Gingrich: Talkin' TWO DOLLAR Gasoline

Reaganite Republican ^ | February 14, 2011 | Reaganite Republican

[Reaganite Republican]

Newt Gingrich spoke at a Los Angeles fundraiser yesterday, where the focus was 'bringing down the price of gas', always a lively topic out there in ten-lane-freeway land.

Key to the market-based Gingrich energy strategy would be accelerated domestic oil exploration: 'We know how to get gasoline prices back down: produce more gas' said the Former House Speaker. 

'Join us in a campaign to drill here, drill now, pay less and let’s get back to $2 a gallon gasoline with Gingrich, not $5 a gallon gasoline with Obama.'

Typically, the ideas Newt puts-forth are simple and straightforward... just common-sense, really:

Gingrich Energy Plan

1. Remove bureaucratic and legal obstacles to responsible oil and natural gas development in the United States, offshore and on land.
2. End the ban on oil shale development in the American West, where we have three times the amount of oil as Saudi Arabia.
3. Give coastal states federal royalty revenue sharing to give them an incentive to allow offshore development.
4. Reduce frivolous lawsuits that hold up energy production by enacting loser pays laws to force the losers in an environmental lawsuit to pay all legal costs for the other side.
5. Finance cleaner energy research and projects with new oil and gas royalties.
6. Replace the Environmental Protection Agency, which has become a job-killing regulatory engine of higher energy prices, with an Environmental Solutions Agency that would use incentives and work cooperatively with local government and industry to achieve better environmental outcomes while considering the impact of federal environmental policies on job creation and the cost of energy.

Sadly, the warped 'progressive' movement has beaten our oil industry to the ground at every opportunity for over three years now... and for what? Four-to-five dollar a gallon gas still hasn't got anybody buying Chevy Volts, you idiots... they're just spending less money everywhere else in the economy while they rumble -and grumble- down the road in their V-8 Grand Cherokee.

In LA yesterday Newt also repeated his previously-stated intention to dismantle the EPA and replace it with a structure that actually takes into account the interests US industry, energy producers, and consumers (for a change)... more of that 'common sense' we were just talking about, and how refreshing indeed it would be to have a president who knows what country he's supposed to be helping.

So,  the average US motorist drives about 15,000 miles a year, and the national average gas price right now is $4.09. If your car gets 20 mpg, that's over $3000 annual fuel cost.

That means that a fulfillment of Gingrich's $2.00 gasoline pledge would save the average driver an easy $1500/year ($125/mo CASH in your pocket every month). Hey, do your own math at over $2.00 savings per gallon... for some of you lead-foots this will amount to a small fortune. Ya think that kind of (ongoing) savings might help the country's crippled economy?

Note that this (free) improvement in ALL our standards-of-living will be provided courtesy of the American free-market capitalist system (not still-more gub'ment cheese), as the supply side of the US energy industry is revitalized with an energy program that strengthens and enriches this country... not constrains and impoverishes, as the lunatic Obama regime has done 

-and is doing- to us.

It can happen again...

Meanwhile out there at the front, it's still Newt Gingrich

-not Ricky 19-Point-Shellacking Santorum-

who's got Mittens and BHO still looking over their shoulder...

LATimes   Newt2012   NYT   Maggie's Notebook

Starting a RR ping list for any interstested, pls FReepmail @ Reaganite Republican... TIA!

[TomGuy]

$2.00????

Didn’t Bachmann promise $1.80 gasoline?

This kind of pandering goes nowhere, as no one really believes it.

==

If prices rise too much, look for Obama to pull a Clinton and release oil from the Strategic Oil Reserve to lower prices — in time for the November election.

[Harlan1196]

Production goes up > prices go down > millions more people in China and India can buy gas > demand goes up > prices go up.

And how does Newt plan to prevent OPEC from regulating production to keep price where they want them?

I am in favor of increased production for economic security reasons. But it is foolish to think a US president can control the price of global commodities - there are too many factors beyond his control. This is political pandering.

