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Posted on 10/01/2026 7:25:06 AM PDT by MtnClimber
Democrats are obsessing over high fuel costs, but the historical record and their policy platform strongly suggests that things would be even worse if they were in charge.
As November’s midterm elections approach, Democrat candidates have obsessed over rising fuel costs, making the price at the pump the central issue in their closing message to voters as they lambast the so-called “war of choice” in Iran.
With the national average approaching $4.50 per gallon, the cost of gas is indeed a real problem for American families – and the war with Iran is indeed the primary reason for it. The Trump administration has made the case that the war and its costs are necessary to prevent the terrorist Iranian regime from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Republican candidates have sought to largely avoid the issue entirely, instead focusing on Democrats’ radical policies and the socialist surge within the party.
But there is another, more compelling argument Republicans have in their favor on this front: voting Democrat won’t lower the price of gas – or anything else, for that matter.
Americans have every right to be upset about the cost of living and the fact that the American Dream seems to be slipping further out of reach. But they should actually look at Democrats’ record on energy policy rather than just blindly assuming that voting for the out-of-power party will lead to a reversal of what they’re frustrated about.
Sometimes, as is the case here, the alternative is worse than the current situation, as undesirable as it may be. Republicans who feel discouraged or unmotivated to turn out in November should remember how bad things were just a few years ago and have the same sense of urgency that they had in 2024 to prevent a return to Democrat rule this year.
But more importantly, it wasn’t too long ago when gas was even more expensive than it is now – above $5 per gallon in 2022, when Democrats controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress. Biden blamed much of the increase on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The war certainly aggravated an already tight global oil market, but the price increases began well before Russian troops crossed the Ukrainian border.
According to the Energy Information Administration, regular gasoline averaged approximately $2.38 per gallon immediately before Biden took office in January 2021. By February 21, 2022, three days before the invasion, it had climbed to $3.53.
In inflation-adjusted dollars, gas averaged $4.69 per gallon in 2022 and $4.02 per gallon in 2023, compared to $3.95 per gallon so far this year. That’s cold comfort for families shelling out more than they feel they should be at the pump, but it does provide some context for the current crisis – and a reminder that Democrats’ record was even worse.
Biden entered office determined to transform American energy policy, and congressional Democrats were all too eager to assist.
On his first day as president, Biden revoked the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, effectively terminating a project designed to transport approximately 830,000 barrels of Canadian crude oil daily. That would’ve reduced prices at the pump dramatically.
A week later, he ordered a pause on new federal oil and gas leasing. A federal judge blocked that decision in June 2021, but the message had been sent that his administration would be no friend to oil and gas producers. Biden also pursued additional restrictions on fossil-fuel development and regulations intended to gut the industry.
Contrast that approach with a milestone achieved during Trump’s first administration when, in 2019, the United States became a net energy exporter for the first time in 67 years.
Americans should also look to current liberal strongholds to see what a vote for Democrats actually looks like in practice. Perhaps the clearest example is California.
On September 25, motorists in the Democrat-governed state were paying an average of $6.24 per gallon, compared with $4.49 nationally. California’s higher fuel taxes, environmental programs, and specialized gasoline requirements have all contributed to its unusually expensive fuel market.
Compounding those costs is the complete collapse of the state’s refining facilities as a result of Governor Gavin Newsom’s regulatory assault on the industry. Phillips 66 began shutting down its Los Angeles-area refinery in 2025. Valero subsequently idled its Benicia refinery, completing the process in April 2026. Together, the facilities had accounted for approximately 20 percent of California’s refining capacity.
These developments are especially significant given California Democrats’ longstanding ambition to phase out gasoline-powered automobiles. That ambition that has now become popular at the federal level as well, with Biden signing an order that would have required half of all new vehicles to be electric by 2030. (Trump quickly reversed that order after taking office.)
Democrats’ EV mandates have not only made fuel more expensive, but cars as well. Everywhere Democrats are in charge, taxes and regulations are hammering working families.
The broader affordability debate should raise similar red flags for voters about Democrats’ economic record.
Inflation reached 9.1 percent in June 2022, its highest annual rate in more than four decades. Americans experienced substantial increases in prices for gasoline, groceries, housing, and other household necessities.
Republicans subsequently passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, making major provisions of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent and introducing additional tax deductions. Passage of the bill prevented what would have been the largest tax hike in American history. Yet every congressional Democrat opposed the legislation. When Democrats had the chance to actually put more money back in the pockets of working Americans, they voted “no.”
Moreover, the data isn’t all bad now, despite some persistent pain points in the economy. Inflation-adjusted household income hit a record high in 2025. Stock indexes have touched multiple record highs in recent weeks. The most recent jobs report was exceptionally strong, well above expectations. Unemployment remains low.
The central question voters should ask candidates campaigning on affordability is straightforward: Beyond criticizing today’s prices, what specific policies would you implement to bring down the cost of gas or anything else? And, just as importantly, what have you actually done to implement those policies?
