Holiday In Cambodia – Dead Kennedys
Okay, last week I asked if there was anything more stupid than the recent spat about Obama’s “bitter” comments. In the last several days, that question has been answered. By far the silliest thing yet to happen in this neverending primary season are the gas tax “holiday” proposals from McCain and Hillary.
Beyond just the absurdity of the proposals themselves, there is the very terrifying thought that such pandering actually could prove effective. I find it hard to believe that people could be bamboozeled by something so transparently stupid, but I also can’t imagine that Hillary’s campaign would deliberately shoot itself in the foot, which means they think they have a winner here. Double yikes, all around.
For one thing, it clearly wouldn’t work. It’s not like there’s tons of excess supply. Prices are this high because there’s a finite amount available and people are willing to pay this much. Lower the tax and most of the gap will simply be filled by the producers and retailers raising the price. But even if it did work, it would be mere peanuts compared to the pointless stimulus package (which also won’t work) they already passed.
But most importantly, it gives credence to the idea that gas prices are unfairly high and that gas taxes are an unreasonable imposition on normal people, when precisely the opposite is true. Gas taxes should be higher because we have a clear case of costs (environmental, security, etc.) which are not being properly captured by the market. Taxes should be higher and the new revenue should be recycled into programs that will help resolve oil dependency in both the long and short term. Better public transit, R&D for alternative energy options, more efficient vehicles, etc.
As tensions have run high this primary season, it’s been easy to become disillusioned in the other person, but I’ve already tried to keep in mind that I love both of these candidates a lot and would be ecstatic to see either in the White House. That said, this gas tax thing is the first time I’ve felt the urge to just throw up my hands in despair.
Not because I think it’s the biggest deal in the world. I mean, Iraq, health care, etc. obviously matter far more. But I’m just terribly depressed by what this pandering says about Hillary the candidate. It’s a stand-in for all the things that scare me about her, and a clear example that I am right to worry. Chris Bowers says it all pretty well here, if you want to know all the ins and outs.
Now, as someone who voted for Obama, plays frisbee regularly, and has eaten arugula more than a couple times in the last month, I recognize I’m not exactly her target audience. But still…there has to be a point at which you take a look in the mirror and ask yourself: even if I can win this way, would it be good to do it?
I suggest that if being a Democrat or a progressive is supposed to mean anything, it should mean an encouragement of good arguments, or intelligent debate, of supporting policies and ideas that will make life better. It should be a dismissal of the politics of obfuscation, of trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the electorate. You can stumble from election to election playing that game and win more than a few, but ultimately this country will be a better place if the Left is more interested in making life better for the world than it is in winning at all costs.
Polls close in Indiana and North Carolina in a few hours, so I guess tonight we’ll get to find out if the people have any interest in holding Clinton’s feet to the fire on this preposterous issue.