(RoyalPatriot.com )- According to a report by Insider, some vulnerable Senate Democrats who are up for re-election this year are looking at the possibility of pushing to suspend federal gas tax as a sign to voters that they care about inflation and understand the suffering of average working families.
However, the report notes that this exact same idea was considered back in 2008, when then-President Barack Obama laughed it off and suggested that a temporary suspension of gas taxes wouldn’t make any difference.
When the idea was floated by Republican Senator John McCain and Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton, Obama said that it wasn’t an idea “designed to get you through the summer.”
Obama even slammed McCain’s suggestion during a rally speech.
“Half a tank of gas,” he said in the speech in North Carolina. “That’s his big solution.”
But now, this common-sense idea is being advocated by politicians…and it couldn’t come too soon. With the cost of crude oil now well over $100, thanks to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, gas prices are expected to continue soaring through the rest of the year.
Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona suggested on Tuesday that suspending gas taxes through the end of the year was a “pretty obvious thing to do.” He proposed legislation that would get rid of the 18.4 cent-per-gallon tax through the year.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also noted that “eight or nine” Congressional Democrats have pushed the idea, “including many of those that are in tough races in 2022.”
If you think about it, even though the idea would give some welcome relief to working families…it’s only temporary. And it also suggests that the only reason these vulnerable Democrats are proposing it is that they are fearful of losing their seats in November.
Would they even care about it if they weren’t at risk of being unseated by a Republican later this year?