Democrat candidates have now conveniently decided that affordability is worth talking about after ignoring it for four years when the cost-of-living crisis was even worse under their watch. Voters should view their newfound concern with skepticism.
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DemocRATs caused the terrible inflation after 2020 and Trump has slowed it down. Prices will likely not go back to where they were. You would have to pull the money out of circulation that Biden printed and gave away during the CIVID scare.
In fact Democrats LOVE the higher prices because it means MORE SALES TAX
Only idiots think democrats will make gas prices suddenly go down- look at the gas prices during Biden!!!
I live in a hard-core, deeply entrenched Democrat state: California. Doesn’t get worse than that as far as high taxes and high gas prices.
Drove past my usual station yesterday and the cheapest gas was $6.09/gallon.
THIS is what voting Democrat gets you.
“Only idiots think democrats will make gas prices suddenly go down- look at the gas prices during Biden!!!”
The American public is so full of idiots it’s beyond my comprehension. The public is just as ignorant as the government schools wanted them to be. I think many will vote DSA because the media told them they should be unhappy.
It is truly a shame that the situation was never explained properly to the American public.
MANY people obviously hoped that Trump would bring prices back DOWN to pre-covid levels.
THAT WAS NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN!
But that was never explained properly to the American public. Deflation (the opposite of inflation) is the nightmare the fed tries to avoid at all costs. And only deflation could have brought prices back down.
The best case scenerio was to bring down the inflation rate to where the government wants it to be (WHICH THEY DID!!!!)
Trump and the fed succeeded in fixing the Covid Inflation mess caused by liberals.
But this was never properly explained to the population and then on TOP OF THAT we had Trump messing around with tariffs and attacking Iran which handed the left a gift of blame to hang on Trump and replublicans this election.
When the price of groceries and gas is sky high and the party in power can directly and easily be seen as the cause... yeah... I am sorry, but that party is going to be thrown out of power, even if the alternative is horrible.
At some point the GOP is going to have to give us a reason to vote for them. Not just say we’re a little bit less bad
The spending orgy was initiated in the last year of Trump's first term, and his complaints in 2021 were that Congress was being too stingy and should be giving out more cash.
"The bill they are now planning to send back to my desk is much different than anticipated," Trump said in a video posted on Twitter. "It really is a disgrace."
The U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate both passed the legislation overwhelmingly on Monday night.
Trump said he wants Congress to increase the amount in the stimulus checks to $2,000 for individuals or $4,000 for couples, instead of the "ridiculously low" $600 for individuals that is in the bill.
Now in 2026 he's promising to send $5,000 payments out:
"I don't know but it's easy if the Republicans win. $5,000 to all adults in the country and we can easily handle that because we're taking in so much money," Trump told reporters when asked if Congress would need to approve the payments
He's completely unserious about the debt, and it will destroy this country.
“The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money” - Alexis De Tocqueville
Let's stick with the facts:
Under Obama and Biden the gas price were a LOT higher. Thank you president Trump for lowering them.
The democrat vote will likely mean gas prices don’t go down much if at all. Ever. Just plug it in.
All that oil money use to flow into Islamoland. Now it is flowing to American oil companies. Be of good cheer that extra money paid at the pump is now helping American oil companies expand production and not giving so much of it to our enemies in Islamoland.
That’s for sure.
Their proudest moments included canceling the Keystone Pipeline and a million other measures to skyrocket fuel prices.
I’m sorry to say how stupid most people are.
Staying home is like poking a dagger into your own liferaft.
anyone care to predict the midterms? I really don’t know what’s going to happen, but would be eager to hear some thoughtful analysis.
America is reaching the point where our choice between “blue and red” is similar to the choice other nations faced - between Lenin vs. Kolchak, Caballero vs. Franco, or Mugabe vs. Smith
Its about survival, not about who may potentially fix potholes more efficiently
The party of the President typically loses the midterms.
Obama and Joe Biden campaigned on raising gas prices. How the democrats get away with the nonsense baffles me???
Spending by Congress is a systemic problem. It does not matter too much which party is in charge because the incentive is overwhelmingly spend spend spend! Only once in American history has the Federal Debt been zero and that was under Andrew Jackson. Only a Balanced Budget Amendment has any chance of changing that and only a Convention Of States has any chance of getting that done .
“food”
The US spent about $125 billion on weight loss drugs in 2025.
That’s about $350/US resident for 2025, or about $1/day/US resident.
“fuel”
A $1/day is probably the increased cost of gasoline. A US worker probably averages a gallon a day getting to and from work (average commute 20 miles, average fuel consumption 20mpg).
Ukraine, with the aid of anti-Trump election manipulating nations such as the UK and France, is currently taking about as much crude oil off the world market as the Iran conflict.
It is my understanding that Ukraine has cut off diesel exports from Russia entirely in its effort from stopping Russian Army trucks from getting diesel fuel supplies. The voters can’t expect Ukraine to relent in that effort.
There was a vigorous clamor here on FR to hit the Russian oil industry hard.
Russian oil tankers are subject to seizure by anti-Trump nations such as the UK and France.
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