Democrats Accuse Oil Refiners Of Possibly Sorta Maybe Potentially Price Fixing

There’s politics, then there are fishing expeditions accusing private citizens and companies of wrong-doing with zero proof to score political points

Senate Democrats are requesting an FTC investigation into “potential price fixing” of gasoline by petroleum refiners.

The Democrats — including Majority Leader Harry Reid — wrote in a letter to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz that refiners may be “cutting back on U.S. gasoline stockpiles in order to artificially keep prices high and inflate their bottom line.” “If true, this behavior is a direct affront to the American people who are still struggling with the economic downturn.”

No. Proof.

John Felmy, chief economist at the American Petroleum Institute, dismissed the call for a probe as “kind of like the ‘Casablanca’ moment; you know, round up the usual suspects.”

So, Dems are kinda like the petty and corrupt local police of a small country? Anyhow, here comes the politics

Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri is the lead signer on the letter. Others include Dick Durbin of Illinois, Chuck Schumer of New York and Patty Murray of Washington.

McCaskill — who is one of the biggest targets for Republicans in 2012 — also was given a leading role by Senate Democratic leaders on legislation to raise taxes for the five biggest private integrated oil companies by $21 billion over 10 years and steer those dollars toward reducing the deficit.

Even Talking Points Memo notices that the legislation is unconstitutional and simply a venue for camera face time.

The aim is to give McCaskill — who has been under fire for back taxes and other issues regarding a private plane she co-owned with her husband — and other vulnerable Senate Democrats some talking points heading into the thick of their campaigns.

So, this is simply a way for Democrats to accuse private entities of malfeasance in order to cover their own illegalities? Hey, remember when Pelosi talked about a “culture of corruption?” This goes hand in hand with Obama and Eric Holder wanting to investigate oil speculators. Democrats need a demon (some would call said demon’s “victims”) to blame, as Democrats always need. Forget those pesky Constitutional protections from false accusations, there’s an election coming up.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

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8 Responses to “Democrats Accuse Oil Refiners Of Possibly Sorta Maybe Potentially Price Fixing”

  1. captainfish says:

    Quote:
    So, this is simply a way for Democrats to accuse private entities of malfeasance in order to cover their own illegalities?

    And, isn’t that a greater travesty of justice? This is what Trish and I have been talking about!!

    WHERE ARE THE REPUBLICANS?!!?! Where are they coming out and blasting the Socialists for attacking private businesses and individual citizens?! Why aren’t they disemboweling the tyrannical nature of this administration for harassing and attacking the life-blood of our nation and not doing one thing to actually help fix the situation!?!?!?

    Nay, they are silent. They allow the attacks to be met with whimpers and subjugation.

    Meanwhile, we have supposed leaders in the so-called Republican party who attack their own – cutting them off at the knees.

    We don’t need their kind. We have enough death and destruction from the Socialist to deal with.

    You know what Newt? Maybe we DO need some right-wing engineering. When the dam is breaking, you don’t send in more water. You send in the engineers!!!!

  2. […] Democrats Accuse Oil Refiners Of Possibly Sorta Maybe Potentially Price Fixing So, this is simply a way for Democrats to accuse private entities of malfeasance in order to cover their own illegalities? Hey, remember when Pelosi talked about a “culture of corruption?” This goes hand in hand with Obama and Eric Holder wanting to investigate oil speculators. Democrats need a demon (some would call said demon’s “victims”) to blame, as Democrats always need. Forget those pesky Constitutional protections from false accusations, there’s an election coming up. […]

  3. gitarcarver says:

    Nay, they are silent. They allow the attacks to be met with whimpers and subjugation.

    At this point in time, I agree with them being silent. They shouldn’t say a word. They should give the Dems and liberals more rope to hang themselves and then jump in for the kill.

    What is the ol’ saying?

    It is better to be thought a fool than to open ones mouth and remove all doubt?

    Let the Dems run with this and like a dog on a leash, when they get to the end of the chain, then you pounce on them. 🙂

  4. captainfish says:

    Sorry Gitarcarver,
    I’m gonna have to disagree. Remember, more than half of the voters in 2008 voted to allow an unproven untried inexperienced and illiterate short-timer in as President of the US.

    People, in general, have no clue because, I believe, they are not given the information. Why do we hold debates? Why do politicians hold town hall meetings and write editorials? People demand to know information.

    I think, like during the 80s and early 90’s, that people today are eager for the truth. Truth needs to be told anyway. If I help expose that fool when the fool opens his mouth by helping to point out the truth, how is that bad?

    If people (in general again) don’t know the proper truth and just spout words based on their feelings and emotions (Socialist tools), then it is high time we schooled them.

  5. gitarcarver says:

    People, in general, have no clue because, I believe, they are not given the information. Why do we hold debates? Why do politicians hold town hall meetings and write editorials? People demand to know information.

    Exactly, Cap’n. I agree with you.

    Obama won in 2008 in part, because the Dems were allowed to control the message. They were very effective in using social networking to not allow Republicans to get their message out. There were a lot of cases where on the day of a Republican rally, the Obama campaign arranged to have a concert with free tickets. People would flock to see the Black Eyed Peas, Springsteen or whomever while Joe Republican talked to small crowds.

    Right now, if the Dems want to talk, let them. They are talking in a vacuum to a receptive media. If Republicans respond, the media has a tendency to make it sound as if the Republicans are calling the Democrats “poopey heads” or something along those lines.

    It is when you get the Democrats and Republicans together that you can destroy the Dems’ message.

    Someone did this a few weeks ago in a Senate hearing. The head of the committee called a very friendly witness and asked them softball questions. The idea was to get the Dems’ message out. The questioning was turned over to a Republican Senator who, armed with facts and logic, began to attack the witness in front of the committee. The Chairman of the committee tried to stop it but couldn’t. They tried taking a break, but that didn’t pass and was against the rules.

    By the end of the first day of the hearing, the point of the hearing was long gone and the message the left was trying to get out was in shambles. There was no second day of a planned 3 day hearing.

    The media HAD to report on this. They couldn’t say “this was what was said” without reporting on the meltdown of the witness, the Chairman and the message.

    That is what I am trying to say. I am not saying that the Dems should be allowed to get their message out without being challenged. What I am saying is that the message from the Dems is on page 1, and the response from the Republicans is often buried somewhere in the back of the section. That doesn’t get the Republican message out.

    That is why I think that on some things, you wait, give the Dems enough rope to hang themselves and then pounce at a time and place where the hanging has to be reported.

    I believe that otherwise, the message from the Dems will seldom, if ever, be contradicted by a statement in the papers or on TV where the response from a Republican is given the same weight as the initial statement from the Democrat.

    Timing is everything.

  6. captainfish says:

    well, true enough in that.
    That is the second huge hurdle R’s have to come up against – the anti-R liberal\socialist media bent on disrupting and destroying any message attempted to be put out by R’s.

    My opinion comes from when someone asks me why the R’s in the HOUSE are passing bills they know will get killed or not even acknowledge in the Senate….. cause at least they are DOING something and doing what is right.

    I want them passing bill after bill that they know the Socialists in the Senate will actively kill. We can use that against them come election time.

  7. gitarcarver says:

    Cap’n:

    Agreed.

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