Voters are mad about gas prices. With an election less than six weeks away, many Republican politicians seem to think that abandoning their principles will curry favor with voters. There is a better way.
On Wednesday, the average gas price in Nevada was $5.36 a gallon. The national average is $4.47 a gallon. The average cost of diesel is approaching $7 a gallon in Nevada. Across the country, it’s more than $6.50 a gallon. Most consumers don’t purchase diesel directly, but it affects the prices of the products they purchase regularly.
Americans may not agree on much, but they strongly oppose high gas prices. As such, Republicans are facing major headwinds around the country. They could lose Senate seats in Maine, Alaska and North Carolina. Even strong Republican states, including Ohio, Iowa, Kansas and even Texas could elect Democratic senate candidates. Nevada doesn’t have a U.S. Senate race this cycle.
Now some Republicans are flirting with a diesel export ban. Republican Senate candidates in Iowa and Michigan have expressed support for the idea. So has Mr. Trump.
“I’ve said let’s not send out the diesel. We make a lot of diesel,” he said Tuesday.
There are two problems here. The first is practical. Banning diesel exports may temporarily lower prices, but that relief would be short lived. America doesn’t have enough pipeline capacity to distribute all that exported diesel from the Southeast. The move would likely increase diesel prices in California and hence Nevada.
The second is political. With some exceptions, Republicans generally support free market policies. That includes leaving prices alone. Any short-term benefit from government intervention produces a host of negative consequences later on. Democrats have long favored a more interventionist approach. Party leaders are even playing footsie with open socialists.
Voters understand this distinction. Republican candidates who rush to socialist policies in a crisis are telling voters that their free market beliefs don’t hold up under pressure. If voters believe that, they may as well vote for the party of Big Government.
What’s needed is a realistic path forward. Mr. Trump’s economic blockade of Iran is working. If the existing regime collapses or capitulates, fuel prices will quickly follow. Ukraine’s attacks on Russia are what’s driving up diesel prices. Mr. Trump also needs to remind voters that Democrats support programs to intentionally boost gas prices in order to reduce carbon emissions.
Mr. Trump needs to show an alternative — his plan for gasoline that’s under $2 a gallon, even if it won’t happen before November.