[eyeamok]

The only problem is we are Producing far more Gasoline than we are using, in fact we are experiencing the Highest percentage of Refined Motor Fuels being exported to other countries than ever before. So cheap Gas is not the problem, we already have too much. The problem is Government and the Fed STEALING THE VALUE OF YOUR ASSETS AND MONEY thru Inflation and Regulation. And since there is virtually No Manufacturing in this country anymore, we really do not need the fuel to go back and forth to work, now there could be a case made to ease the price of Fuel in an effort to make it easier to go to the Government Buildings to get Food Stamps, Housing Vouchers, Cell Phones, Cash Aid, and Welfare Checks, but that is all.

[bray]

When he entered office it was 1.80 per and then he closed down the Gulf.

Pray for America

[ShadowAce]

And how does Newt plan to prevent OPEC from regulating production to keep price where they want them?

If we would take advantage of the resources we have in this country, we wouldn't need anything from OPEC, and their demand would go down--plus we could actually export our own oil and gas.

[mmichaels1970]

And how does Newt plan to prevent OPEC from regulating production to keep price where they want them?

Abolish the EPA?

[American Constitutionalist]

Yes it is pandering just like the 40 % rollback of Obama’s policies on the first day in office. unrealistic. but good ideas.

[rockinqsranch]

I don’t recall if it was the threat of opening up the reserves, or drilling to increase domestic oil production that G.W. Bush threatened once upon a time, and of a sudden the price of gasoline at the pump dropped like a rock.

Do you all recall that incident?

I would think that were Palin, Gingrich, or some other conservative with an attitude in the drivers seat again, and with a compatible Congress that a whole lot could happen simply with nuance, or innuendo, much less cooperative congressional legislation.

[Reaganite Republican]

Personal *PING*

[American Constitutionalist]

Remember Nixon’s and Carter’s Idea of Price freezes ?

[Harlan1196]

I would have to see some hard numbers regarding reserves and production capacity.

Here is also something to consider - how is the President going to keep that oil in America? It is a global market run by global companies. If they can sell it for more in China then they will. Cheap gas will simply increase global demand.

Which raises another point - what reason do the oil companies have to go along with Newt’s plan?

[and so?]

Gingrich: Talkin' TWO DOLLAR Gasoline

Yeah, yeah, that's all well and good, but what's his position on diesel...you know, the stuff that fuels the transportation of goods to market and food production and, um, my pick-up...

[Reaganite Republican]

REAGAN crashed the price of gasoline!

He even did a deal with the Saudis, he sold them arms and THEY opened up the spigots

When the price of a bbl of oil fell to $20, the USSR’s only real source of hard currency dried up... pushing them on towards their inevitable collapse

And is the Reaganite in this race... that’s what Art Laffer says, good enough for me then

[Harlan1196]

It easy to influence the market in the very short term - it is another to make fundamental changes to the market that produce permanently lower prices. The President doesn’t have that power.

And why would one think that the oil companies want permanently lower prices?

[magritte]

Channeling Michele Bachmann?? Intriguing.

[magritte]

Channeling Michele Bachmann?? Intriguing.

[TomGuy]

When he entered office it was 1.80 per and then he closed down the Gulf.

In 2000, the average price was 1.52.
In 2004, 1.89.
In 2007, 2.85.
In July 2008, 4.06.
In Jan 2009, 1.61
Today, about 3.48

Source: eia.gov historic view and eia.gov recent annual view

When Obama took office, gas was between 2.86 (Dec 2007) and 3.11 (Feb 2008), not 1.80.

Source: Gasbuddy.com historical chart

[No!]

I have always though he should say $1.00 gas....

Or at LEAST say “get to” upon full production.

I’m not at all excited about $2.00

wtf?

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

The way Government gets involved, and mostly what Newt is talking about, is to remove the EPA from the process, deregulate all the ridiculous compliance and environmental studies that are designed to take years.

Next, remove all the heavy taxes on the product and fund roads like they are being funded for now, with regular tax revenues. The “road tax” on fuel has never worked, and not one dime of that tax ever went to build or repair a road.

Finally, the very biggest thing they can do, is actually approve a refinery or Nuclear Electric plant or two to be built, and remove that massive restriction to supply.

And yes, absolutely, a President has massive powers at hand to make this happen immediately through emergency executive order.