Gas Hax
post a comment | posted May 6
I was just remarking the other day to Elle that even if our guy doesn't win the primary (and I can't really see how that's gonna happen, but you really never know in American politics these days) I still felt I could vote for Mrs. Clinton with a clear conscience, since we're really voting character in this particular primary, more than anything else.
I may have to revise that position, though.
This fucking gas tax holiday bullshit is so unbelievable as to completely defy any sort of logic by which human beings operate. While I'm of the opinion that any tax relief is A-OK (and more so now that I actually have an income that puts me in the "HOLY FUCKING SHIT" bracket when April 15th comes around) this one has got to be the Stupid of all Stupids.
Let me get this straight: the Big Plan is to have a 3-month holiday on the 18.5 cents a gallon federal gas tax, and in turn charge that to the oil companies as a windfall tax? Ummmmm... I don't suppose the oil companies will maybe, say, charge 18.5 cents a gallon more to cover that? Nah, they'll just pay that several billion dollars out of the kindness of their hearts.
This is the worst kind of political pandering, because it is so blatantly obvious, yet people still debate it as if it is a serious thing. Mrs. Clinton put forth a bill to do just such a holiday last week; it has no hope whatsoever of ever even coming to the senate floor for a vote, because Mr. Reid, at least in this matter, is a fucking adult. But the fact that she's campaigning on it, and using it to say that Obama doesn't have the welfare of the American people in his heart, is so ridiculous I don't even have words for it. It smacks of last-ditch effort, frankly, and just looks bad for everyone involved.
So, while Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama are actually fairly similar, and hew to the party platform pretty closely in all respects, I can't say that I can vote for Mrs. Clinton with a clear conscience any more, because this whole gas tax holiday proves what Elle has been saying all along: she's far more interested in hearing "Mrs. President" than having a democrat be in office.
Well, for what it's worth, no matter what the news might ponder, there's no fucking way she's gonna win Oregon.