Free Republic

The White House's energy agenda is under fire as gasoline tops $4.17 per gallon. Republicans argue that President Joe Biden's temporary freeze on new drilling leases and other initiatives centered on clean energy have hurt the country's ability to produce its own oil and gas. Their criticism has ramped up as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine throws the global energy market into a tailspin, driving the price of crude oil up to $129 per barrel. "You talk about weakness on the part of Joe Biden. He comes to office, and what does he do?" Representative Josh Hawley said at...

~ EXCERPT ~ Are high gas prices a good thing? That is not as dumb a question as it sounds. Examine a few revealing remarks from President Obama and the Cabinet officials who are in charge of the nation's energy use and oil leases on federal lands. Then decide whether soaring gas prices are supposed to be good. In 2008, then-Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar — now the interior secretary in charge of the leasing of federal oil lands — refused to vote for any new offshore drilling. In a Senate exchange with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Salazar objected to...