One important function of the progressive blogosphere is to act as something of a watchdog of our own party. Most of us have received an e-mail from Sen. Harry Reid via the DNC urging us to support the Menendez Amendment to repeal federal gas taxes for the next 60 days. This is WORSE than the idiotic GOP proposal to mail us all $100 checks for several reasons.
1. The Menendez Amendment provides the greatest savings to the wealthiest and most profligate gas guzzlers. The GOP plan was progressive--everybody gets $100, regardless of wealth.
2. The Menendez Amendment provides no incentives to curb our oil addiction. At least the GOP plan left in place incentives to greater gas efficiency.
3. The Menendez Amendment ensures that we buy foreign oil as fast as we can, ensuring we stay as dependent on the Middle East as possible. Because we could have spent the $100 from the GOP plan however we wanted, less of the government giveaway would wind up "over there".
Both the Democratic and Republican plans for lowering gas prices are rank pandering, and we ought to oppose them. Gas prices in real terms are not yet at historic highs, so hitting the government handout "panic button" is premature. Meanwhile, our focus ought to be on how best to conserve oil through increasing efficiency and developing other sustainable energy sources, both of which have the added bonus of reducing impacts on the environment and dependence on foreign oil. And both of those efforts are well-served through maintenance, and indeed expansion, of gas taxes.