Not to mention how the Leftists are creating a situation through the power of the Imperial Federal Gubmint where refinery capacity is intentionally held back by blocking permitting to build new refineries.....
Would you please back that up with a link that provides specific examples and not just general statements.
As far as I'm aware, the EPA only received one request for a permit to build a new refinery from 1975 to 2000. The permit was granted.
Shell Oil Co. plans to put the brakes on production at its Bakersfield refinery in July and August, potentially shorting California's fuel supplies during the summertime driving season, according to internal Shell documents.
The planned cutback is the latest development in the controversy over the refinery, which can process up to 70,000 barrels a day of crude oil and makes about 2% of California's gasoline supply and 6% of its diesel. Shell has said it will close the facility Oct. 1 in a move that experts predict will boost pump prices by worsening the chronic imbalance between supply and demand in the state.
The internal documents obtained by The Times, including a refinery output forecast, indicate that Bakersfield will soon be producing far less than its capacity. After relatively high output rates in May and early June, Shell plans to cut crude oil processing about 6% in July and another 6% in August, according to the forecast.
http://www.energybulletin.net/717.html
What the article indicates is that here, in California - the land of environmental wackos, even the leftists don't want the refinery shut down - Shell oil wanted it shut down, and it was.
Blaming the enviormental wackos, and blaming the leftists just might deflect attention from the men behind the curtain who have discovered that constricting gasoline supplies allows them to sell less and profit more.