in-their-tar-smeared-faces.

  • You know, in all seriousness, Congress should really look at developing an Alternative Minimum Tax computation for corporations. They can do it to individuals, why can’t they do it to big business?? Especially when they’re making $10 billion/quarter. There should be some incentive to governement to get additional $$ out of the companies…

    I know, I know, as long as Republican’ts are in charge, it can’t be done.

  • Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said a windfall profits tax, along with measures to stem concentration of market power among a few select oil companies, could offer eventual relief to consumers at the gas pump.

    The operative word here, seeing as it’s Specter we’re talking about, is “could” as in “could offer relief”. But it won’t, as in “won’t offer relief” with Specter doing his usual dance to look tough while folding to the Bush adminstration.

    But who knows, maybe Arlen’s got a magic bullet for this one, right?

    What a laugh.

  • “You know, in all seriousness, Congress should really look at developing an Alternative Minimum Tax computation for corporations.” – Gridlock

    I’m pretty sure there is one already. I read (heard?) recently about a company that tried some accounting shenanigans to avoid a $1,000,000,000 in taxes. They ended up paying $300,000,000 in AMT.

    And it’s not the AMT, it’s the Ronald Reagan Tax. Remember that!

  • Republicans telling their sugar-daddies to not to be so greedy? Hah.

    The day the GOP challenges Big Oil will be the day they find another constituent who pays better. Until then, this hand-wringing is all for entertainment value only.

  • Two things to note.

    First, I’m thinking that Frist, Hastert, and all their little Republikanner cronies are in a tight squeeze—and they know it. They’ve got a choice, either to (a) keep cozied-up with their big-fat-rich robber-baron buddies in Big Oil…or (b) keep their jobs and agenda come November. Second, it might well be that even the greed-soaked GOP is seeing the writing on the wall—and it’s time to start getting out of Oil, and into the ground-floor of alternative power sources. Anyone else notice how these slimeballs are fawning all over the idea of a “Nuclear Renaissance?”

  • I seem to remember Bush brokering a deal two years ago to push the price of oil back down before the election from the summer highs of 2004. I don’t see why it won’t happen again, and all this becomes moot anyway.

  • Say, what ever happened to that fella, George Dubya I think it was, who said that he was fixin to “jawbone the Saudis” about the high cost of crude back when it was nearly $60/bbl??

    I think Katrina must’ve swept him out to sea.

  • PessimisticClown,

    Oh yeah, I definately remember. This is something to keep an eye on.

    I think manipulating the oil markets can have a dramatic effect on political elections, and I think that’s the plan for this cycle.

  • I sure wish that Rubberstamp Republican Congress would “get tough” with me. I’d be getting free vacations, huge tax cuts and no-bid contracts!

  • I’m with Glen–Big Oil won’t lessen their profits just to keep the GOP in office (after all, profits is the reason they bought the GOP in the first place–if the GOP can’t deliver, then what good are they?). Big Oil will want its pound of flesh–more subsidies, tax cuts, ad nauseam.

  • Just saw on the news that Bush is ordering a probe into gas prices…

    AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    That guy fucking kills me.

  • Well this is it. This is where we get to find out whether Hamilton, Madison, and Jay were (1) geniuses, or (2) idiots.

    (1) geniuses, if the Repugs either get their ever-lovin’ asses kicked in November, or are finally and permanently dragged back to the center to avoid this outcome, or

    (2) idiots, if corporate feudal dominance wins the day, the Repugs hold on to power, and the people get screwed again.

    Oh, and each without bloody revolution or civil war, too.

    The nicest thing about a balance of power is that elegant pendulum. And it’s a-swingin’ to the left these days, big time.

  • I think the oil companies do not set the oil price. If they did a barrel of oil would never have reached $15 dollars back in the 1990s. It would not go up and down on almost a daily basis. It would probably cost $100 a barrel all the time. I think what happens is oil contracts are bid on at commodity exchanges. Unlike a shirt at JC Penney (where the prices is set by the store) the price of oil is set by the purchaser.
    As to gas prices in the U.S. The next time we scream about gas we need to look at the size of the engine of our cars. Maybe if we consumed less, gas would cost less.
    As a final thought, the gas in this country is produced in 26 varieties (based on state requirements). So the refineries cannot produce gas for the entire country but almost on a state by state bases. I am not sure this could be done but if there were to produce say 2 types of gas (one for the north to accommodate winter and one for the south), maybe there would be more gas to go around.
    Let me know where I have gone wrong.
    Thanks

    • Comments are closed.